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The computers that control printers and plotters are referred to as print/plot servers.  CADGIS has three computers that act as print/plot servers.   These servers are named CADGIS-1Papyrus, CADGIS-2Papyrus, and CADGIS-3Papyrus.  Each server controls a specific type of printer or plotter. 


CADGIS -1Papryus has the 36" roll plotters for both black&white and color plotting on bond paper.  A variety of paper sizes are available with Arch D (24" x 36") and Arch E (36" x 48") sizes being the normal sizes.


CADGIS-2Papyrus has the smaller sheet fed printers.  The sheet sizes are letter (8.5" x11") and tabloid (11" x 17") in both black&white and color on bond paper.  There is also glossy paper for 8.5"x11" printing. It is possible for users to supply their own paper to be manually fed to the printers, but the paper MUST BE LaserJet quality media.


CADGIS-3Papyrus has the 36" roll plotters for both black&white and color plotting on either matte or glossy paper. 



Below is a list of the plotters by name and the servers on which they reside.
Server Plotter Plotter Full Name
CADGIS-1Papyrus cadgis color 36 \\CADGIS-1Papyrus\cadgis color 36
CADGIS-1Papyrus cadgis bw 36 \\CADGIS-1Papyrus\cadgis bw 36
CADGIS-2Papyrus cadgis color 08x11 \\CADGIS-2Papyrus\cadgis color 08x11
CADGIS-2Papyrus cadgis bw 08x11 \\CADGIS-2Papyrus\cadgis bw 08x11
CADGIS-2Papyrus cadgis bw 11x17 \\CADGIS-2Papyrus\cadgis bw 11x17
CADGIS-2Papyrus cadgis color 11x17 \\CADGIS-2Papyrus\cadgis color 11x18
CADGIS-3Papyrus cadgis matte 36 \\CADGIS-3Papyrus\cadgis matte 36
CADGIS-3Papyrus cadgis gloss 36 \\CADGIS-3Papyrus\cadgis gloss 36







Submitting a print (In CADGIS)

In order to successfully print or plot your project, follow these steps:

1. Determin which printer or plotter you need to use.

If your plot is greater than 11"x17" in size, you will use the 36" roll plotters.

       A. To use bond paper:

             select \\CADGIS-1Papyrus\cadgis bw 36 for a black and white image.
             select \\CADGIS-1Papyrus\cadgis color 36 for a color image.

       B. To use Matte paper:
             select \\CADGIS-3Papyrus\cadgis matte 36

       B. To use GLossy paper:
             select \\CADGIS-3Papyrus\cadgis gloss 36

If your print equals 11"x17" in size:
       select \\CADGIS-2Papyrus\cadgis bw 11x17 for a black and white image.
       select \\CADGIS-2Papyrus\cadgis color 11x17 for a color image.

If your print equals or is smaller than 8.5"x11" in size:
       select \\CADGIS-2Papyrus\cadgis bw 08x11 for black and white images.
       select \\CADGIS-2Papyrus\cadgis color 08x11 for color images.


2. Connect to that plotter or printer

In CADGIS: When logging into a computer in the CADGIS Lab, the CADGIS printers should be available automatically. If they do not, it is most likely that you are not a CADGIS user. Leave with the monitor at the front desk your PAWS account. You will be added shortly as a CADGIS user.

From a Laptop or Personal Computer: It is possible to submit prints and plots from outside of CADGIS from laptops and personal computers. Regardless of whether connected via wireless connection, jumper cable to an on-campus wall outlet, or the Geaux Box, as long as a user's computer can see the LSU domain under Network Neighborhood, a user will be able to submit prints and plots to the CADGIS plot servers 1Papyrus and 2Papyrus.

The process to attach a CADGIS printer or plotter is given in the steps below. The process starts in the same way as with attaching local printers.
  1. Use Start -> Printers -> Add printers.

  2. On the next form, Select "Add aNetwork Printer" and click Next.

    Mac users should go to their System Preferences Menu. Click the "Print and Fax" icon.

  3. On the next form, click on the option that allows you to specify the shared printer by name. That option usually reads "Type the printer name, or Click Next to browse," but different versions of Windows refer to it in slightly different manners.

    Mac users click the "plus" button

  4. Type the server name (preceded by \\) and plotter name (preceded by \) of the CADGIS printer or plotter. (See the table below for the names of the plotters.) Click Next.

  5. If you are prompted for the username and password, use lsu\<pawsID> - where <pawsID> is your Paws username - and your Paws password. (Note: the username begins with "lsu\" This prefix is necessary for the LSU network to correctly identify the user and to associate the password to the user.)

