Printing

If you’re paying for printing with Bobcat Cash, you can use mobile printing to send many types of documents to the printers. Visit myprintcenter.ohio.edu to upload documents directly to your print queue. Mobile printing supports several common file formats, and works best with documents that are of a relatively small file size and where you don’t need to customize the orientation and layout.

There are several possible reasons.

If you just got a new OHIO ID card less than one hour ago, your card may not yet be activated for printing.

If you’re using an OHIO ID card that you previously reported as lost or stolen, that card will have been deactivated to prevent others from using it to impersonate you or access your funds. You’ll need to use the replacement card you got when you reported your old card as lost or stolen, or visit Bobcat Depot to get a new card. In the meantime, typing your OHIO ID and password on the release station screen (instead of swiping your card) may work.

If you’re both a student and a faculty or staff member, your faculty or staff OHIO account is your default account. If you want to print using your student account instead, you can email BobcatCash@ohio.edu to request that your accounts be linked.

If the machine just can’t seem to read your card, your card may be physically damaged. Try typing your OHIO ID and password on the touch screen instead of swiping, or visit Bobcat Depot to get your card replaced.

Need help? Ask at any Libraries service desk.

Did you add Bobcat Cash using MyOHIO (eCheck)? Cash added via this methods does not become available until at least the next business day. To make Bobcat Cash available instantly, add it online.

Pretty sure you have cash available, but your balance still reads as zero? There may be an issue with your OHIO ID card or account. Pretty sure that’s not the case? There may be a general problem with the printing system. Ask for help at any Libraries service desk.

When sending a print job from a computer, make sure you enter your OHIO ID or Guest Printing Card number into a dialog box on the computer’s screen. Then, wait a few seconds for a second dialog box to appear, allowing you to OK the cost of the print job and send it to your queue.

If you sent the job to “Libraries_Public_Black&White” it will only appear at printers with the “Black & White Printer” sign above them. If you sent the job to “Libraries_Public_Color” it will only appear at printers with a “Color Printer” sign above them. (Black & white printers are located throughout Alden Library and in the Music & Dance Library. Color printers are located only on the 2nd Floor of Alden Library.)

If no print jobs seem to appear in your queue, there may be an issue with your OHIO ID card or account.

Need help? Ask at any Libraries service desk.

There are several possible reasons.

To print your document, you need to release it by swiping your OHIO ID or Guest Printing Card at the release station positioned next to the printer.

If you’ve done that and the document still hasn’t printed, the small screen on the printer itself (as opposed to the release station screen) may let you know if the printer is out of paper, out of toner, or is experiencing an error. If the printer’s screen says “Processing,” your document is taking longer than usual to process and will probably come out momentarily.

The Libraries’ printers have two sizes of paper, letter (8.5 x 11) and ledger (11 x 17). Sending print jobs with other paper sizes is a common cause of errors that prevent a job from printing. You can usually specify your document’s paper size in the print dialog window in the application you’re printing from.

A common cause of documents printing incorrectly is printing directly from Canvas, Blackboard or other web sites where the document is printed from inside a "frame" or feature of the web site. If you’re trying to print a PDF, Word, PowerPoint or other document from inside Canvas or Blackboard, save the file to your computer first. Then double click the saved file to open it in its normal application, and print from there. PDF’s print most reliably when saved to your computer or opened in Adobe Acrobat or Adobe Reader (not a web browser like Chrome, Firefox or Safari).

If your document won’t print via mobile printing, it may print when printed from a computer.

If no documents are printing, there may be a general problem with the printing system.

If you need help getting a document to print, please feel free to visit any Libraries service desk.

Need a refund? Fill out the online Print Refund Request Form.

For layout problems (such as printing in landscape when you wanted portrait), please check the settings in the application you printed from.

A common cause of documents printing incorrectly is printing directly from Blackboard or other web sites that don’t really support printing. If you’re trying to print a PDF, Word, PowerPoint or other document from inside Blackboard, save the file to your computer first. Then double click the saved file to open it in its normal application, and print from there. Even outside of Blackboard, PDF’s print most reliably when saved to your computer or opened in Adobe Acrobat or Adobe Reader (not a web browser like Chrome, Firefox or Safari).

If your document doesn’t print correctly via mobile printing, you may want to try printing it from a computer.

If you need help getting a document to print correctly, visit any Libraries service desk.

Need a refund? Fill out the online Print Refund Request Form.

If you’re using Bobcat Cash, you can see your past printing activity under the “Activity” tab in My Print Center.

If you’re using a Guest Printing Card, you’ll need to register your card in the Print Card Management Portal in order to track and view your activity.

Please use the paper supplied in the Libraries printers. The printers are not set up to handle alternate paper sizes, and Libraries staff may not be able to determine whether different paper stocks could cause jams or other problems.

If you want to print a poster, contact Printing and Graphic Services (740-593-1930).