“The purpose of having a print count system is to save paper,” Kellerman said. “We were wasting hundreds and hundreds of dollars and thousands of pieces of paper at Paly because so many kids were printing things at school that teachers thought they were going to print at home.”
Printing now costs 10 cents per page. Students can request a free printing card from the library desk, which comes preloaded with a small amount of money which allows students 25 free prints. After that students must reload the card with their own money, according to Kellerman.
The librarians said they do not want the new system to be a burden and encouraged students under special circumstances to speak with them privately.
“If someone has economic issues or doesn’t have access to a printer at home, we’ll take care of them,” Kellerman said.
Within a week, Kellerman said she has already noticed a tremendous difference in the amount of paper wasted. Last year, at the end of a day, there would often be hundreds of sheets abandoned near the printer. Now, she does not find more than five pages wasted.
Paly is simply following the lead of other high schools and public libraries in the area.
“We talked to other high schools and public libraries to ask them what they were doing and everybody was charging so we decided to go with the print count system,” Kellerman said. “The PTA purchased the system with a grant so we were able to give students cards with 25 free prints and after that its 10 cents per print. We aren’t making any money. All the money that is made is going to some conservation project.”
Many students are unhappy with the changes to the printing process.
“It’s very inefficient and very ineffective,” junior Benson Chen said. “The computer needs pricing options because some people may not have their cards and need to print something quickly.”
Junior Margaret Wenzlau also criticized the new printing system, saying that paper should be a basic need provided to students.
“Even though paper seems like a basic thing,” Wenzlau said, “I would rather have something like paper than other stuff the school is spending money on.”
However, other students find that the change is not as bad as they thought it would be, according to librarian Debbie Henry.
“I think it’s good that they are charging you per page because it does reduce the spam of paper that occurred over the years,” junior Alex Heritier said. “But, it seems like most of the time I have to [print] fast, and I don’t always have enough time [to print assignments out before class now].”
Kellerman praised the freshmen in particular for not missing a beat, and both librarians consider the new system a success. She said the printing fees are intended only to make the library budget break even, and that any profit would be donated to an environmental cause.
Editor’s Note: Ben Lin and Frank Shang contributed reporting to this story.