Digital Output

Students in the School of Architecture can get large format digital plots, and color Tabloid and Letter prints at a reduced price through the School's Digital Output center.

Plotting is available at all hours. There are monitors who will oversee the lab and will be maintaining paper and ink supplies.

Plot credits are obtained by adding funds to your husky card.

The computers in the lab are to be used for printing only, no other editing or changing of files once in the lab will be allowed. The computers attached to the printers are set up for Acrobat PDF files only. Files should be prepared ahead of time to minimize time spent on the machines.

PC Users are encouraged to use CutePDF as a standard print driver for the creation of Acrobat files. Please download and install it here.

Large format plotting is on a per sheet basis. Each plot from the 1055 printers is $6.50 regardless of size (up to 24 x 36 inches). Plots on the Laser printer are $1.50 per page.

PRINTING TIPS

• CHOOSE the correct page size in the print driver. (File --> Print Setup or Properties button on Reader print window). Make sure you have it right. ARCH D is 24” x 36”.
• DO NOT uncheck "Auto-Rotate and Center" on the print window in Reader.
• DO NOT check "Choose Paper Source By PDF Size" on the print window in Reader, as this can cause printing errors.
• DO NOT change page scaling value (should not make enough of a difference on its own but could be a contributing factor).
• DO NOT change the page size at all when plotting from the application.  (This could also be where a user assumes that checking "Choose Paper Source By PDF Size" will automatically print the document correctly.)
• If you have a file that has a lot of vector and raster information combined, consider changing some of the vector images to TIFFs in photoshop. The printer is basically RIP-ing (Raster Image Processing) the file to raster anyway, so if you help it along the way that is a good thing.
• If a plot has a LOT of vector information (large site plans with topo, many trees in plans, etc), you can click the 'Advanced' button at the bottom of the print window and choose "Print As Image" to ensure everything is rasterized. This can sometimes fix output issues from PDFs with mixed data.
• The lab is standardized on 24” x 36” sheet size, as it is more reliable and less prone to print failure. If you need a larger board, design it to the size you need, and print in two or more pieces. It will save you time in the printing process.
• Finally, printing in the lab is an at-risk proposition. The school cannot be held responsible for a print that does not succeed in plotting. If you have a plot that has failed, please see a lab monitor. They will assess the cause and determine if a reimbursement is valid.