Recap of Wednesday's Class (Assignments Due, and Printing Demo)

A) Print your first and second projects for final critique on Monday.  Below is an overview for printing your work!

1)  Go to this website and read about the Gestalt Principles of Visual Perception:  http://graphicdesign.spokanefalls.edu/tutorials/process/gestaltprinciples/gestaltprinc.htm

Additional resources for the gestalt principles are at the following links:

•  Practical Application of the Gestalt Principles: http://sixrevisions.com/web_design/gestalt-principles-applied-in-design/

• Wikipedia's Overview on Gestaltism: they psychology behind our brain's method of grouping images together:  http://sixrevisions.com/web_design/gestalt-principles-applied-in-design/

2) Select 1 Gestalt Principle for your focus.

3)  Find 1 artist that exemplifies one of the Gestalt Principles in his/her artwork.

4) Write a short paragraph on your blog explaining how the artist uses the principle to create his/her image.

Note: This is a precursor to your next project!  We will be studying these principles and using them to create some great works of art in Photoshop!


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PRINTING DEMONSTRATION RECAP!

For those of you who were absent on Wednesday, or need a refresher, here are abbreviated instructions for printing on the large format printer! As a reminder, you are printing from the EPSON 4900 printer, the large one next to the window in the back of the class.

Materials:
To print you will need: (should be no more than $1.50, and can be bought from the store downstairs, or the art center on Union Avenue)

• 1 sheet of Epson 8.5" x 11" paper (matte or glossy quality paper)
• 1 sheet of Epson 11" x 17" paper (matte or glossy quality paper)

(you may need to purchase some extra sheets for printing in case of mistakes)


STEP 0:  Save your work and open it on the computer next to the printer. You should be able to log into your file.

Step 1: SAVING YOUR PHOTOSHOP FILE:

Here is an image I had of my saved psd file.  The guides I set along the edges help me designate an area of "bleed", that is an area that I know isn't going to be printed by the printer.  (The printer should print with at least a quarter inch of space.

Once your image is complete, go to FILE --------->  PRINT:  The next dialouge box should come up.

Step 2:  ADJUSTING YOUR PRINT SETTINGS:

 Take note of the Settings under Printer setup and Color Management.  You will need them set like the image above.

• Color Handling determines what measuring stick the printer will use for your range of color.
• Letting Photoshop Manage your colors keeps things looking as accurate as possible! 
• For your positioning and size on the other hand, refer to the image below:

 You will need to adjust the POSITION and SIZE to center your image on the paper.  At default, photoshop pushes your image slightly off screen for printing.  To adjust:

1. Uncheck the "Center" button under Position.
2. Set Top and Left to 0.
3. Keep Scale at 100%, since we are working with the full size of the paper in mind.
4. AS A SMALL NOTE, if you notice when printing, that your image is uneven, try setting your position to the following settings:
• TOP: -0.125
• LEFT: 0

Step 3:  After setting that, click the print settings button at the top of your printing window:
At the bottom, click the "show details" button so you see the following:

A) The most important thing to check for is your PAPER SIZE.  Click the drop down menu and select one of the following, depending on the project you are printing:

• For Project 1:  US Letter (sheet)  (8.5 by 11 inches)
• For Project 2: US B 11x 17 in  (11 by 17 inches)

 B) Once selected, click the LAYOUT BUTTON.  You will see a drop down menu. 

C) SELECT PRINTER SETTINGS:

• You may find you need to change the media type between Glossy and Matte Paper settings. This adjusts the printer's printing method to better render your image.
• Your page setup should be set to sheet.  There are settings for "roll paper," and you may sometimes use the printer after another student has used the printer in this way. Make sure there are no "roll paper" settings selected.

Last but not least, your Paper Handling should be selected as such.

STEP 4:  PLACING YOUR PAPER INTO THE PRINTER!

On the printer, there is a little sticker that will show you how to insert your paper.

Once you have your paper. Insert it into the back tray (the open one on the back of the printer.)  Set your paper as close to the right side as possible, and adjust the slider as needed to keep your paper steady.  Your paper will need to be placed in PORTRAIT STYLE (long edges going side to side, other edges going top to bottom.)


Click PRINT.

You will have to press the "Down Arrow Key" On the printer to feed your paper into the printer.  It will warm up, then adjust your paper for printing.  After that, you should soon have your printed images!

POTENTIAL ISSUES:

Q: It says my paper is jamming!  What do I do!?
A: Large Printers can be finicky sometimes. Follow the instructions on the printer's screen to remove your paper.  (Press the up arrow key on the printer to remove the paper.)  DO NOT TRY TO PULL IT OUT UNTIL IT IS FREE FROM BEING UNDERNEATH THE WHEELS!
If you do, you may rip your paper and damage the printer!

Make sure that your paper is set low enough that it is touching the round wheels, then press down to have it feed into the printer.  If you need any help, feel free to ask someone nearby! While our printer is new, there are many students in the school that have tons of experience with the larger printers.

Q: Someone is using the printer, but I need to print! What do i do!?
A: There is another printer next door in Mac Lab 2! It works the same way. Just bring your file to the computer, and print from it, checking for settings and the like.

Q: It says that my paper is empty, but I placed it in the printer!
A:  Make sure that your paper is placed touching the wheels! It needs to line up evenly with them so that the printer can align your image to the paper's dimensions.

Q: I've been here hours, and this thing just won't print!
OPTION 1:  The printing layout has a "sweet spot" you need to set for printing.  The biggest issue is that the printer does not recognize your paper as properly aligned to the print head.  Make sure it is set low enough, and placed all the way to the right of the printer.

OPTION 2: You can try using one of the bottom trays for printing. Pull out the bottom tray of the printer and set your paper inside the tray, using the guides on the printer for aligning your paper.  The printer should be able to auto-detect the paper inside. If not, you will have to use window on the printer and manually tell it which tray to print from.

OPTION 3:  You can try printing using the "Fiery Printer"  (The big blue one that says NOVACOPY.)
I have not covered printing from this printer yet, due to some students not having server accounts to use to print as of yet. But for those of you that do have print cards, or have not received one and want to get one, follow the instructions at this link:

http://mca.edu/labs/?p=27

Keep in mind that this is a last resort for printing for this project.  Part of the class curriculum involves mastery of the tools we cover in class, even the more complicated, stubborn, finicky ones.  The printers are your friend, even if they do not want to act like it sometimes.

As always, contact me if you have any questions!