Quotas, Print Funds, and Account History

  • Semesterly and Weekly Print Quotas do not have any dollar value other than for printing and do not carry over.
  • Quota is measured per sheet of paper printed, not per printed side.
  • CUIT weekly quotas reset between Saturday night and Sunday morning; specifically every Sunday at 12:10 AM ET, just after midnight.
    • CUIT weekly quota funds are reset each week to the maximum weekly amount per the table below, even if there are unused quota funds from the previous week.
  • Semesterly quotas for most schools are refreshed on the following days:
    • Fall - August 30th
    • Spring - January 1st
    • Summer - May 20th
  • Semesterly quotas for the Columbia Business School are refreshed on the following days:
    • Fall - August 16th
    • Spring - January 1st
    • Summer - May 24th

Related Links

PawPrint Center
Upgrade Your PawPrint Quota
PawPrint Drivers for Faster Printing
PawPrint Printer Locations
PawPrint FAQ
Columbia Print Services
Administrative Printing — Badger

When you print a document, funds will be automatically be deducted from your quota. Funds are not deducted until the document is actually printed at a PawPrint station. If your quota balance reaches $0, funds will be deducted from any Printing Dollars you have purchased. If your print job does not print because of a printer issue, PawPrint will list the job as failed and will mark the job as a "Free Print." You can then go to any other PawPrint station and print the job without incurring any further deduction of Quota or Printing Dollars.

Most students located across the Morningside, Manhattanville, and Barnard campuses receive a printing quota for use on PawPrint printers. Anyone with an active UNI can use PawPrint by purchasing Printing Dollars. In some cases, faculty are provided with a Printing Quota by their school, which can be used to print with PawPrint. Note: Columbia University Medical Center maintains its own standalone printing quota management systems, which cannot be used at PawPrint locations.

Weekly Quota: Most graduate students will receive a weekly printing quota from CUIT, that can be used to print at any PawPrint location, CUIT Weekly Quotas have no dollar value other than for printing and do not carry over week to week. 

Semesterly Quota: Undergraduate students in Columbia College, the School of Engineering and Applied Science, the School of General Studies, and Barnard College, graduate students in the School of Social Work, and students in the Columbia Business School, along with most faculty receive a Semesterly Quota. Semesterly Quotas have no dollar value other than for printing and do not carry over from semester to semester.

Printing Dollars: Printing Dollars are funds that a student or faculty member may add as additional printing dollars outside of their CUIT Weekly Quota and Semesterly Quota. These funds may be used to print at any PawPrint station. Once purchased, Printing Dollars are non-refundable.

How to Check Your Printing Quota Balances: You can see quota balances and activity history in the PawPrint Center.

* Any CSSW student who exceeds their PawPrint quota, should email [email protected] for guidance.

Printing Quota Upgrades for Graduate Students: Printing quota upgrades (aka "extended printing accounts") are a way for graduate students (only) to temporarily upgrade their printing quota from $2.00 per week (20 black-and-white sheets) to $10.00 per week (100 black-and-white sheets.)

  • Upgraded printing quotas expire from week-to-week, and don't carry over.
  • Upgrading your printing quota attaches a $35 charge to your Student Account. The $35 charge is non-refundable and cannot be prorated.
  • An account upgrade lasts through the end of the current semester.
  • Graduate students are encouraged to upgrade immediately after the start of each semester where you anticipate needing an upgrade. 
  • Upgraded printing quotas can be purchased on the Graduate Student Quota Upgrade site. This transaction will not be finalized (reflected in your quota) until you have logged into PawPrint Center.

Student Officers: TAs formally designated by their department as a Student Officer in the identity management system automatically receive an upgraded quota and should not attempt to purchase the upgrade themselves. For the fastest resolution, Student Officers without an upgraded quota should first speak with their mentor or Departmental Administrator to confirm their status as formal Student Officers before contacting CUIT.

Teachers College Students: TC students cannot upgrade online. They must purchase the upgrade through TC Information Technology.

There are two funding options to use PawPrint:

  • Your Printing Quota has no value outside of PawPrint and unused quota cannot be refunded for any return value.
  • The quota your school provides (you’ll have either Weekly and/or Semesterly Quotas)
  • You may buy additional amounts, called Printing Dollars.

 When printing, funds are deducted from your account in this order:

  1. First the Weekly Quota is used, if you have one. When that reaches $0.00,
  2. ...then the Semesterly Quota is used, if you have one. When that reaches $0.00,
  3. ...then Printing Dollars are used.

Once all funds run out, you will no longer be able to print until either your quota is refreshed or more Printing Dollars are purchased.

How to Add Funds

  1. Click on the Add Funds link in the PawPrint Center, in the Payment method box at the bottom left of the screen.
  2. Enter the dollar amount you would like to add with a minimum of $5.00 (if adding dollars and cents, enter the amount using a decimal point: 5.10, 7.50, etc.).
  3. Please note: There is no transaction fee to add funds.
  4. Click the checkbox next to I agree to pay the total above. Please note: Funds are nonrefundable.
  5. Click Continue to Payment.
  6. Follow the payment instructions on the next screen.
  • Students, faculty and staff with a valid UNI and password may purchase Printing Dollars.
  • Once purchased, Printing Dollars are nonrefundable.
  • In the event of a printing error (faded, crumpled, etc.), you may ask to have a credit refunded to your PawPrint account.
  • Library Guests will need to obtain a UNI by going to the Library Information Office in 201 Butler.

Printing Dollars are used when you need to print but have exceeded your allotted quota or are not eligible for a printing quota. Printing Dollars are credits towards printing, at a rate of 10 black-and-white sheets or 1 color sheet per $1.00. While printing quotas are reset every week and semester, Printing Dollars are "durable"—they carry over as long as your UNI account remains valid. However, please note that once purchased, Printing Dollars are nonrefundable.

Anyone with a valid UNI may purchase Printing Dollars, which are automatically added to your account for use at any PawPrint station.

How to Buy Printing Dollars:

  • Printing Dollars can be purchased with a credit card at https://pawprint.columbia.edu/. Log in with your UNI, then click “Add Funds” at the bottom left of the screen and follow the instructions.
  • Printing Dollars can be purchased in any amount above the $5 minimum, and is added to your account when you see the confirmation message indicating a successful purchase. Because Printing Dollars are nonrefundable, it is recommended that you only purchase what you plan to use; more can always be added later.
  • Credit card holders with non-U.S./Canadian mailing addresses may experience problems completing transactions.

The PawPrint Center (https://pawprint.columbia.edu/) allows you to view your currently queued print jobs, your job history, and current balances for your Weekly and Semesterly Quotas and Printing Dollars.

Overview:

Go to the PawPrint Center (https://pawprint.columbia.edu/) from a web browser:

  • Log in with your UNI and password.
    • Note: The PawPrint Center does not use the standard CAS login interface you may be accustomed to seeing when logging into our systems, but is a secured system.
       
  • Once logged in, you will be able to view:
    • Your Job List, showing any print jobs currently queued but not yet printed.
    • Your Activity, providing a history of prints, Quota refreshes and any Printing Dollars you have added.
    • Your Total Quota + Printing Dollars, displaying all your available printing funds.
    • An Add Funds link, allowing you to purchase additional Printing Dollars.