Updated as of 4:54 p.m. Feb. 19 to include information from Pat Donohue, Deputy CIO at Elon University.
In an email sent to students Feb. 19, Elon Information Technology announced an issue affecting Elon’s mobile printing system. IT wrote that they are looking to resolve these issues by undergoing an emergency upgrade that will occur Feb. 20. According to the email, while repairs are underway, students will not be able to print.
The email stated that the estimated downtime for student printing will be around two hours and also announced that faculty and staff printing will not be affected by the shutdown.
Student printing has been an issue for many students in the past few days, with sophomore Reily Grace Wilson even posting a TikTok showing her struggling to print out an assignment for class.
“It actually took me over an hour and then it didn't print,” Wilson said, “I had to have my friend do it for me.”
In an email statement to Elon News Network, Pat Donohue, Deputy CIO at Elon University explained the issues in more depth.“Our IT Support staff have been actively monitoring the system and performing frequent resets to keep it running, but after reviewing system logs and infrastructure settings, Canon engineers determined that a software upgrade is the only way to fully resolve the problem,” Donohue wrote.
According to Donohue, the upgrade involves the UniFLOW software that controls the student Canon printing system. He wrote that Canon will be sending an engineer who has worked in Elon's printing environment in the past to complete the upgrade.
“Because student mobile printing is used heavily throughout the day, this is not an upgrade we could reasonably postpone to a later date without continuing to risk disruptions,” Donohue wrote.
Elon IT said in the email that if students need assistance, they can contact the Technology Service Desk or visit the IT Self-Service Portal.
Elon IT did not respond to Elon News Network’s request for comment.