GCC Moodle News

Printing in rush hour (10 minutes before lectures)

Printing in rush hour (10 minutes before lectures)

by NG Terry -
Number of replies: 0

Dear All,

Some of you may feel frustrated with the "slow response of the printers" while trying to get a print out 10 minutes before the start of lectures. You are not alone since your fellow course mates were trying to rush out their printing too. In summary, the print queues will be slowed down with the following reasons:

  1. Erroneous printing job got stuck in the queue. It was mainly caused by printing a "web preview" directly from the browser.
  2. Multiple submission of the same print job. 
  3. Mega sized print jobs.

Here are a few tips to avoid unnecessary waiting:

  • Avoid printing from "web-preview". It is always a good practice to download the file and open then print from the corresponding application.
  • The server will normally take less than a few minutes to process a normal sized print job. Don't print the same file again just because you cannot see it on the printer display. The more print jobs your submitted, the longer it takes to process your print jobs. 
  • Avoid printing big job during the rush hours. A print job with 20 pages of MS Power Point (with graphics and scan images) to be printed in 4 slides per page format, will require more server time to process.
  • Try to get your print out from another printers. There are 4 RICOH printers, ITSO, Library, 2nd and 3rd floor, accessible by all students. 
  • Use Cloud printing. Submit your print job before leaving home. You should be able to get your print job by logging into the College Linux account upon arrival. 
  • Use USB to send the print job to the printer. Place your PDF/TIFF/JPEG files into a working USB stick and plug it into the printer.
  • Finally, FEAR  NO PANIC. Try to come to the College 30 minutes before the start of the lecture. Call us on 58044148 or come to ITSO for assistance.  

The ITSO charter:

  • One more desktop printer "G02-Printer" has been made available in ITSO. You may print to it and collect the print out there. Please note that it does not support print-and-hold function. You must collect your print job immediately after printing.
  • The print queues will be closely monitored. All erroneous print jobs will be removed without notice.
  • Between 9am to 10am, any print job stuck in the queues for more than 15 minutes will be removed with out notice.
  • Please call 58044148 if you did not get your print out 8 MINUTES AFTER PRINTING.

I sincerely wish that the above may help in easing your frustration with the printers. :)

 

Regards,
Dr Terry NG
Director of Information Services