Free Printing
Many universities charge for printing by making you go through some bullshit third-party program that requires you to swipe your ID card, with the program then deducting the total cost from the account on your card. So the printing process typically looks something like this: your computer-->third-party software/payment verification-->printer.
The obvious solution is to then cut out the middleman and make the file you want printed go straight from your computer to the printer.
Hooking your Computer up to the Printer
Printing Directly to the Printer's IP Address
The first thing you need to do is find the printer's IP address. Wobble on over to the actual printer and play around with the menu buttons on the printer until you get to a screen that says something along the lines of 'print printer configuration page,' (the exact directions vary from printer to printer, so play around with all of the menu options and you'll find it sooner or later. That, or you can always try going to the manufacturer's website and get a copy of the printer manual, which should have instructions on printing the configuration page). Once you get to the area that has the configuration settings, select that feature and the printer will print out a page listing all of its specifications. Somewhere on that page you'll see the IP address. Bingo bango!
Nota Bene: Some crafty network admins (or bored students) could have password-protected the printer's menu options, so you won't be able to navigate to the configuration settings area. To get around this you can either try to reset the printer (download the printer's manual from the manufacturer's website), or you could try your luck with giving the manufacturer a call and explaining that you're locked out of the printer, so could they be ever so kind as to guide you though the reset process? ;)
At any rate, after you've got the IP the next step is to setup the printer on your (or the library's) computer.
On Windows systems, click on Start-->then Settings-->then Printers and Faxes-->then right-click and click on Add A Printer-->click Next-->select 'Local printer attached to this computer' not 'network printer...', and the 'Automatically detect and install my Plug and Play printer' should be unchecked as well-->select 'Create a new port' and under 'Type of port' pick 'Standard TCP/IP Port' and hit Next-->hit Next again (at the new 'Add Standard TCP/IP Printer Port Wizard' screen)-->Enter the printer's IP where it says 'Printer Name or IP Address' and the Port Name field should automatically be filled in-->hit Next-->hit Finish-->once the 'Add Printer Wizard' pops up, select the manufacturer and model number and hit Next to install the printer drivers-->after the drivers install, select what you want to call the printer and hit Next again-->decide if you want to share the printer with others on the same network and hit Next-->print a test page to make sure your setup worked, and click Next one more time-->Assuming your test page printed, you should now see the 'you have successfully completed the Add Printer Wizard...' screen, click Finish. Congrats, you should now be able to print directly to the printer, bypassing any third-party payment bullshit.
You can find similar instructions for adding a printer via IP for Mac systems (http://itc.virginia.edu/desktop/mac/osxprinting/osxprinting.html#lpr)/*nix systems (http://en.opensuse.org/SDB:Printing_via_TCP/IP_network or perhaps http://www.inyurl.com/y4qosh) online as well.
If the above instructions are too long for you (awww...:(), some manufacturers have their own specialty programs that may make the setup a wee bit easier. For instance, for HP printers you can use their Internet Printer Connection interface, located at www.hp.com/pond/j900a/ (it'll require you to have Java installed, though there is an older executable file version floating around as well).
Keep in mind that while your computer doesn't need to be online on the same network whilst you're installing the printer/actually printing to it, you must be connected to the internet in general in order to be able to make contact with the printer (in other words, you can do this setup from your non-university internet connection at home, so long as you actually are connected to the internet).
And now that you have the printer's IP, and if the printer happens to be made by Hewlett Packard, you can play around with a little program called Hijetter (http://www.phenoelit.de/hp/), which lets you mess around with the printer's environment variables, as well as change the message the printer displays (the Phenoelit folks recommended changing 'Ready' to read something like 'Insert game token' :-D).
A great resource for further printer hacking (including tips on how to defeat printer passwords in some instances, as well as further instructions on setting up your computer to print directly to the printer's IP) is Irongeek's Hacking Network Printers site: http://www.irongeek.com/i.php?page=security/networkprinterhacking. Give it a look.
Finally, if can't get the printer's IP there may still be ways to hack the middle-man program. For instance, sandmander describes a way to transform PrintWise stations into free release station by clicking on the 'G' in the corner, entering the default login/password (admin/admin) and then manipulating the options,
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