Plotting Information

Creating & Plotting Posters

You are welcome to plot on your own, but for best plotting results, we recommend that you make an appointment with one of our Student Lab Technicians to assist you or even create your plot for you.

We recommend that you read the CTSS large format guidelines prior to building your plots.

Below are links to basic guides for plotting your documents.
Plotting with the Big Plotter
Plotting with the Little Plotter

Where are the plotters?

ENS supports two plotters, both in the Magellan Design Studio.

The GIS plotter, located in the GIS Computer Classroom, has a restricted access list which is controlled by the Civil & Environmental Engineering department.

The Morgan Library has a plotter available for use by students. Other locations in town which may have paid plotting services includes FedEx Kinko's.

How do I connect to the plotters?

Before you plot, you must connect (map) to a plotter. The plotters are no longer automatically connected on lab computers. To connect to a plotter:

1. Click the Windows button and type '\\labprinters' (without the quotes). Click OK.
2. Find the printer you're looking for on the list and double-click it. (The plotter's name is printed on the plotter itself.)
3. After a few moments, you should now be able to print to it.

General Plotting Tips

• Preview, preview, preview! This will save you from wasting print quota.
• Don't wait until the last minute. A successful plot can take several hours from start to finish. This does not count unsuccessful plots. During E-Days, you and everyone else are trying to plot at the same time.
• Plot during regular ENS Help Desk hours, in case you need help or there is a problem with the plotter.
• Check your print balance before you start to make sure you have enough print quota for your plot.
  
  • Plotting costs are here.
  • If you need to purchase more print quota, you must do so at the ENS Help Desk during regular hours.
• The smaller the output file that you send to the plotter, the more reliably and faster it plots. (We suggest you keep the output file under 100 MB.)
• The higher the Print Quality you set, the slower it will plot.
• Consider converting your file to a unviersal format like a PDF document or JPEG image file to plot. See our instructions to convert a file to JPEG.
• Make an appointment with a Lab Technician.
• Please be patient, positive and prepared.

General Plotting Courtesty

• Do not cancel someone else's print job at the plotter! If you need assistance with this, please contact ENS.
• Avoid darker colors or high DPI posters, if possible. They take longer and use up more ink.