Procedures for printing a low cost ($3) banner poster at the CIRCA
lab
Thank you to Sarah Cook for walking me through these instructions (4/2004).
The following steps are used for obtaining a poster at the CIRCA labs.
You may modify some of the parameters indicated here. These are
instructions for the LOWEST POSSIBLE COST of poster printing ($3). As a
result, the emerging poster will not be on the heaviest or glossiest
stock, and it will not be laminated. If you wish these other options,
BMS, Target Copy, and the Department of Occupational Therapy all offer
these more elaborate posters at costs of $40-$100+ dollars.
1. Produce a poster in MS Powerpoint or equivalent. The maximum printed
height of the poster is 36"; there is no maximum width, but posters
typically range from 36" to 72" in length. Thus, an optimal poster size
would have a height somewhat less than the 36" paper size height
limitation. Posters print fastest and cleanest when the document has a
white background, although this is not a formal restriction; students
have found that colored backgrounds can turn out slightly streaky.
2. Have the disk electronically available to take to the CIRCA lab
(floppy, CD-ROM, available via internet).
3. Proceed to the Computer Science and Engineering Building. This is
between the Marston Science Library and Turlington, on the main campus.
4. When you enter the main doors on the ground floor, you will see a
very large computer pool. Pick any unused computer with internet access
(which is most of them). Log on. (You will need your GATORLINK userid
and password for this purpose).
5. Load Microsoft Powerpoint, and open the document. Select the "print"
option from the File menu.
6. Select the printer with "djq" in its name. This is the large Hewlett
Packard Color Jet.
7. Modify print properties. Click the "properties" tab for the djq
printer, and change the paper size. Select "custom" paper size, and
pick (your length plus a few inches)" x 36" as the custom size. Before
printing, you might wish to go into "Page Setup" on the File menu, and
verify that your document size is less than (length above)" by 36".
Click "ok" to submit your document for printing.
8. Immediately after submitting the print job, walk back in the room to
the terminal identified as the "djq" monitor. This has an old "DOS"
interface. The monitor will prompt you to enter your gatorlink ID and
password. After this has been accepted, watch the screen carefully. You
will be prompted to "hit P" for print.
9. Screen feedback will tell you that the job has launched. Right next
to the monitor is the printer itself. A control panel on the front of
the printer alerts you to what is happening. Depending on the graphic
complexity of your document, and the number of users in front of you,
it could easily take 2-5 minutes for your document to load on the
printer. The control panel will say "receiving" during this time. It
will then take at least another 2-5 minutes for the document to print.
When the document is completed, an automatic wheel-cutter will trim and
release your document. It is now ready for rolling.
