//plotting tutorial

1. Getting Started
2. Starting Adobe
3. Page Sizing
4. Printing
5. Fingers crossed

Getting Started

STEP 01

The first step in plotting is exporting your file to a USB. Please refer to the page FILE HELP for more information on exporting properly. At SALA to plot you must use a USB with one of the workstations that are around your studio spaces. You can use a google drive or otherwise for file download but USB is absolutely best practice

STEP 02

The next step is to log into the workstations. Your username should be your UBC ID followed by .stu. For example johnapple.stu , your password is the same as your UBC login. If you login correctly you should see a pop up in the top right corner of the Home Screen showing you your pay-for-print balance.

Starting Adobe

STEP 03

Next plug your USB into a workstation and open your PDF in ADOBE ACROBAT. If it prompts you to sign in to Adobe, type in the username space: student.ubc.ca. After this you may need to input your CWL credentials.

STEP 04

After finishing the previous steps with a PDF open in Adobe Acrobat you are ready to plot. Type either Command+P or go to File>Print.

Page Sizing

STEP 05

The first option you want to select is the printer: either LASR300-DJZ6-A or LASR300-DJZ6-B.

Both plotters are the same model with the same inks and capable of printing in colour, so you are welcome to select whichever is available or has a shorter queue. 

STEP 06

The next setting we need to check is the page size, typically if you are using the plotters it means you are looking to print something larger than an 11×17. If you look at the Page Sizing & Handling section, click on the ACTUAL SIZE option and if it looks like your plot is getting cutoff we will need to custom scale the paper size. 

STEP 07

Go to the PROPERTIES tab (it is beside where we selected which printer we are using). Clicking it will take you to a separate menu. Click the Paper/Quality tab and look at Paper Options. Click the Custom button and type in the dimensions of your page.

STEP 08

If you are unsure of the dimensions of your PDF, exit out of the print menu and in Adobe Acrobat, click File>Properties to bring up the Document Properties Tab there it will tell you your file size in Kb or MB and the document dimensions. 

Printing

STEP 09

Your width is limited to a maximum dimension of 42” or 106cm, the length can be essentially as long as you’d like. You should try however to keep the width smaller than 42”, keeping it larger could cause images to get cutoff. 

STEP 10

You can also change the Print Quality option in this tab, however the middle option is usually perfect for all applications. 

Once verifying that the print size matches the file size you can click Print and it will send it to the release computer (Located between the plotters).

Fingers crossed

STEP 11

Go to the release computer and swipe your card, here you can send your file to the plotters. This is the last point before your account will be charged, so if you send a file and you know you did something incorrect you are able to cancel it here. 

STEP 12

Pray to the print gods that your plot turned out properly. If all you efforts fail please don’t hesitate to contact the plotter technician for some assistance.