How Print Job Charging Works

Print charges per page are configurable on a printer-by-printer basis. You may specify different charges for black and white, color, and duplex modes on the same printer.  You can even specify different charges (including free) depending on which computer originated the print job.

If you do not wish to charge for printing, the charge per page can be set to zero, which will have the effect of capturing print activity statistics without actually charging.

Even if you elect to charge for printing, you may allow users a configurable amount of free printing per day, week, month, or year. Their free printing allotment will be exhausted first, and then they will be charged for subsequent printing.

You may specify that a customizable coversheet be printed at the start of each print job. The coversheets contain the user's ID, name, and charge details for the print job.

How Accounting Works

The system maintains a paid printing account for each user internally, referenced by the user's existing borrower card number. No additional cards or hardware are required.

You may configure the system to operate in debit mode or credit mode. In debit mode, users must make a deposit to their paid printing account before they are allowed to print. In credit mode, users are allowed to print up to a configurable credit limit, at which time they must make a payment to their paid printing account before they can continue to print.

Staff can make deposits to, or refunds from, users' paid printing accounts with the user-friendly staff interface. Coin, bill, or card machines are not required, and your users won't have to bring a pocketful of dimes with them to pay for printing each time they visit.

If you prefer a more automated solution, CASSIE supports various cash and card payment systems to allow users to make deposits to their paid printing account without staff intervention.

You may optionally configure one or more print release stations. Users pay for printing at a print release station using any combination of free printing allotment, paid printing account, or payment systems hardware that you have provided. Using payment systems hardware, you can implement a pay-as-you-go solution where users pay only for the print jobs they print without maintaining a paid printing account. The print release station also ensures privacy: users print and collect their print jobs at a printer that is co-located with the print release station.

The User Experience

Users are provided with a personal print job interface during their session, which allows them to maintain their print jobs for later forwarding to the printer when it's convenient.

If using a print release station, print jobs are sent to the print release station as they are generated at the users' workstations. Jobs are then held at the print release station for a configurable period of time, providing schedule flexibility to your users. At the print release station, patrons must enter their login credentials to view, delete, and print their print jobs.

Statistics are Collected

The page counts of free, paid, and cancelled print jobs are all maintained on a daily, printer-by-printer basis. Staff may use the Statistics Reports function to access the page count data collected.