Using the SRJC computer lab

Lab computers at SRJC

The Santa Rosa and Petaluma computer labs have both Dell Windows computers and Macs. It is recommended that you use USB Flash drives if you need to transfer files between school and home — you can also use RW CDs and Zip drives. SRJC Computer Lab Hours

Using the timekeeper

Everyone must log in on the timekeeper when using the SRJC computer lab outside of class lecture. When you arrive in the lab, go to the timekeeper and identify yourself with your student ID. Make sure to log out when you leave, also. Santa Rosa students should put their receipt in the box to be a part of the drawing each month for prizes.

Using the color printers in the lab

While student work is submitted electronically as a PDF, it is recommended that students print out finished work for proofreading before submitting. It is the instructor's private opinion that even after staring at a document for hours on the monitor, typos and errors do not show up until printed on a piece of paper. Each SRJC computer lab has a color PostScript printer connected to a dedicated Macintosh or PC which is used for printing high quality files. The CS lab color laser printer is to be used for class work only. There is also a wide-format Epson printer for class use.

The $5 printing fee paid during class registration entitles the student to a punch card for 12 color pages of print in the CS lab. Additional punch cards can be purchased as needed.

Each time you print a page, one punch will be recorded on your punch card. If you need a new printer card, you can purchase another card. In Santa Rosa, the print card can be purchased from the lab assistant and in Petaluma the card can be purchased from the Admissions & Records department. Plan on spending about 5-10 minutes per page (even if you think it will take less time) when printing in color. Any raster graphic images should be at a minimum of 150-300 ppi effective resolution to coordinate with the color printers.

Before you go to the printing station, make sure that all last-minute changes are done and that you have a final version ready to print. Create a PDF file which does not require linked graphics or any special fonts you used to create your document. Follow these instructions:

• At your computer, save a second copy of your document as a PDF file using the File..Save As (Illustrator) or File..Export (InDesign) menu command
• The PDF should be saved to your to storage media (USB drive) choosing the Preset quality of High Quality Print
• At the printing station, start Adobe Acrobat
• File..Open your PDF file
• File..Print the document
  Students using a high volume of transparency or gradients, or generating a high volume of anchor points with Illustrator filter/effects should click on the File..Print Advanced button and choose the Print as Image button — otherwise our limited PostScript printer may take over 15 minutes to print your output to the dismay of other students waiting to print
• Remember to remove your storage media and take it with you

Buying software | Taking a class from Cyndi | Downloading files | Using the computer labs | Important dates