Printing FAQs

1. Draft printing is provided by Publications Services.
2. All draft printing requires a Husky Card or Dawg-Prints Card. We cannot accept cash for any service.

We are constantly looking at ways to provide the best services at the lowest possible cost. Future policies may be implemented or changed to help us provide this service. Generally, new policies will take effect during quarter breaks, so please check back for any changes.

You can not use your own paper for draft prints, or prints on the Color or Plotter printers. It is possible to print on your own media using our Special Forms black and white printer only. The paper must be safe for our machines, however. Please bring the packaging of your paper. It must specifically say that the paper is safe for use in laser printers, preferably matching brand and model. Our current printer specifications can be found here.

We realize that printing is still necessary for school work, but we would appreciate your assistance in our efforts to reduce the heavy load of wasteful printing in our facilities. Below we detail some tips on reducing your printing. Please feel free to ask one of our help desk consultants if you need any help or have any questions. General Tips:

1. Use "Print Preview" each time before you print to make sure that you are not printing blank pages or excess parts of the document that you do not need.
2. Print duplex (double sided) from any software application to the Draft, Special or Color printer.
3. Fit as much as possible on a single page. You can reduce image, margin, or font size, or increase the number of pages that print per sheet by changing the layout to "3 up" (or "3 pages per sheet") or "4 up" ("4 pages per sheet").
4. When printing to the color printer, print a test copy to the draft printers to be sure your layout is correct. You will be charged for all color prints, please make sure that when you send your document that everything is correct. You will not be charged for errors committed by the printer or our staff members.
5. Make sure that there is truly a need for every single page that you print.
6. Do a spell check and proofread before printing the document.
7. Remember that many documents work best as electronic rather than print resources.

Reducing Printing from email:
From Pine, there are many options for reducing the number of printed pages:

1. Save your email rather than print it. You can save email in a different folder by pressing the "s" key.
2. Print duplex (double sided).
3. Use Pine's '%' (or 'y') command to print, instead of the Print command from the File menu which can result in extra blank pages being sent.
4. Increase the number of pages that print per sheet by changing the layout to "3 up" (or "3 pages per sheet") or "4 up" ("4 pages per sheet").
5. When printing multiple messages, use the select-apply option to spool all the messages together and reduce the number of cover sheets and the amount of blank space. To do this, from your INBOX, use the ";" key to select the messages you want. Make sure that you are only selecting the messages that you really need. Then the "a" key will give you a menu of command that you can apply. Finally, "%" (or "y") will print the list of messages.
6. If you have to print only part of a message, or don't need the header information, you can send a copy to yourself and keep only the part you need, or you can export it to a file and download the message. Then you can either save the message on a disk or print it with a text editor.

1. Print duplex (double sided).
2. Increase the number of pages that print per sheet by changing the layout to "3 up" (or "3 pages per sheet") or "4 up" ("4 pages per sheet").
3. Save the Web page to a disk. In addition to allowing you to take the page with you, it will also allow you to edit the page if you wish.
4. Email yourself the address of the page or simply write it down. Then you can look it up again if you need it. That way, if the page changes, you will see the updated version.
5. Reduce the font size on the page you are printing.
6. Scroll through the document to get a feel for how long it is. You can view a preview of the web page if you select "Print Preview" under the File menu. Then you will know exactly how many pages are going to print. You can choose which pages to print in the print dialog box under the print range options. Only print the ones that are absolutely needed.
7. If you only need the text and not the pictures, you can save the page as a text file and open it in Word. Or if it is only a small section that you need, you can highlight the information and copy it. Then, simply paste it into a Word document.

If you have any additional questions, other suggestions for improving printing, or if you need help with any of these suggestions, don't hesitate to ask one of our help desk consultants or you can send questions to: catalysthelp@u.washington.edu.

Draft Printing
Draft printing is provided by Publications Services. They have multiple self-serve printers distributed throughout the General Access Labs. The draft printers are selected by default on all of the lab machines. Choosing Print from the File menu of any application should send the print job to the Draft printers. There is no need to go to the Help Desk for draft printing. These print jobs can be released from any self-serve printer in the lab with a Husky Card or Dawg-Prints Card. (Note: Please use the '%' (or 'y') command to print from Pine.)

Other Printing
Color, Special Forms*, and Poster Printing are provided at the Help Desks. Please see the How do I use the Special Forms and Color printers? and How do I use the Color Plotter? sections for more detailed information on using these printers. *The Special Forms printers are used for printing on high-grade white paper, transparencies, or your own laser printer compatible paper. When using your own media, please bring the packaging that specifies that the media is "Laser Printer Compatible" to present to our staff. Paper that is not made for laser printers may damage our equipment. Printer specifications may be found here.

