Usage of Plotter Printers

Owned by Preston Pierce
Last updated: Nov 06, 2024 by Wayne Chen

General Printing Information

For the large format plotters, there is currently a $20 fee per poster.  These printers are provided as a service and are funded by IGPP NetOps charges and printing fees.  For this reason, printing is prohibited for those outside of IGPP.

For those outside of IGPP requiring printing to large format plotters, visit Imprint https://blink.ucsd.edu/facilities/imprints/index.html for more info.

For a list of IGPP printers sortable by models, rooms, and capabilities.

Plotter Printers

The IGPP HelpDesk currently provides two plotter printers named goya and scott for printing posters.

     




Fees

Print jobs cost $20, this fee helps pay for the ink, printheads, maintenance, and paper.  When printing a poster, leave your name, recharge number, and other information on the clipboard next to the printer.

Note: SDSU students should use "SDSU" for the recharge number. 


Paper


36" matte and 42" glossy paper is preloaded on Scott.

Printing from macOS, please do the following to select the desired roll:

  • Open the poster.pdf with /Applications/Preview.app
  • Select from menu Files > Print...
  • Select the Printer scott.ucsd.edu, correct Paper Size and Orientation for your poster
  • scroll down and expand Printer Options > click the "i" next to Printer Settings
  • From Paper Source select the desired roll that you wish to print from and click Ok.

If the roll is empty, please contact the IGPP Helpdesk so we can change the paper.

PLEASE DO NOT attempt to change the paper rolls on plotters, this will result in back-logging the print queue and will waste supplies. 

Drivers

All managed machines have all IGPP printers and plotters drives pre-installed and ready to use.  For self-managed machines, you can find the drivers for your system linked here. Be sure to install the PostScript 3 Driver and choose the operating system that you are running because the drivers are OS-specific. 

To add the plotter in macOS, perform the following: 

  1. Click on the Apple symbol on the top, left-hand corner.
  2. Click System Preferences
  3. Click on the Printers & Scanners icon.
  4. Click the plus Add Printer, Scanner, or Fax... to add the printer.
  5. Click the "globe" underneath Add printer.
  6. Enter the "scott.ucsd.edu" as the address, and set the protocol to Internet Printing Protocol (IPP)
  7. on the dropdown menu next to Use, select the Epson Postcript protocol for the Epson SureColor SC-P8500D.
  8. Click Add

MacOS Ventura and above Background Items

AGU Conference

During the month of AGU, glossy paper print jobs will be provided by the Helpdesk at the normal rate of $20 per poster. Glossy paper supplies are limited, so please only use glossy paper for the final draft of your poster. Rough drafts should be printed on 11x17 or matte.


Printing to a Plotter Printer

Suggested method is to print a pdf file. 

  1. Convert document to be printed to a pdf.  
  2. View the pdf file using Adobe Preview app.  Right-click on the file > Open with > select Preview
  3. Select File > Print
  4. Select printer goya
  5.  Select Show Details
  6. Next, select Paper Size 
  7. Select the correct paper size and print.


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If you need further assistance, please contact IGPP HelpDesk.