Important
things to know before you start
Supported programs
Options for Connecting
Payment Options
Microsoft PowerPoint Instructions (layout and printing)
Adobe Illustrator Instructions (layout and printing)
Adobe Pagemaker Instructions (printing only)
Important
things to know before you start:
-
THIS
PROCESS TAKES TIME!
Please DO NOT expect to be able to print a poster at the last
minute. Even if all goes well, the printing process can take
up to an hour. If you experience problems, it may take days.
The MPRL does not have full time staff, so we need to make
appointments well in advance in order to ensure that a staff
person will be available to run the job. In the case
of last minute jobs, it may be impossible to contact us in
time.
PLAN ON PRINTING AT LEAST SEVERAL
DAYS IN ADVANCE!!!
- You MUST
make an appointment to print between 9:00am and 4:00pm Monday-Friday
via email. We can no longer take telephone appointments as voice
mail has proven inefficient. Contact MPCER (mpcer.plotter@nau.edu)
to set up a time and provide any feedback on services . Email
is guaranteed to receive a response within one working day.
You can also try calling, 523-1077, but we prefer email. There
is a $20 charge for making appointments. If you miss the appointment
the $20 is FORFEIT.
Otherwise the $20 will be applied to the cost of the poster.
- The cost of printing
a poster is currently $15 per linear foot. This charge applies not only to the final product,
but also any user mistakes and wasted paper. You can now pay online using a NAU account, a credit card or a personal check. The payment page is at: https://www4.nau.edu/mpcer/start.html. Choose "Poster Printing " and follow the directions. The system will automatically calculate your charges using the number of inches you printed. All credit card information is taken by the NAU eBusiness system and is not accessible by MPCER.
- There is a $40 per hour support charge for plotter jobs which
require more than 15 minutes of MPRL staff time. This charge
does not include plotting time, only set-up and help with formatting
and editing of documents. Normally, set-up takes much less than
15 minutes of staff time. We will not charge if there are technical
problems with the plotter or associated equipment. This charge
will include travel time for MPRL staff if we need to come in
after hours. You can avoid this charge by planning ahead. Make
your plotter appointment well in advance of when you need the
plot and have your document in it's final form when you bring
it to the MPRL.
- If you have to plot a document at the last minute and no MPRL
staff is available, you can have posters and maps plotted at
Kinko's Flagstaff (1423 South Plaza Way, 779-5159). Kinko's
hours are 6AM to 11PM Monday through Saturday and 6AM to 5PM
on Sunday. They charge $10 per square foot for large format
color printing, as opposed to the $15 per linear foot that the
MPRL currently charges. This means that Kinko's prices are approximately
three times the MPRL's assuming a full width plot. Additionally,
Kinko's will do a proof print for you, so that you can check
that fonts, images and formatting are correct. They charge $5
for each proof. They do not do soft proofing (ie. on screen
proofing). Kinko's is more expensive than the MPRL, but they
do good work and are open evenings and weekends.
Supported
Programs:
These are programs
that are installed on MPRL computers. You may use other programs
if you print from your own computer over the network.
Options
for Connecting to the Plotter:
- Over the network
through Juniper: THIS OPTION IS
NO LONGER AVAILABLE. You must
make an appointment via e-mail or phone and come to Peterson Hall, rm 321, to make plots.
- In person: Make
an appointment to come to Peterson hall room 327 between
9:00 and 4:00 M-F.. See the notes
above on making an appointments.
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Microsoft
PowerPoint2000 Instructions
Poster
layout:
- The whole poster
is a single slide. Make sure you do not have multiple slides in your Powerpoint file.
- The
maximum page height for this plotter is 42 inches.
Length is essentially unlimited.
- In File:Page
Setup, set the poster dimensions. The maximum page size
in PowerPoint is 56 inches. If your poster length or width exceeds
56 inches (as they usually do), use page setup to set dimensions
to half the final size. For example, if the final dimensions
of the poster need to be 42"x80", set the height to
21 and the width to 40.
- Do not put any
content within ½ inch of the slide margin. It is helpful
to display Rulers to do this (View:Ruler; markers
are in inches)
- Compose your
poster
NOTE: If you use PowerPoint
97 to compose the poster, then try to open it on one of our computers
before printing, all items may not plot as they appear on the screen.
We STRONGLY recommend composing in 2000
or XP, but if this is not possible,
either send the poster to the plotter from a remote computer, or
allot extra time and money for possible printing errors.
Printing
the poster: (Remember: Only MPRL
Staff can run Plotter Jobs)
- Select File:Print
- Printer Name
should be Juniper/HP Designjet 800PS (or if you're on Juniper,
just HP Designjet 800PS)
- Select Properties
(if using Pagemaker 6.5, select Setup)
- Set orientation
(portrait or landscape) the same as the page setup
in PowerPoint
- For paper
size, the radio button for Roll should be selected.
Then in the drop down menu next to Size:, scroll down
and select Edit Paper List
- Enter the same
dimensions as in page setup in PowerPoint. Select OK.
- If poster has
color, change Quality to Best (Enhanced), and
change Optimize to Images
- If you set the
dimensions to 1/2 the final size in PowerPoint, select Scale
to Fit button. Select Apply this Scale Factor, and
change to 200%. Select OK.
- Double check
that orientation and paper size are correct, then select OK
to exit and save changes to properties.
- Select OK to
print. It will take several minutes to send poster to the plotter.
DO NOT RESEND! The print manager in the lower right corner of
the monitor will track spooling progress, as will the display
window on the plotter itself. When spooling is complete, plotter
will begin printing.
- The poster may
take 30 to 60 minutes to print, depending on length. You should
check on it periodically to make sure that it's printing right.
If you notice a mistake that needs correcting, press Cancel
on the plotter. It will stop printing and cut the paper automatically.
You can correct the mistake and reprint the project, and you
must pay for the length of the mistake.
- When the poster
is done, the plotter will cut the paper automatically. Inform
MPRL staff that you are done, and fill out the sign-in sheet
in its entirety.
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Adobe
Illustrator 8.0 Instructions
NOTE:
We have experienced far more problems printing
in Illustrator than in PowerPoint. Therefore, we recommend
using PowerPoint if at all possible, especially if you are in a
hurry. We understand that many people don't like PowerPoint, but
the PLOTTER doesn't
like Illustrator, and that's really all that matters. We are working
to resolve as many of these issues as possible.
- Keep the file
size as small as possible! We've had several problems with file
sizes over 600 MB where the project simply did not print. We
don't know exactly what the limit is.
- Select File
| Document Setup to set orientation, paper size, and output
resolution (300 dpi is the maximum for the plotter).
- Compose your
poster.
- When ready to
print, again select File | Document Setup and click the Print
Setup... button. Select the HP Design Jet 800 printer and configure
the appropriate application size and scaling/fit to page settings
and orientation.
- Finally, place
the cursor over the "Hand Button" on the Tool Box.
Left click, hold, and select the "Box" option. Now,
when you click in the graphic window a gray box will appear.
Align this gray box so that your graphic in entirely enclosed
within it. [If the paper size as represented by the gray box
is larger than your poster, align the box so that the poster
is to the right (landscape) or top (portrait). This will reduce
paper waste if you need to cancel the job early in the plotting
process.]
- You should now
be ready to File | Print.
See
printing instructions above.
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last
updated: 21 April 2005 PLH
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