A name you'll need: Printing system update is a great improvement

Good news: The campus printing system is getting a much-needed update.

This update to the system is set to go live this month.

The new update will let those poor souls using 64-bit versions of Windows — a more advanced version of Windows — install the printing software Pharos on their computers.

There's also good news for everyone with less advanced operating systems.

You will only see the jobs you've sent to the printing line when you step up to release a print job.

That's right.

Once the new update is installed we won't have to wait for those people who haven't figured out how to alphabetize the list of printing jobs to sift through every job sent to the printer in the past hour.

That's because lab users will now have to swipe their One Cards and sign in with their Onyens to release a job at the printer.

And the pop-up screen on users' laptops will now ask for an Onyen before the job is sent.

Users don't have to do anything to get the update.

The changes to the laptop software will be made on the University's server so the laptop pop-up box will just start asking for Onyens when the update is ready.

We're thrilled that the printing system is finally getting an update.

The one downside is that the new system won't let non-UNC affiliated people — people without Onyens — take advantage of the lost-cost printing in the labs.

That could be a potential problem.

But frankly it seems like a small cost to pay for the benefits of the update.

The current version has lagged behind the more advanced 64-bit operating systems too long. And it's not fun waiting for people to sift through what seems like hundreds of print jobs.

Hopefully the new system will ease lines in the labs.