Output from the MSU IT mainframe computer can be printed on appropriately configured printers located in customer offices. Printed materials that can be routed to departmental printers include output from scheduled production batch jobs, client-written batch jobs, and mainframe report repositories (SARC).
Two forms of printing are available. The basic printing service is available at no charge and includes printing single-font text only (no specially-formatted forms) to PCL-capable printers. (See the basic forms page for forms that may be printed using the basic service.)
The premium printing service is for-fee and includes printing with specialty formatting (i.e., form overlay) and works with a more limited range of printer models which have specialized capabilities to support this function. (See supported printers). Both services require a printer attached to the MSU network. This printer typically can also be used for unit print jobs.
Data Access
The Remote Printing service assumes that the customer department already receives printed materials from the MSU IT mainframe or has access to data in the mainframe report repositories (such as SARC) which are available for printing. Creation of new reports is available through other MSU IT offerings. Certain reports require approval by central administrative units before distribution to units, so may not be available through this service.
Service Availability
Normal printing service hours are 24 hours per day, seven days per week, with infrequent scheduled evening or weekend outages for service upgrades or central systems maintenance. Central operator assistance is available 24 hours per day, seven days per week. Print from scheduled production batch jobs will be delivered to defined local printers as the scheduled print job runs (i.e., may occur during overnight or weekend hours).
Training & Support
MSU IT consults and assists with remote printing setup and testing, as well as helps with problem resolution related to the central software systems. The customer department retains responsibility for the department-owned printer including problem resolution, supplies, printer hardware and software, etc. Reconfiguration service for new or upgraded departmental printers is available at no charge as long as the reconfiguration is scheduled in advance. Written instructions are provided for common customer-initiated ad hoc printing scenarios.
