Throughout the day, students are often forced to wait patiently in line for available printers. This can be a trying and time-consuming process for busy Grand Valley State University students.

The student population at GVSU is ever increasing. Between rising student numbers and the fact that hand-written work is becoming less common, student demand for printers has increased.

“Based on conversations with the student body, we realized that there were an insufficient amount of printers to serve the ever increasing population of Grand Valley,” said Jordyn McCarthy of the Student Senate campus affairs committee.

After discussions with the student body made it apparent that more printers were needed, McCarthy worked with the Information Technology department to see what could be done. McCarthy also had to address the issue of where best to put them.

The difficulty stemmed from opposing opinions from students on what locations would be best. There was a push from many students to have the printers installed in or near freshman dorms. McCarthy and the committee had to balance the needs of the student body as a whole to best serve everyone who needed the printers.

“It was ultimately decided that central locations work for the good of everyone as a whole,” McCarthy said. “There was especially a lack of printers in central areas.”

McCarthy had been working on the project with the IT department since October, and new printers were approved to be installed at the beginning of the winter semester.

One printer will go to the main floor of the east side of Kirkhof Center and the other to the C wing in the DeVos Center, John Klein of the IT department said. Klein said he hopes to have the printers installed within the next few weeks. The cost of buying, installing and setting up the printers is about $7,500.

Though the library has set up printers on each floor, these high traffic areas in demand by students can make it difficult for those looking to print off one or two quick things.

“The Kirkhof location would allow for more accessible quick prints,” McCarthy said.

Although the library and other locations around campus do offer printers, the committee still felt it was important to get more because students voiced that it was important.

“We did this because we are constantly trying to improve GVSU both academically and with all intentions of equipping students with the best resources available,” McCarthy said

While two printers may not seem like a lot, McCarthy said improvement takes time and has to be a process of steps.

“Obtaining new printers is a costly and lengthy process so we did not ask for more,” McCarthy said. “We wanted to work on first putting them in places that really needed them.”

McCarthy said she is confident that if students need more, they will be able to get them as GVSU staff has been “wonderful in working with the students and listening.”

The Campus Affairs Committee has no current projects to add new technology to campus, but it is always open to suggestions. It was through Student Senate public opinion days, where students vote on a variety of topics on how to better GVSU, that the need for printers became apparent.

Public opinion days vary on dates and times, but students are encouraged to attend Student Senate meetings, or check Twitter and Facebook for new events.

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