Networks often act up, printers somehow reassign themselves, and some teachers report that the documents their students send to the nearby printer may wind up in the art lab or the superintendent's office. And then there's the queue. Worst of all is when a class leaves the lab with printing jobs still running, thus bogging down the next class. It is a never-ending cycle. Special projects demand special and expensive supplies, some of which may damage lasers.
Students independently change size and layout options.
Student reliance on printing from electronic sources has grown so strong that the announcement of a printer going down during a class can evoke a dramatic response. It is almost a grieving. Supervising printers has become a major time investment for teachers. It is likely to grow as networks reach out of the labs and libraries and into every classroom. We can start by acknowledging we are on the cusp of a new paradigm of electronic access and storage.