A fleet of unassuming little machines has been installed on campus promising a new and revolutionary printing system for the convenience of the Nicholls community.
WEPA, which stands for “Wireless Everywhere, Print Anywhere,” is the new method of printing documents on campus. Beginning this week, students, faculty and staff will be able to wirelessly send documents into the WEPA system and print them at any WEPA kiosk location on campus.
New student employees have been hired to monitor and maintain each WEPA kiosk. The new system is replacing GoPrint, the previous and outdated system on campus.
“[GoPrint] offered hardly any of the qualities of WEPA,” Tom Bonvillain, Director of Academic Computing and WEPA project manager, said about the decision to switch to WEPA.
The 24-hour WEPA kiosks can be found in 14 locations around campus and should be conveniently close to any location to suit student needs. Locations include the Student Union, several residence halls and the new Jazzman’s location.
There are different ways to operate the WEPA kiosks. Bonvillain said the main method involves having an online account with WEPA and simply uploading documents into a cloud system. One can then access and print these documents at any WEPA location. There is also a port on each WEPA kiosk for a USB flash drive, making quick last-minute printing easy.
A small fee is charged per printed document with the WEPA system–about nine cents for black and white and forty-nine cents for color–but prices are reasonable considering the high quality paper and ink used at the stations. Documents can be paid for using either a prepaid Colonel card or a standard credit or debit card.
The kiosks are also set up with free additional features. Various businesses like restaurants and coffee shops can advertise with WEPA and provide complementary coupons printable at any location. The coupons offered will cycle, so making a habit out of visiting WEPA locations can earn students some great deals. Campus groups and organizations will also be able to advertise and inform the Nicholls community using the WEPA system.
“I think it’s going to be a really nice thing,” Bonvillain said. “It’s a really good system. You can actually even print at any WEPA location, even at other universities.”
