Students and faculty can now use printers that are faster, more reliable, and cheaper, according to Patrick Chartrand, senior director of IT infrastructure and support. 

“They don’t break down as often, and the cost for the supplies is considerably less,” Chartrand said of the new Epson brand printers. “We wanted that reliability on campus.”

Over winter break, Information Technologies Services began replacing the Xerox laser printers on campus with Epson Workforce Precision printers with heat-free technology. Chartrand said Hillsdale decided to terminate its lease on the Xerox printers and switch to a new vendor that leases Epson printers instead. 

Chartrand said one of the reasons why the Epson printer is faster and cheaper than its predecessor is because it does not use a drum and fuser to print. The drum is responsible for rolling the toner onto the page, and the fuser is responsible for providing heat and pressure to the drum, allowing the toner to permanently bond with the paper.

Chartrand said the drum and fuser take time and electricity to heat up; therefore, printers without them print faster and use less electricity. 

“Epson printers do not have a drum or fuser so there is no waiting period,” Chartrand said. “The other good thing is we don’t have to use electricity to warm them up. This saves us on time and money.”

Chartrand also said the Epson printers charge less for each page that is printed compared to the Xerox printers. 

“We get charged for every page that is printed,” Chartrand said “And we pay less for a page that is printed with the Epson printers.” 

Chartrand said ITS has currently installed 40 Epson printers around campus, the library and Career Services office being two of the locations.

“I think the software is definitely a little faster and more consistent,” sophomore and student library worker Charles Taylor said.

Taylor said the only downside to the new printers is students have to connect their personal computer to the printers again. 

“We have had some people having trouble with getting connected initially,” Taylor said. “But once the printers are on their computers, I haven’t really had people come up to me confused about printing.”

Junior Rotem Andegeko, a coach for Career Services, said the only issue she had with the new printer at Career Services was setting up the device to her computer.

“Now that I finally set it up, I am fine with it now,” Andegeko said.

Public Services Librarian Brenna Wade said confusion typically comes with any new technical installment.

“Whenever you get new machines, there is always a learning curve,” Wade said.

Andegeko said the previous printer at Career Services was not reliable and she hopes the new printer will be a better alternative.

“The thing with the old printer was that it either worked right away or it never worked,” Andegeko said. 

Taylor said he also had trouble with the old printers and has so far enjoyed using the new printers more.

“I support the installation of these new printers all over campus,” Taylor said.