There is a wide format printer available in the Print Shop in 06 Old Chemistry. Entry to the room is by DukeCard and all Nicholas School students should have access. Suggested settings are below. A laminator is also available.

Use PowerPoint to create your poster. From the menu go to File-Page Setup and choose Size=Custom. The plotter paper is 42" wide, so choosing Width=39.4", Height=27.9" and Orientation=Landscape should give you a slide proportionate to standard 8.5" by 11" paper with sufficient margins. In any case, you should create your poster in the dimensions of it's finished size - not letter-sized.

Create your graphs in Illustrator or SPlus, but export them as .wmf files for import into PowerPoint. You can then edit the graphs from within PowerPoint.

To print to the plotter, open your file in the appropriate program. Don't use the print icon from within the application, as this will immediately send the job to the Color LaserJet, the default printer. Use the File-Print menu option to bring up the printing options.

Choose the print connection designjet 5000.

Click on the Print or OK button to send the job.

Depending on the size and complexity of your poster, it might take a few minutes for the plotter to receive your print job. The console on the front of the device will tell you if it's processing your data. A memory error message indicates something which is too big to rasterize or, more likely, a mismatch between your page setup parameters in PowerPoint and the printer driver.

Some jobs might take 10–15 minutes. Usually, it is apparent that a job is going to print correctly after a few inches have emerged from the printer. If the output doesn't look as expected, press the Cancel Job button on the righthand side of the console. After the poster is printed, the plotter waits five minutes to let the ink dry, then cuts the paper automatically.

The plotter is billed at $12/linear foot. Enter the number of feet used on the form on the clipboard along with the fund code to be billed. If you'd like to schedule a time for a member of the IT staff to help you print to the plotter, email Nicholas IT. A minimum of two days notice is requested.