  6. Respond to the remaining forms accordingly.
Plotters/Printers
Name to Type
36" plotters on 1Papyrus
\\cadgis-1papyrus.lsu.edu\cadgis color 36
\\cadgis-1papyrus.lsu.edu\cadgis b&w 36
sheet fed plotters/printers on 2Papyrus
\\cadgis-2papyrus.lsu.edu\cadgis bw 08x11
\\cadgis-2papyrus.lsu.edu\cadgis bw 11x17
\\cadgis-2papyrus.lsu.edu\cadgis color 08x11
\\cadgis-2papyrus.lsu.edu\cadgis color 11x17



3. Set your plot settings within the application you are using.
The various applications each have their own method for queuing plots to a plot server. For the most used applications for printing and plotting - Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Photoshop, Microsoft Word, and Autodesk AutoCAD - we have included screen shots showing how to actually submit a plot. Refer to the appropriate section at the end of this page for these screenshots. For other applications, if help is needed, ask a member of the CADGIS staff.

For help with printing in AutoCad, click here.

For help with printing in Photoshop or Illustrator, click here.

For help with printing in Microsoft Word, click here.

For a copy of the printing and plotting users guide for CADGIS, click here.


Important: Every plotter needs a little space on the edge of the paper for handling the image. This edge cannot be printed on by the plotter. Therefore, the 36" plotter cannot actually print the full 36" width of the roll of paper. Instead it can only plot 35" and some fraction. There are settings to tell the plotter to use as much of the paper as it can.

Important: Be aware that if you make changes to your plot settings AND THEN CHANGE your plotter, the plot settings will need to be set again.




4 Click the "Okay" button on the plotting form within the software application you are using to queu your plot/print for processing.


5. Go the front desk in the CADGIS Lab. Tell the monitor your paws ID, to which plotter you have submitted your image, and the size and number of sheets you are printing. If you have submitted multiple sheets, the monitor will ask you for the file names of the sheets you submitted.  The monitor will then calculate the cost of your plots and release your prints to the plotters or printers.


6. Pay for your plot/print.
You pay for plots via TigerCash. The CADGIS Lab CANNOT ACCEPT cash or credit cards. We can accept checks, but the preferred method is through TigerCash. If your account does not have enough funds, you can add funds via the TigerCash web site by the use of a credit card.

Refunds are given when there has been a plotter error. Legitimate plotter errors include such problems as plotters depleting their roll of paper before the end of a plot, plotters over-inking a plot, plotters jamming, and plotters experiencing a software failure. In these cases, if the user has been charged for plots, the plots can be resubmitted without further charges. If you decide against replotting, a credit can be given toward any future plots. User errors such as using the wrong size of plot, omitted graphics (such as borders or text), extraneous graphics, or sending to the wrong plotter are the responsibility of the user. The user must pay for these plots even though they may not be able to use the plots.




NOTE: Printing is not allowed from the CADGIS-student1 account. The account will not allow printers to be added. A CADGIS user must print or plot from their PAWS account.



Line Weight Help

Welcome to the line weight section of the CADGIS web site. Here you will find information that will help you with line weights for your CAD-based drawing. We provide these files to you as a convenience, and at the request from members of the faculity. You do not have to use these files.

Whether it be a technical document or a design project, the use of line weights adds depth to your project. It allows people (especially those not used to looking at drawings) the ability to interpriate between different parts of the same object. By using line weights you can control what you want people to see first.

To see what the line weights look like, we have posted several signs around the lab with examples of the different thicknesses of lines from 0.10mm to 2.00 mm. A good drawing should have between 7 and 15 different line weights.

Another way of thinking about line weights is to think about your drafting pens. Most drafting pens are sized using mm.


Instruction for Lineweights in AutoCAD


Lineweights in AutoCAD are assigned by line color. The default color in AutoCAD is 0, or white. For the line weight settings file "CADGIS_AUTOCAD.ctb," the colors 1 through 16 have been assigned a line weight between 0.10mm through 2.00mm. The line weights are set to corrospond with the Microstation line weights.

To use these line weights you need to select the colors of your layers between 1 and 16.

To make sure you are using the plot style make sure that when your in the plot screen under Plot style table (pen assignments) that the name reads CADGIS_ATUOCAD.ctb, and not the default none.



We have installed this file into AutoCAD for you on the CADGIS computers, a copy of the file is available for download so you can use the same lineweight settings in other labs.

Download CADGIS_AUTOCAD.ctd for use outside the lab, or to make sure you have the current version click here.



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