Residential Life adds new printers throughout the Hill

Students now have access to 10 new printers on the Hill 24 hours a day.

The Residential Life learning centers and UCLA Housing and Hospitality Services collaborated to implement printing kiosks at various places on the Hill over winter break, said UCLA spokesperson Rebecca Kendall. They are in all the learning centers on the Hill, Covel Commons, the new Study at Hedrick and other residential hall lobbies.

Associated Students UCLA partnered with Wepa, the print company that provides the kiosks to campus, in June. The first printers were placed in Ackerman Union and several libraries.

[Related: Kiosks provide cheaper, quicker printing throughout campus]

Michael Brown, learning center manager, said the printers in the 24 hour learning center at Rieber Hall were used frequently when the other centers were closed, so he thinks students will appreciate more 24-hour printing options.

Brown said he hopes the printers will meet students’ needs and make printing more convenient.

Stephanie Yang, a first-year psychobiology student, said she used a Wepa printer in the Sunset Village Learning Center, but it broke down because so many students were using it. She added she is not sure if the added printers on the Hill will fix this problem, but thinks they will be useful.

“A lot of people stay on the Hill, so printers are definitely helpful – especially late at night,” Yang said.

Kelly Orellana, a second-year psychobiology student, said she used a Wepa printer for the first time in the De Neve Learning Center after their implementation on the Hill. She added even though she had a little trouble using the printer, she thinks they are a convenient addition to the Hill for students in a rush.

However, some students said they do not think it would be convenient for last-minute printing.

Anvita Panandikar, a second-year financial actuarial mathematics student, said she thinks Wepa printers are not a good idea if students are pressed for time. The Wepa printers download files from cloud storage services such as Dropbox and Google Drive. She said she was late for class one day when she was printing an essay using a Wepa printer and it took a long time to load.

Panandikar said she thinks the Wepa printers on the Hill are useful for students who live near them as long as they use them in advance. She added she thinks the printers in the learning centers or on campus would be a better option for people who are in a rush.

Brown said if students respond positively to the printers, Residential Life might add more to the Hill. He added Residential Life is also considering installing printers at the university apartments.