WolfPrint (NC State's Accounted Print Service)

For additional help with printing, see the tutorial on using accounted printing services at NC State, a part of the Unity/Eos tutor page.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. Is there a charge for printing?
2. What is print quota and how much does it cost?
3. Where and how do I get print quota?
4. What if I need to print after hours, but I have no print quota in my account?
5. Can I buy print quota online with a credit or debit card?
6. How long does it take after I purchase print quota for it to become available?
7. Where can I print my work?
8. If I'm using a Windows or Macintosh computer in a computing lab, how do I print my work?
9. What if I am a UNIX user, and I prefer to work from the command line?
10. How do I print via the web from any computer with an internet connection?
11. How do I check to see how much WolfPrint quota I have?
12. Is color printing available?
13. Can I charge printing to a departmental account?
14. How can I best conserve my print quota?
15. How can I find out what printers are available?
16. How do I report problems with printing?
    

2 - What is print quota and how much does it cost?
Printing is charged through WolfPrint, the debit system by which WolfCopy accounts for you print quota charges. You must first purchase WolfPrint quota if you want to print to WolfCopy printers. The minimum quota purchase is $5.00, which will buy you approximately 83 black and white pages. Your print quota account will be automatically debited $0.06 for each page of black and white printing, and $0.60 for each page of color printing. Charges for large format color printing will vary according to the size of the print job.

3 - Where and how do I purchase print quota?
You can purchase print quota at the following locations:

• Wolfcopy kiosk at Talley Student Center, on the ground floor next to the main information desk
(building #102, campus map/central), is open 8:00AM-4:30PM Monday-Friday for immediate additions to your WolfPrint quota account.
• University Graphics, Sullivan Drive (building #122, campus map/south), is open 8:00AM-5:00PM Monday-Friday for immediate additions to your WolfPrint quota account.
• Materials Management Warehouse, 3240 Ligon Road (building #161, campus map/south)

To purchase WolfPrint quota, you must appear in person at Talley Student Center or at University Graphics, and you must pay cash. WolfPrint quota cannot be sold over the phone. If you need to purchase print quota between the hours of 5:00PM and 8:00AM Monday-Friday or on weekends, you can request a print quota IOU online at http://print.ncsu.edu

4 - What if I need to print after hours, but I have no print quota in my account?
You can request a print quota IOU online at http://print.ncsu.edu $5.00 will be added to your print quota account temporarily to take care of your emergency printing need. After 48 hours, your IOU will be revoked, and you must appear at a WolfCopy location to pay your account back into the positive.

5 - Can I buy print quota online with a credit or debit card?
Not at this time. A credit-card based print quota system is currently in development.

6 - How long does it take after I purchase print quota for it to become available?
The change to your WolfPrint quota account must take effect across several computer systems. WolfPrint quota could be available in as few as fifteen minutes or as long as an hour. Once you have quota in your account, you can print to the printers in public labs, and charges are deducted from your account automatically.

Note: If you own your own computer and wish to avoid the per page charge for printing, bring your own printer with you to campus.

7 - Where can I print my work?
Most computers in NC State computer labs are configured to print to a printer within the lab. Users can also print from any computer with an internet connection to any of the WolfCopy printers in public computing labs via the web at http://print.ncsu.edu, and charges will be deducted from their WolfPrint quota accounts. This web-based printing service is available from personally-owned computers in residence halls or computers connected to the campus wireless network.

8 - If I'm using a Windows or Macintosh computer in a computing lab, how do I print my work?
Most applications on Windows or Macintosh computers place a Print option on the File pull-down menu, so when users need to print their work, they just select Print from inside the application. On Windows, you can also right-click a file icon without opening it in the application, and select Print on the menu.

If there is a Print... option on the menu (note ellipsis dots), it can be selected to adjust the default print settings, e.g., number of copies, range of pages, etc. Among the options generally available from Print... is "Print to a File," which means that you can send your output to a file rather than to a printer. Then, you can print the file whenever you want without opening the application.

