MPS has your printing, copying, and scanning needs covered

03 Mar 2020
03 Mar 2020

Copying, printing, and scanning is a breeze thanks to the UCT Managed Print Services (MPS). Managed by Bytes, this offering ensures that all staff and students have access to a Xerox machine no matter where they are on campus.

In addition to the services previously mentioned, MPS can also assist with bulk printing, which comes in handy for printing exam papers or conference handouts. Speaking of exam papers, MPS has a secure printing setup in place, which allows two representatives from a department to be present during the printing process, mitigating the risk of exam leaks.

MPS even caters for visitors by providing non-UCT individuals – i.e. those without a UCT identity cart – access to services via a temporary visitor’s card. There are costs involved, but this ensures that visitors have access to a printer during their time at UCT.

Get started with MPS in three easy steps

Students and visitors

  1. You can either install the Papercut client on your laptop or use the mobile printing option.
  2. Ensure that you have enough print credits. You can either purchase these online or at the Xerox pay points located at the Oppenheimer document centre (Upper Campus) and Anatomy Building (Health Sciences Campus).
  3. Once you’re ready to print, go to one of the Xerox printers located across campus and release your print job. The first time you use a Xerox machine, you will need to create a 4-digit PIN, which you must enter each time you release a print job.

UCT staff            

  1. You can either install the Papercut client on your laptop or use the mobile printing option.
  2. Once you’re ready to print, go to one of the Xerox printers located across campus and release your print job. The first time you use a Xerox machine, you will need to create a 4-digit PIN, which you must enter each time you release a print job.

If you forget your staff or student card at home, no need to stress. You can still use a Xerox machine by logging on with your UCT username and password.

Departmental printing

UCT faculties and departments can also sign up with MPS. You’ll be billed monthly, and pay using your UCT cost centre and fund number. What’s even better is that departments no longer have to purchase their own printer consumables such as toner and paper. These expenses are included in the monthly contractual amount.

The key difference between MPS and other service providers is that MPS uses a print-per-page model, so you only pay for what you use. The best part is that through MPS’s device monitoring service, they will immediately detect when there is an issue, a paper or toner shortage, or if maintenance is required. Bytes will then take care of all of this without you needing to contact them or pay additional costs, delivering an efficient, cost-saving solution.

ICTS and the Engineering and Built Environment (EBE) faculty’s School of Architecture, Planning and Geomatics (APG) are already benefitting from this option. APG’s IT Liaison Officer, Leon Coetzee, has this to say about their MPS experience: “We run specialised 'large format devices' (plotters) for our students to output their work; often long, colour presentation banner posters or traditional drawing sheets (A0, A1, etc) with technical construction details. Some of these devices are networked and are available to our students in a 24-hour venue. Setting them up is quite specialised and we were glad to have the support of our hardware vendor (Graficomp Cape) together with Bytes Document Solutions (Xerox) to install and test them across PaperCut.

“Our devices have been working wonderfully. We get efficient technical support and remote monitoring (and management) of our print queues from MPS. Our infrastructure has worked so well that we were able to swap out and upgrade devices during the mid-year vacation with no impact on our usage. When we prepare our computer labs for use the following year, the Bytes staff are there to assist us, implement changes, and test that everything will work as planned. This support has allowed us to focus on what we want our infrastructure to do – rather than on quick-fix technical solutions, which is a refreshing change.”

If MPS can meet APG’s complex needs, then it can definitely work for your department. Contact MPS for an obligation-free quote by sending an email to UCTmps@altron.com. A representative will meet with you to assess your department’s printing needs and suggest the best option.

So, whether you’re a UCT staff member, student, or visitor, MPS has you covered.

Get support

To report a printing issue, please contact the UCT MPS Helpdesk via uctmps@altron.com or phone 021 650 4815.

Helpdesk Hours

Onsite support: 8:00 a.m. – 4.30 p.m.

Telephonic support:

Weekdays: 8:00 a.m. – 8:00 p.m.

Saturdays: 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.