Printing and Scanning

Printing and Scanning

Important information

The section "Selecting the right printer" is subject to change after Spring 2020 as part of a transition to the PaperCut NG service and print release stations.

Selecting the right printer

All computers should be pre-configured with the appropriate printers for their location. When printing, be sure you have the correct printer specified in the print dialog box. Sometimes it will default to Save as PDF. As a reminder, the typical page size in the United States is Letter (8.5”x11”). Printing with A4 paper size selected may produce unintended results.

  • For black and white documents, use the “mono-laser”, such as 139-mono-laser
  • For color documents on letter-size or tabloid size paper (11”x17”), use “color-laser”, such as 173-color-laser
  • For posters that are 24”x36” or 36”x48”, use the plotter. Do not attempt to print on Letter or Tabloid-size paper from the plotters.

To ensure efficient use of plotter ink, I’ve removed the feed trays and attempting to insert sheets of paper will jam the plotter or worse.
 

Changing the plotter paper

Watch this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i6_5CVWcTtg

Pay attention to the orientation of the paper. When you place the spindle back in the printer, the end of the paper should be facing toward you. Make sure the ends of the roll are firmly on the spindle; both ends should be flush to the roll. Definitely feel free to see me if you need help. 

The HP plotter paper rolls are taped down from the factory with tape that rips the paper off. Also, Davis is particularly dusty, and it relentlessly gets everywhere, so your hands might smudge the paper even if you’re a frequent handwasher. If you’re comfortable wasting about 6” of paper, that part can be cut by doing the following:

  • Pull down the menu on the screen, then tap the gear icon
  • Scroll down to Form Feed & Cut, then tap Form Feed 5 times, followed by Form Feed and Cut

Common paper sizes

The following are the most frequently used paper sizes here and should cover most print jobs you’ll print. I highly recommend creating documents and illustrations that are proportionate to these sizes, else it’ll be difficult or impossible to appropriately scale the printout:

  • Arch D--24”x36”, typical poster size
  • Arch E--36”x48”, typical big poster size
  • Tabloid--11”x17”
  • U.S. Legal--8.5”x14”, not as commonly used but we have a bunch of legal-size paper and I’ve noticed folks using it
  • U.S. Letter-8.5”x11”

Plotter scanner isn't working

Turn it off and back on again. Because of the design of the scanning elements on the plotters, it relies on proper calibration. Unfortunately, it’s not possible for you or I to manually initiate this except by turning the printer off and on.

Stuck print job

Text/see me, I have to clear it on the server itself but I can do that at my desk.

Changing ink and toner

  • Plotter: the door is on the back right of the machine. The carts pull out easily. Gently tilt the new cart back and forth a 5-10 times and then insert it into the printer. When replacing them, note that they’re “keyed”, with notches that prevent installing it incorrectly. It’d take effort to put them in wrong. See https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DFj9PzCokok
  • Color laser printer: open the front door and slide the cartridge out. Replace with a new cartridge in the same orientation as the others. These too are keyed. See https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-jy5CTUf8wY
  • Monochrome/black and white laser printer: see me, I use generics in these that get a bit “leaky”