Print Metering Software

[Kyle Harriss]

It's not quite the same configuration you were describing, but take a look
at UnipriNT.  It is marketed in the US by a company called IKON.  It is 
produced by a company in New Zealand named Pharos.

I suspect it can meet your needs.  It is the product we are using for
cost recovery and print job control in the public areas of our campus
library.

Give them a call.  I'm sure it isn't the only solution out there, but
it's working for us.

--

Kyle Harriss				kharriss at d.umn.edu
Tech Services 				voice: 218-726-6546
UMD Library				fax:   218-726-8019
Duluth, MN  55812

On Mon, 16 Mar 1998, Jason Clabaugh wrote:

> ***If this message is redundant, please excuse it--I am new to the list and
> a search of the Archive turned up little on this subject...
> 
> Hello Folks -
> 	We are about to implement a new public-access system  consisting of 30
> networked PCs running Windows 95 as the client interface with Windows NT
> 4.0 serving as our basic networking backbone software.  These machines will
> be divided among the four floors of our library with a networked laser
> printer serving a maximum of five workstations each (so...we wil have 20
> machines on the 1st floor served by 4 LPs, 5 on the 2nd floor with 1 LP,
> and so on...).
> 	What I'm looking for is a program that will run on the network and help us
> recover the cost of paper and toner on these machines.  Several of the
> databases that will be available on each of our public-access machines are
> full-text (including JSTOR), so you can imagine how expensive unlimited
> printing could get.  We do not want to discourage students from printing
> articles from the databases, but rather want to encourage them to be
> judicious in choosing which articles to print (after all, if *I* had to
> choose between grabbing a volume of bound periodicals and paying a nickel a
> page to copy it and printing the same article for free on a workstation, I
> can tell you which one *I* would choose) and help us keep from running
> through our entire year's paper budget in a matter of days or weeks.
> Further complicating the process is the aspect concerning our CD-ROM
> indexes, from which we would like to continue allowing students to print
> citations for free, while charging them for full-text retrievals.
> 	I have investigated potential solutions over the web and have found little
> that is of use to us. One solution  would require us to implement a debit
> card system--which would be much too expensive for us to implement and
> maintain  Another potential solution works with Novell Netware to generate
> bills to particular cost centers within an organization--which really won't
> work for us, either.  
> 	Ideally, the winning software solution would require the student to log in
> using a student ID number and would charge the copies to his student
> account on our soon-to-be-forthcoming BANNER system.  Otherwise, if the
> software would simply generate a bill (a la Kinko's) that would be sent
> both to the student at the end of his session and to the Circulation
> Manager (so that if the bill is not paid, it can be forwarded to Accounts
> Receivable and added to the student's Bursar's Bill), I would be satisfied.
> 	I realize that this may be asking for the sun, but I'm sure that other
> libraries are having to deal with the same issues.  I would like to hear
> from other organizations as to how they deal with this problem.  	Please
> respond to me at jclabaug at xula.edu rather than to the list as a whole.  I
> will be happy to summarize all responses (along with the original question)
> back to the list later.
> 
> Thanks in advance...
> 
> Jason
> 
> 
> ********************************************************
> Jason Clabaugh
> Systems Librarian
> Xavier University of Louisiana
> New Orleans, LA 70125
> Voice: (504) 485-5290
> FAX: (504) 485-7917
> jclabaug at xula.edu
> ********************************************************
> "Sometimes working with computers can be as rewarding
> 	as trying to nail a poached egg to a tree."
> 				- Anonymous
> ********************************************************
>