The Hamilton Public Library will soon reset its free black-and-white printing copy credit to four pages per day.
The HPL increased the daily allowance to ten pages when it reopened in 2020 during the COVID pandemic. The change was to promote physical distancing and minimize cash transactions in branches.
Before the pandemic, the daily free print allowance was two pages.
On January 1, 2026, the daily limit will become four pages.
The HPL will charge 10 cents per page for black-and-white printing, and 20 cents per page for colour.
Most other libraries only provide one or two pages free, stated HPL Director Digital Technology and Creation Dijia Qin. “We has been the most generous library.”
“We made a decision to change from two free prints to 10 free prints, it definitely helped the community a lot but we also know this is not gonna be sustainable in the long run.”
Qin stated the HPL expects to receive $50,000 in yearly revenue from the change.
“It will help us to make sure we are able to replace printers as needed, also cover the cost on paper or other things too”
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Published: September 30, 2025
Last updated: September 30, 2025
Author: Joey Coleman
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