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More documentation and announcements can be found on the UTS Website at www.oakland.edu/uts

Topic: Help Documentation

Audience: Faculty and Staff

Date: December 13, 2004

Multifunction Network Printer Support Guidelines

The UTS Helpdesk would like to assist departments on campus with printing needs. Our services are described in our Desktop Service Level Agreement, which can be visited at http://www.oakland.edu/uts under Help Documentation.

The UTS Helpdesk has noticed a growing number of multifunction printers on campus. As stated in our Desktop Service Level Agreement, we cannot provide technical troubleshooting for these types of printers. Contracts for technical support should be made with the vendor at the time of purchase.

  • What is a multifunction network printer? A multifunction network printer typically supports centralized printing from several desktop computers routed over the network, and may have other features such as copying, scanning, and emailed job status.

  • Can scanned documents be loaded into or tracked by Banner? No, documents scanned by typical multifunction printer/copiers cannot be stored in or tracked by the Banner system. There are no plans to purchase the certified system needed for this functionality at this time.

  • Who should you contact if a printing problem occurs with an unsupported printer? You should contact the vendor under the terms of your support contract. You should have a single representative in the department appointed as the support contact person. All complaints about the printer and functions should go to the support contact person. That person will try to do basic trouble-shooting, such as verifying that the network works, the machine is plugged in, there is paper in the machine, etc. That person will then call the vendor technical support if he or she cannot fix the problem. UTS Helpdesk will not call vendor support on behalf of a department. Vendors prefer to work directly with the department they support.

  • Does UTS provide network support to these devices? Yes, UTS provides network support. UTS still provides support for the network port and network connectivity. We support the computers that send print jobs to the multifunction printer. We also support the network cables and ports that the computers and printer connects up with. You may need a new network drop appropriate to the location of the machine. We would coordinate the install of that drop.

  • What is a print queue? A print queue allows multiple people to print to the printer and organizes print jobs that are waiting. We need to know network class to create your print queue: is this on the Academic Network (OPENNET) or Administrative Network (ADMNET)? If you are storing student data in any way, or sending email with student data, you need to be on ADMNET. You will also need to review appropriate use of email sending student data; current FERPA guidelines state that sending identifiable student data are unacceptable.

  • Does UTS make sure the network ports are active? Yes, if UTS is called about checking a network port that is going to be used for one of these systems, we will make sure the network port is functional. This check should be done in advance and before the vendor technician is scheduled to set up the multifunction printer.

  • Does UTS supply network settings for the multifunction printer? Yes. The vendor may need network settings (such as an IP address and gateway address) to set up the multifunction printer. The departmental support contact person should call the UTS Helpdesk in advance to request these settings before the vendor technician arrives to install the multifunction printer. This request normally takes 3 days.

  • Does UTS supply the system an email address? Many multifunction devices utilize a specific email address. Departments need to complete a GUEST/SHARED GROUP ACCOUNT form to get an email account for the system. This form should be submitted and granted before the vendor technician arrives to campus to setup the multifunction printer.

  • Does UTS supply information about email settings? The vendor may need the name of the mail server or the IP address of the mail server. The departmental support contact person should call the UTS Helpdesk in advance to request these settings before the vendor technician arrives to set up the multifunction printer. The vendor will setup the email account on the printer.

  • Does UTS support desktop computers that connect to this system? Yes. The vendor may provide instructions on how to make a computer connect to the multifunction printer. The vendor and the departmental contact person are then responsible for making sure the instructions work. If they do not, the vendor may advise the departmental support person to call the Helpdesk for desktop assistance.