Printing at Montana State University

Montana State University understands that printing is part of everyday life. This page will provide resources to support students, faculty and staff on available printing options.

Paper Reduction

  • Reducing paper helps save departments money and helps the environment. Streamlining systems through efficient tools like online platforms or apps minimize unnecessary use and waste.             
    • Best Practices
      • Online programs and other platforms allow you to store, share, and sync notes across devices, including desktop computers, laptops, tablets, and phones.
        • Through Microsoft 365, you can store files in the cloud and share files with others in the MSU community.
          • In Outlook, you can create, share, and assign tasks to colleagues.
      • Meetings
        • Circulate materials in advance and let participants know you will not provide hard copies.
        • Use a projector and laptop or electronic display to project the agenda and other important documents.
        • Consider holding a remote meeting via video conference, using Webex or Microsoft Teams. 
        • Encourage participants to use their laptop or device to take to take and refer to electronic notes and emails.
        • Use a Microsoft 365 or a network drive to share files, so meeting participants can access relevant files on their laptops during meetings.
          • You can edit notes and documents from Microsoft in real time.
      • Newsletters and Communications
        • Consider using an e-newsletter program with customizable templates and drag-and-drop editing, which can also manage email distribution lists, integrate with social media sites, and analyze results (e.g. track opens, clicks, forwards, and more).
        • Yammer is a Microsoft social networking platform that facilitates discussion between community members. Create “groups” through Yammer for tips and idea-sharing. An MSU email enables you to join Yammer groups, receive notifications, and follow topics.
    • If you have to print
      • Only print pages you need.
      • Increase margins and reduce font size.
      • Printing in black and white is preferable; color toner is more expensive and has a greater environmental impact than black.
      • Set printers to default to double-sided.
      • Use print preview to avoid printing unnecessary pages.
      • Print multiple pages per sheet in Adobe Reader, Word, and PowerPoint.
      • To save costs on toner/ink, consider fonts that use less ink, such as Century Gothic or Garamond.
      • Recycle toner cartridges when empty.

Student Printing

    • Student Public Printing
      • Registered students are awarded $7.50 on their CatCard for free black and white printing each semester.
    • CatCard Printing
    • Where Can I Print?
      • Information on Printing at Renne Library can be found here: https://www.lib.montana.edu/services/print-copy-scan/
        • Printing from Library computers
        • Printing from a Laptop with a Windows or Mac operating system
        • Specialty Printing Services
        • Printing, Scanning & Copying Self-Service Options
        • Topics include
      • UPS provides copying and offset printing services to MSU faculty, staff and students and accepting work from university departments, affiliated centers and organizations and campus-recognized student organizations.
      • Information on University Printing Services can be found here: https://www.montana.edu/printshop/
        • Available Services
        • Locations
        • Contact Information
        • Topics Include
      • ResNet maintains printing kiosks in the computer labs of each of the Residence Halls, ensuring students have 24-hour access to high-speed Internet, the Microsoft Office suite, and more.
      • More information about printing and other services from ResNet can be found here: https://www.montana.edu/resnet/index.html
      • MSU provides Student Public Printing in Renne Library and most UIT labs.
      • UIT Student Computer Labs Printing
      • University Printing Services
      • Printing in the Dorms
    • Wireless Printing
      • Wireless printers are not supported on our networks, and setting up a wireless router to enable wireless printing is prohibited
    • College Specific Printing
      • College of Architecture
      • College of Engineering

Faculty and Staff Printing

    • Large Multi-Function Device (Printing, Copying, Scanning, Faxing)
      • Where possible, MSU UIT encourages the use of departmental copying using large Multi-Function Devices.
      • Large multifunction devices (MFD) have improved document management, workflow and office efficiencies.
      • If you would like to purchase, or lease, a copier or large multi-function device, please see this page from the MSU Procurement office for copiers.
    • Desktop/Office/Local printers and Office/Local/Small MFD
      • Although supported, UIT discourages the use of Desktop/Office/Local printers and Office/Local/Small MFD
      • Desktop/Office/Local printers and Desktop/Office/Local/Small MFD are usually not well-suited to be connected to MSU’s high speed, open network. 
      • These low-cost printers often do not meet the campus basic Security Standards
        • If the printer is used to handle sensitive information, a home or small office printer is even less likely to have the security functionality necessary to meet more stringent security requirements for sensitive data.
      • IT Support of Desktop/Office/Local printers and Office/Local/Small MFD, if possible, can create roadblocks and cannot be guaranteed due to the large range of manufactures.
      • IT Support issues that can arise with Desktop/Office/Local printers and Office/Local/Small MFD
        • Wireless connection of printers is not supported at MSU
        • Drive Updates must be managed by the user and can create security vulnerabilities on the MSU network.
        • Cryptic interfaces that make it almost impossible to troubleshoot problems without the help of customer support.
        • Generic and/or incompatible toner refills
        • If your home network is more complex than just a modem, a router, and your PC, there’s a reasonable chance that you’ll run into network connectivity problems
      • If you must use a Desktop/Office/Local printer and Office/Local/Small MFD, these Enterprise grade printers can be purchased through the CDW-G/Montana State University program.
    • Wireless Connected Printing
        • Wireless connection of printers is not supported at MSU.
          • Although you could connect your printer to the wirless network, it would not be able to located when searching to add a printer.
    • University Printing Services
      • UPS provides copying and offset printing services to MSU faculty, staff and students and accepting work from university departments, affiliated centers and organizations and campus-recognized student organizations.
      • Information on University Printing Services can be found here: https://www.montana.edu/printshop/
        • Topics Include
          • Available Services
          • Locations
          • Contact Information
    • Banner Print Queue Request Form
    • How to add an MSU-networked printer to your desktop or laptop computer
      • Initial Setup and Information

