Ink Jet Printing

The Grad Lab has Epson P20000, P9000, 9900 and P5000 Ink Jet printers capable of printing on a variety of roll paper from 24” and 64” wide. These printers are capable of producing fine art and photographic quality prints on a wide range of paper types. Below you will find information regarding the paper types that the Lab stocks as well as pricing and other information regarding Ink Jet printing in the Lab.

 

Paper Types:

The Print Lab carries two types of paper, a coated and an uncoated. Coated papers often have some amount of sheen to the paper surface where as uncoated papers do not. The Print Lab offers 3 types of coated paper Epson Luster, Epson Glossy and Museo Silver Rag. Coated papers are dry to the touch virtually as soon as they are printed and require respectful handling to avoid scratching the paper surface or putting creases in the paper.  The Lab also caries two types of uncoated paper the Epson Enhanced Matte and Museo Portfolio Rag. Uncoated papers require quite a while to dry and while the exact time is dependent on a number of factors including temperature and humidity a good rule of thumb is to allow at least 2 to 3 days (up to a week in some cases) of lying flat for the ink to fully dry.  Before the ink has dried prints on uncoated papers can appear to have uneven or splotchy blacks and are very easily scratched. When making larger prints on uncoated papers you can consider providing glassine paper so that the Techs can use it to protect the print as it rolls in the bottom of the printer. Even once the ink has dried on an uncoated paper it requires very careful handling and is always more susceptible to surface scratches then a coated paper.

 

Pricing:

The Lab carries the following types  of roll paper:

Epson:   Glossy, Enhanced Matte, Premium Luster Photo Paper - $4.00 per a square foot

Epson: DisplayTrans, Crystal Clear - $5.00 per a square foot

Museo:  Portfolio Rag, Silver Rag  - $5.00 per a square foot

If you want to print on a type of paper not listed, please check with our print staff. Most of the time we can accommodate your request. When printing on paper that you have purchased you will be charged $2.50 per a square foot for ink.

 

Ink Jet Printing Check List

Following is a list of things to keep in mind throughout the printing process. Looking over this list and familiarizing yourself with the information on it can greatly improve the quality of your prints and your printing experience.

 

Keep in Mind:

  • Your print will take some time to both setup and print so plan ahead.
  • Students who have made a print reservation take precedence over walk-ins.

 

Before You Print:

  • Go to the Contact section of the Grad Lab web site and make a printing appointment.
  • Choose a paper type.
  • If you are printing on matte paper it is recommend that you purchase glassine to protect your print while it is being printed. Matte papers are very fragile and can be damaged by the printer without glassine.
  • Size and or tile your image(s) and make sure that your file size will fit on one of the Lab’s paper sizes.
  • Make sure that your total print length is less then 6ft and that your file size is less the about 1.5GB. You are welcome to exceed these guidelines but your print job will fall into the Print At Your Own Risk category.
  • Check your file type: TIFF or PSD highly recommended.
  • Check your ICC profile: Adobe RGB 1998 highly recommended.
  • Check your PPI: whole number multiples of 12 between 240 and 360 recommended. PPI CANNOT EXCEED 360.
  • Check your color bit depth: 8 or 16 only. CANNOT EXCEED 16.
  • Soft proof your file(s) on one of the Lab’s Proofing Stations (this is the only way to take advantage of the Lab’s color management system).
  • Make sure you have enough money on your MICARD to cover the print job.

 

Printing:

  • Bring your files on a drive or host them on a site so that the Print Lab Tech can retrieve them.
  • It is highly recommended that you have a test strip of your print made. This will allow you to get a sense of how the final print will look without paying for the full print job.
  • Let the Tech know what paper type and size you’d like to print on.
  • The Tech will ask you a series of questions to help insure that your print job looks the best it can.
  • Before making a print the Tech will ask you to pay for your print job.
  • Please note that our Epson printers will warp the size of a print unless the paper length exceeds the file size. We have found that it is necessary to add 12” in paper length to insure proper operation. It is highly recommended that you allow the Tech to add the needed 12” in paper length to your print job. Anything less then this falls into the Print At Your Own Risk category.

 

When Your Print is Finished:

  • You may use the Color Balanced Viewing Box to assess the tonal balance of your print (remember the Lab is color managed to the Viewing Box).
  • Remember that the Lab cannot store your prints or left over paper so it is in your best interest to remove them as soon as you can after printing.
  • Note that Matte Papers can take up to a week to fully dry and should be laid flat after printing to promote the drying process.

 

Print At Your Own Risk:

  • We want you to experiment!
  • We welcome any settings, materials and or ideas that fall outside of our printing guidelines as long as they do not pose a risk to our equipment.
  • You will need to meet with and run your ideas by the Coordinator before printing.
  • Unfortunately the Lab’s budget cannot subsidize your experiments. So all prints that deviate from the Lab’s guidelines must be paid for regardless of the relative success of the outcome.

 

Concerns:

  • Please refer all concerns to The Coordinator. Unfortunately The Lab Techs are not equipped to assess or address issues regarding quality or service but the Coordinator can always help.

 

 

Access

The Grad Lab, Equipment Checkout, Computer Lab and Print Lab resources are available for students enrolled in a graduate program at MICA. An active MICA Graduate ID card is required to enter the Grad Lab, to check out equipment or to use computer and printing resources.