1. Select the Draft Printer
2. From the File menu in the application from which you wish to print, select Print.
3. Click Print. If you are printing an email message from Pine, press 'y' then click Print in the window that appears.
4. You will then be asked to supply your name and a name for your printout. This information will enable you to find your printout when you go to a self-serve printer. You may use any name you wish.
5. Go to a Publications Services self-serve printer and insert your Husky Card or Dawg-Prints Card to gain access to the system. Locate your print job, filed by the first letter of the name you provided. Select the job by single clicking on it, then click Print. Remember to take your card when the machine releases it.

1. Select the Special Forms or Color Printer
2. From the File menu of the application from which you wish to print, select Print. Change any settings that are appropriate to your needs. If you are printing on your own paper or wish to print on a transparency, make sure to select manual feed as the paper source.
3. Click Print.
4. At the front desk, inform a help desk consultant that you have sent a job to the Special Forms or Color printer, and that you have enough money on your Husky Card or Dawg-Prints Card to pay for the print. They should then ask for your login name, and release the print to the printer. If you wish to print on your own paper or on a transparency, make sure to tell the help desk consultant this before they send your print to the printer.
5. When you are given the print, make sure it printed correctly and at that time you will be asked to pay for your print.

Specific instructions will vary slightly depending on the application being used. In general:

1. Set the document size to the actual print dimension.
2. Change the printer to "Plotter."
3. Change the paper size to be large enough for the document (i.e. 36" by the length needed for the print.)
4. Print the document.
5. At the Help Desk, inform a Consultant that you have sent a plotter job and that you have enough money on your Husky Card or Dawg-Prints Card to pay for the print. They will then verify with you that the print job is set up correctly.

To select a printer on a Windows XP PC:

1. From the File menu of the application you wish to print from, select Print. A print dialog window should appear.
2. Near the top of the window is a box labeled Name. Click it, and a list of available printers should appear.
3. Click the name of the printer that you wish to send your document to.
4. At the bottom of the window, click Print.

1. From the File menu of the application you wish to print from, select Print. A print dialog window should appear.
2. In the window that appears, there should be a box labeled Printer. Click it and a list of available printers should appear.
3. Click on the name of the printer that you wish to send your document to.
4. At the bottom of the window, click Print.

To print double-sided from a Macintosh:

1. Within the program from which you wish to print (e.g., Word), click on the File menu, and select Print.
2. Near the top of the window is a box labeled "Printer:". Click it, and a list of available printers should appear. The Draft printer should be selected by default. Change this to "2-sided" then click Print.

1. From the File menu of the application you wish to print from, select "Print". A print dialog window should appear.
2. Near the top of the window is a box labeled "Name:". Click it, and a list of available printers should appear. The Draft printer should be selected by default. Change this to "2-sided" then click Print.

On a Mac:

1. From the File menu of any application, select Page Setup.
2. Under the Layout options, there is an option "Print pages per sheet" select the number of pages you want to print on a single sheet.
3. Click OK
4. Select Print from the File menu to print the document.

1. From the File menu of any application, select Print.
2. Next to the name of the printer, click on the button that says Properties
3. Make sure that you are on the Finishing tab, and under the Document Options section you can select the number pages per sheet.
4. Click on "OK" in the properties box, and click "OK" again in the print box to print the document.

When printing from a Macintosh or a PC in a LST Technology Space, one can print an E-mail message simply by typing a "%" or a "y" while viewing the message they want to print. After typing "%", the user will be asked if they want to "Print message # using "attached-to-ansi?" If this appears, simply type "y". A print dialog box will appear and simply click "Ok" to print The message. If however, it asks if you want to print to some printer other than "attached-to-ansi", your print command is setup incorrectly. To correctly set the printer:

1. Get to the main menu of Pine. (If you are in your INBOX, simply type "m" for Main Menu.)
2. Type "s" for setup.
3. Type "p" for printers
4. The very first choice should read "attached-to-ansi". Type "s" to select this.
5. Type "e" to exit, and answer "y" when it asks if you want to commit changes.
6. Now you are ready to print correctly.

*For duplex printing (both sides), $0.09 will be charged for the second side

We are always happy to hear what our clients think about our policies and facilities. If you have a comment to make, please do not hesitate to send us E-mail at catalysthelp@u.washington.edu, or fill out our feedback form at http://depts.washington.edu/sacg/services/virtualhelpdesk/feedback.php