        • First, your computer will need to be on the MSU local (wired) network or MSU-Secure Wi-Fi network, so you can access our networked printers. You will also need to be an Administrator on the computer, to be able to add a printer. Contact UIT if you need help resolving these requirements.

          1. For printers connected directly to the MSU network, you will need the printer’s Hostname or IP address. For print server printers, you will need the print server name and the printer’s Hostname. If you do not know the printer’s network identity, here are some tips on how you might find it: 
          2. On the printer’s control panel screen, see if you can find an option to print or view network settings, often found under System Preferences, Settings, or Configure, etc. 
          3. Check on a colleague’s computer that is already connected to the printer. Look at the printer properties to see what the network connection is, for the printer. 
          4. Some printers may have their network address information on a label or sign applied to the printer.Also, you will need to know some information about the printer. There are two configurations for printers: one that is connected to a printer server and another where the printer is connected directly to the MSU network.

        • Once you have this information, you can then add the printer using one of the steps below, according to the Operating System on the computer you are using. 

    • How to Add a printer to a Windows computer via the Topaz printer server (easy method): 

      • UIT manages a printer server called “Topaz” which hosts network print queues, for easy access from any computer on the campus local network or MSU-Secure Wi-Fi. You can connect to a printer quickly by connecting to \\topaz.msu.montana.edu\ using these instructions:  

        1. Open the run command (Windows key and R at the same time) or the address bar in File Explorer. 
        2. Type \\topaz.msu.montana.edu\ and press enter. 
        3. This will show a list of print queues available on the Topaz server.  If you see the correct printer in the list, you can double-click on it to install it on your computer. From item 3 in the Initial Setup and Information section above, if the printer on your colleague’s computer displays a name such as “<printqueuename> on Topaz” that information can be used to help you connect to the same printer. 
        4. Once it is installed, you will be connected and ready to print to that device. 
    • How to Add a printer to a Windows computer via printer server (robust method): 

      • (Note: Some departments on campus have their own print server and you will need to consult your department’s IT team to learn the process for their set up.) 

        1. Go to Control Panel 
        2. Click Devices and Printers 
        3. Click Add a printer 
        4. Click “The printer that I want isn’t listed” 
        5. Click the circle next ‘Select a shared printer by name’ 
        6. Enter \\topaz.msu.montana.edu\printername (or other print server name and printer) 
        7. Click Next 
        8. A printer driver should download to your computer and then you will get a message that you have successfully added the printer.  
        9. Click Next and you will have the option to set the printer as the default printer and to print a test page. 
        10. Click Finish and you will now have that printer in your list of Devices and Printers 
        11. Quick Tip:  Alternatively, on a Windows computer, if you know the Topaz print queue name for the printer you need, you can type the Topaz path for that printer into the “Search” field in the lower right corner of your computer desktop, then simply click the “Enter” key to install the printer. 
        12. Example path to a specific Topaz print printer:  \\topaz.msu.montana.edu\<printqueuename> 
    • How to Add a printer to a Windows computer via IP Address:
      1. Go to Control Panel
      2. Click Devices and Printers
      3. Click Add a printer
      4. Click “The printer that I want isn’t listed”
      5. Click the circle next to ‘Add a printer using a TCP/IP or hostname’
      6. Click Next
      7. In the next window, leave Device type set to Autodetect, then type the IP address in the Hostname or IP address field. Check the box next to “Query the printer and automatically select the driver to use.”
      8. Click Next
    • How to Add a Printer to an Apple computer via print server: 
      • Click the Apple icon.
      • Open to System Preferences.
      • Click on Printers and Scanners.
      • Then click on the + sign below the list of printers.
      • Click on the IP icon. Look like a globe icon; will turn blue once you click it
      • Type the printer server’s full address in the address field and then the printer DNS name in the Queue field. Your Mac will try to gather information about the printer and download appropriate drivers. You may need to go direct to the printer’s support pages for a driver download.
      • The printer should then be available 
    • How to Add a Printer to an Apple computer via IP Address:
      1. Click the Apple icon.
      2. Open to System Preferences.
      3. Click on Printers and Scanners.
      4. Then click on the + sign below the list of printers.
      5. Click on the IP icon (looks like a globe; will turn blue once you click it)
      6. Type your printer’s IP Address in the Address field. Your Mac will try to gather information about the printer and download appropriate drivers.
      7. The printer should then be available 

    • Here is Apple’s support page for adding printers:https://support.apple.com/kb/PH25081?locale=en_US