Hi,

I am a first-year student studying ship science and one of the first things I noticed when I got here is how expensive and extortionate the printing costs are. I can understand if the university can’t afford to pay for the printing, but I’ve done a little bit of research into the costs of printer ink for the printers the university uses as well as the cost of paper, and it is clear that the university is using printing to make extra money. After quickly googling the prices of ink and paper, I worked out that the university makes:

• 207% profit on black and white double-sided A4 printing
• 226% profit on black and white single-sided A4 printing
• 762% profit on colour single-sided A4 printing
• 800% profit on colour double-sided A4 printing

These percentages were calculated using prices for individual ink cartridges, meaning that they are probably higher in reality as the university will buy them in bulk.

It just feels a bit outrageous that we have to pay such inflated prices, especially when there are assignments that require it to be printed, when we’re already paying £9,000 a year to be here.

I was just wondering if the union was already fighting this or was considering doing so.

Thanks,

Jamie Hawkins-Dady