9 - What if I am a UNIX user, and I prefer to work from the command line?

On UNIX/Linux machines, the file is a "PostScript" file with a .ps extension. To print a file that has been formatted for printing, type lpr (line print) followed by the file name or the path to the file, e.g., lpr filename.ps or lpr dir/filename.ps.

The workstation you use will automatically route your files to a particular printer, usually a local one in your office or lab (see list at left). However, you can route print jobs to other printers by either (1) selecting the printer you want from the Printer options available inside the application, or (2) printing to a file and then sending the file to the printer you specify.

The latter is done by adding -P after the lpr command followed immediately (no space) by the name of the printer you want to use (see list at left) and the print-formatted file you want to print. For example, if you want to print to the printer in 242 Daniels, you would specify that printer's name and the file you want to print, e.g., lpr -Pdan242 file.ps.

To see what print jobs are queued for the printer, type lpq. To remove a print job before it prints, type lprm job#. You can only remove your own print jobs.

On UNIX, the default printer is set in the PRINTER environment variable. To find out your default printer, type printenv PRINTER. You can change the default printer by typing setenv PRINTER followed by the name of the printer you want to use. When you want to specify a printer other than the default, use the -P option (see above) to override the default setting in your environment.

On Windows, the default printers are listed in My Computer -> Printers, but because of the high-security settings on the lab-installed workstations, users cannot add printers or change configurations..

1. Point your web browser to http://print.ncsu.edu.
2. Scroll down the page until you see the Print a File box.
3. Use the Browse button to navigate to the file you wish to print.
4. From the pull-down menu, choose the printer to which you would like to send your print job
5. Select "Print" to send your job to the printer.

Print quota will be deducted from your print quota account automatically. For more detailed instructions on using http://print.ncsu.edu or on converting files to PostScript format, see our "How To" documentation at http://print.ncsu.edu/faq.php

11 - How do I check to see how much WolfPrint quota I have?
The easiest way to check your print quota is via the web at http://print.ncsu.edu. You will be asked to log in with your Unity ID and password. Once you have logged in, you will see your print quota account balance displayed in the box marked "Print Quota Left" under the "My Print Quota" heading. You may have to scroll down the page a bit to see the "Print Quota Left" box.

12 - Is color printing available?
Yes. Two Unity computing labs offer color printing:

• 100 Leazar Hall ($0.60/page)
• D.H. Hill Library Room 2413 ($0.60/page)

Color printing, including large format color printing, is also available in several other labs on campus. Check in with your college or academic department for specific location and pricing information for WolfCopy color printing, or for large-format color printing.

lpr -R# file

where # is the account number and file is the name of the file you wish to print.

14 - How can I best conserve my print quota?

• Get accustomed to working on-screen rather than on paper. Read and edit online, and print final copies only.
• Preview files with display commands, editors and viewers before you print them. Most applications produce "wysiwyg" (what-you-see-is-what-you-get) screen output. In other words, the way something looks on-screen is pretty close to the way it will look when printed. If you are still unsure, choose the "Print Preview" option from the application's File menu. If you're revising a file, print only the pages you've changed, not the whole file. This saves paper and shortens the time you and others have to spend waiting for output. Also, turn off header pages so that a banner or header page does not come out ahead of the output.
• Check your print settings carefully before you send something to the printer. For example, if you have just changed a setting to print three copies of a document instead of one, make sure you change the setting back to one copy before you print again.
• Do not use the printer as a copier. Photocopying costs as little as 3 cents a page; printing is 6 cents per page.

15 - How can I find out what printers are available?
OIT maintains a list of all publicly available printers at http://print.ncsu.edu/listofprinters.php

16 - How do I report problems with printing?
If you have trouble printing in a lab, the easiest way to report it is via the web at http://print.ncsu.edu/reportaproblem.php. You can also call the Computing Services Help Desk at 515-HELP, or send email to help@ncsu.edu.

Content last updated July 23, 2004, by Jessie Henninger, Distributed Support person for WolfCopy.
Page last modified March 4, 2008 by cawalker