HIT: Color printing

[Monica Carollo <mcarollo@OMNIFEST.UWM.EDU>]

Thank you to everyone who responded to my query about color printer philosophy
and usage in elementary schools.  Of the several respondents, few actually
have
extensive experience with their usage, and due to the current cost of color
printing, do not  have plans to be use them extensively at this point in time.

I have chosen to include slightly edited responses rather than just
summarizing,
as each contains unique information that may be of help on this issue.
Monica Carollo
mcarollo@omnifest.uwm.edu
Cumberland School, Whitefish Bay WI

From Barb Hansen in Nebraska:
We are using MACs and have HP and Apple color printers (ink jet) the
journals say it costs about $1 per sheet to use a color printer--from MAC
World in 1994, I think.  Students do not use them at the Jr. High,
they do some for final copies at the elementary schools.

From DeAnn Hoff at Mackin Book Co. in Minnesota:
My home printer is a Hewlett Packard Deskwriter 540C.  It prints either with
black cartridges or with a tri-color cartridge.  It's around $275.00, and does
a
nice job, but you have to switch the cartridge back and forth for the color
printing.  You can also purchase the 560C which has both the color cartridge
and
the black cartridge so that you don't have to switch constantly.  The ink
cartridges seem to last a good long time.
If you have the money to spend on a really good color printer, I am very
impressed with the Epson Color Stylus.  It costs about $520.00, but it does a
very nice job, especially when you use special coated paper.

From Linda Kurtz:
My school is grades 5-12.  I have a laser printer and two dot matrix printers
available for student use.  All are black and white.  I considered getting
color but given the exorbitant amount of printing done by the younger
students, I decided against it.  It's too expensive.  If you have totally
controlled printing, then color is a great idea, especially for multimedia.

From Janet Rawdon in Newton MA:
Monica, One of my schools just got its first color Stylewriter printer
for the Mac.  It was given to the Library  because it is able to be networked
with two computers.   Since the color cartridge is so expensive we don't want
to
have the color element made free use of.  If it is difficult to get to,
we figure it will be wisely and seldom used except for really good
reasons.  The printer is out in the Library with the black ink cartridge
in it; the color one is in my office.  So far there has been little call
to use the color.
From anonymous(--sorry, I lost your name!):


 Our school recently purchased HP340 color printers for each classroom.
They were quite inexpensive (around $250) and have such a nice finished
look for the kids'(and teacher') work.  They do have a separate cartridge
which must be loaded each time, and when using color, the black is not
quite as black as it could be.  But we felt that it was definitely the
better way to go (as compared to Imagewriters).  We are still keeping
some Imagewriters around, especially in the lab, because printing is
faster than with the inkjets.  We can also do Print Shop Deluxe banners
better with the Imagewriters.  HP is also now making a 660 model that is
a little more expensive, I think, but is a good model.

Duncan Grey in Huntingdon, U.K.:
My philosophy is to avoid them at all costs for as long as
possible. Colour printing is delightful but frighteningly costly. One
colour print photocopied and used in class means one expensive colour
printer, expensive cartridges, a colour photocopier, more tech help needed
to balance the colour, more cost per print - and then the class complains
to the other teachers giving them boring old black & white!
I reckon you easily add thousands to your reprographics bills with very
little increase in learning.

From Nancy Waite in Fayetteville, AR:
We just unpacked a color printer for the library.
 We will be networked with "print lines."  As I
understand it we will have a laser printer, color printer, ink jet and
dot matrix.  All the computers in the school can access any of these
four.  We are in the beginning stages of determining which printer will
be used for which activities and realize that guidelines have to be set
for teacher and student use.

From Bob Eiffert in Vancouver, WA:
We have HP color Deskwriters (Mac550c) about 12, and 4 laserprinters B&W,
some networked.<We are in middle of tech planning and setup>   Yeah, we
have lots of cards for birthdays being printed, but we also have
 apology cards being printed too. Lots of maps from
CDs, some KidPix works, QuickTake shots of weird expressions, but also
good documentaries done also.
I put in about 3-4 color cartridgess/computer/yr.
The Kids and the Teachers are in the middle of transitions
 from drill and Kill, to integrated, Brain Compatable, 7
intelligences  multi-age, etc.
If we were to be 'administrative' and make lots of rules i.e. who when what
to print, we wouldn't be making the discoveries we are. The kids wouldn't
get as turned on, teachers wouldn't learn, and the major mistake would be
we would be making the assumption that we can add the tech, not use the
tech....
We used to make the kids copy off the blackboard, then we budgeted for
mimio masters, now we pay the xerox repairmen, tomorrow we buy printer
cartridges....

Yes!   "Are we supposed to be thinking of
printing to video and computer screen instead of paper for programs such as
Storybook Weaver and Kid Pix?"  Yes!   Or as NewsPages asks, Do you
_still_ get your news from dead trees?  This is the problem we
face--switching from a piece of student paper we can mark up with our red
pencils, to adding comments and positive crit as an appended file to a
student generated project!

The learning that happens (and the teaching that makes it happen) when a
kid uses  a CD to find and print a map  is _different_ than when (s)he
sits and colors a handout. It is a new way of looking, thinking,
processing. Make the assignment different! If you want a colored map, you
got a colored map.

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