How Princh elevated Amherst Town Library’s printing services

The Amherst Town Library, constructed in 1892, is situated in the beautiful, historic village district of Amherst in south-central New Hampshire.

Located within an hour’s drive to the city of Boston, Amherst is a quintessential New England community that has retained its rural aesthetic.

The library has been renovated to integrate modern amenities while still preserving the library’s historic architectural elements. The library serves a community of approximately 12,000 residents. It acts as a vital community center and has been named as one of the top five public libraries in New Hampshire by the American Public Library Ratings. The library is supported by an outstanding community of volunteers and an award winning Friends of the Library group, while also being a member of the 12 library GMILCS Consortium.

The Amherst Town Library’s mission is “Connecting people, stories, and ideas.”

The library began offering wireless printing in 2013. We had noticed that our patrons preferred to bring their own devices, rather than use on of the library’s public computers, making wireless printing a necessity.

Our previous solution involved installing print drivers on a web server and creating custom scripts for patrons to run and install on their own device. Very often, this process was too complicated for patrons to complete unassisted, requiring considerable staff time. Likewise, not all of our staff had the technical skills or time to assist patrons and didn’t feel comfortable making changes to settings on a patron’s personal device.

While the solution advertised that patrons could print from Windows, OS X, Linux, Android, iOS and Chrome OS, we were only successful in setting up service for some versions of Windows and iOS. Similarly, other settings were not straightforward, such as configuring printing charges, especially duplex.

Ultimately, in 2017, when we updated the library printers with new hardware, we could no longer find compatible drivers for the service.

In looking for a new solution, we wanted a product that was easy to use and intuitive for both patrons and staff. Compatibility with a variety of devices (laptops, tablets and phones) was important as well. When the current copier lease runs out, we don’t want to be forced to change our solution again.

We inquired with a few other companies, but they required too much staff intervention or weren’t compatible with our current hardware.

When we learned about Princh, it instantly appealed to us. Princh promised an easy-to-use interface and app. The ability to accept payment via credit/debit card or mobile payment options, like Apple Pay, was also appealing.

We arranged for a brief demo of how the service worked. Following the overview, the Princh staff answered all of our questions, including questions about privacy.

Using the Princh map, we located a few nearby libraries that were already customers and asked them about their experience. Hearing mostly positive reviews, we signed on without any reservations.

Installing Princh was a very simple process! The Princh support staff set up a remote session and walked us through each step and it only took minutes. Princh also offered a web training for our entire staff so they could get comfortable with the new service.

Princh provided support and promotional materials, such as posters, to advertise prices and paper sizes. We also used the Princh welcome center to include promotions in our email newsletter, on our website and on our Facebook page. Their website also has brief tutorials that were great for staff to get a refresher on how to use the administration panel to release print jobs.

The difference between our previous solution and Princh is like night and day. Once we introduced the service, patrons were completely self-reliant. They do no need instructions, as they are guided through each step of the process instinctively. Instead of getting frustrated, patrons and staff have been pleasantly surprised at how easy it is to print.