Category: Help

Laser Printing Options Updated

There are two ways to laser print for users of the IAML:

Using the campus Student Printers (this is available to all UCalgary students), or
Using the IAML Colour Tabloid laser printer located in the IAML Main Lab.

Campus Student Printer

If you want to print to the campus Student Printers, IT has a help page that describes how you can print via email (Black & White double-sided only), from a mobile device (phone, laptop), or from a public computer on campus.

Our computers right beside the campus Student printer (in AB611A, the hallway outside the Main Lab North door) have a printer named Student Printer that can print directly to these printers. Simply use the Print command from your app and select Student Printer. Since you are logged in to the computer, it will know to send the job under your name.

Most importantly, if you send it this way, it will default to printing in colour (this is by request from Art students). If you are only printing in Black & White, you can save money by changing the colour settings in the print dialog box. First, look for the Printer Options section, then click the > to reveal those options. Click on Printer Features (see screenshot below).

When you do, you will be presented with the option to change the Color Mode from Color to Black and White (see screenshot below). Click on the pop-up menu to change it, then click OK. You may now press the Print button to print in Black & White.

Payment for all print jobs to the student laser printers is by Unicard.

IAML Laser Printer

There is also a laser printer inside the IAML Main Lab. To send jobs to it, you use the IAML Colour Tabloid Laser in the Print dialog box in your app. In most cases, you can just send your print without specifying whether you want Colour or Black & White, as we will only charge you based on what comes out of the printer rather than the mode it was sent. In fact, we recently adjusted our prices to match the campus Student Printer prices but with a small bonus for those printing text-only, Black & White term papers, music notation files, or small drafting documents: those prints are just 5¢ per Letter-sized page (10¢ for Tabloid).

Payment for print jobs sent to the IAML Laser can be made in Cash (rounded to the nearest 5¢) or by Unicard (exact amount). Happy printing!

Assignment Drop Box help added

If you are struggling to hand in your first assignment to the AssignmentDropBox on the IAML Server, we’ve updated the help page with some clarifications and an additional section on using the AssignmentDropBox folder (TL;DR: Drag and Drop on the AssignmentDropBox folder, don’t open it).

Remote Workflow Tips for Photographers (and others)

If you’re taking a photography class and you don’t have Photoshop on your personal computer, you are probably taking advantage of our service that allows you to remote control a Lab computer that does have Photoshop. That gives you access to Photoshop, but how do you get your photos from your SD memory card to the remote computer? What’s the most efficient way to hand in your final work? How do I retrieve my final work and put it back on my computer? Even if you are not taking a Photography class, you may have read other help files on our web site about specific tasks but are looking for an overview of the entire workflow.

Conceptually (TL;DR, if you will), you are going to copy the files from your SD card to your own computer (if necessary), upload those files to a Cloud service or our Server, and then download them to the Lab computer you will be remote-controlling. (You do the reverse when you are done working for the day.) Here are step-by-step directions on how such workflows work.

Workflow 1: The Cloud is your friend

Many of you will be familiar with a service like DropBox, Google Drive, iCloud, or OneDrive. (Your University account comes with OneDrive storage included.) You can use such cloud services to shuttle your work between your computer and the remote Lab computer. A typical RAW photo workflow would look like this:

Copy the RAW files from your SD card onto your own computer (copy them as if they were on a USB stick; don’t use a photo app).
Upload the RAW files from your computer to your Cloud service (depending on the service you use, you might be able to copy them to a folder on your computer or you may have to open a web browser and upload the files).
Log in to a Lab computer remotely.
On the remote computer, log in to your Cloud service via a web browser.
The files you just uploaded should be listed there. Download them to the remote computer. (They will likely show up in the Downloads folder unless you specify otherwise.)
Using your RAW editing app (Photoshop, Bridge, or Lightroom, depending on what your Instructor suggests), open the RAW files from the location you stored them in the previous step.
Process as required.
Save your processed files on the remote Lab computer.
If you have something you need to hand in to the Lab Server, it is easiest if you do that while still remotely connected to a Lab Computer. Connect to the Lab Server using the Connect > Lab Server app near the right corner of the Dock (full instructions are available).
Log back in to your Cloud service via a web browser. Upload the work you just completed to the Cloud Service.
Log out of the remote computer so that it sits at the user login screen, then disconnect your session.

You can now download your processed photos from your Cloud service and copy them to your own computer (or any Lab computer if you need to do more work).

Workflow 2: The IAML Server Shuttle

You can use the IAML Server much like you would use a Cloud storage service. You are allowed to store your working files on our Server as well as hand in assignments there. Here is a typical RAW photo workflow:

Copy the RAW files from your SD card onto your own computer (copy them as if they were on a USB stick; don’t use a photo app).
Connect to the University of Calgary network (airuc-secure if on-campus, General UCalgary VPN if off-campus).
Connect to the IAML Server.
Copy the RAW files from your computer to the Server (create a folder with your name on it to store your files if you don’t already have one). Once they are copied, you can disconnect from the Server.
Log in to a Lab computer remotely.
On the remote computer, connect to the Lab Server using the Connect > Lab Server app near the right corner of the Dock (full instructions are available). The files you just uploaded should be listed there. Copy them to the remote computer. (It is not recommended to work directly off the Server, as Adobe does not support this use, so things could go wrong for no reason.)
Using your RAW editing app (Photoshop, Bridge, or Lightroom, depending on what your Instructor suggests), open the RAW files from the remote computer.
Process as required.
Save your processed files on the remote Lab computer.
Copy your processed files to your named folder on the Lab Server.
If you have something you need to hand in, just drop it on the Assignment Drop Box folder on the Server.
Log out of the remote computer so that it sits at the user login screen, then disconnect your session.

Your processed photos are now available when you connect to the Lab Server from your own computer. You can copy any of these files to your own computer (or any Lab computer if you need to do more work).

Other Options

When the Lab is open, you are welcome to use our computer in-person to do your editing. All the iMac computers have a built-in SD card reader on the back, so you can just insert your card and go. This can simplify your workflow by eliminating the need to “shuttle” your RAW files using a Cloud service or our Server. This best mimics the workflow you would use if you were doing all the work on your own computer.

We still recommend you store your processed photographs on our Server (or another Cloud service), as you are not guaranteed to be able to use the same computer the next time you work in person.

Need Lab software at home?

Updated 2024-09-26

If you are working remotely for classes or prefer to use your own computer to do work that you would normally do in our Labs, here is how you can obtain your own copy of common Lab software and the associated cost if applicable.

Adobe Products (Photoshop, Lightroom, Illustrator, Premiere Pro)

TL;DR: $135 for 3 months of any app; Photoshop/Lightroom $156/year or $97.50 for 3 months

Platforms: macOS, Windows
Free Trial: 7 days
Student Discount Price: $312 per year for entire Creative Cloud suite ($552/year after the first year); a regular price option may be better if you only need Photoshop or Lightroom (see below)
Regular Price:
$864 per year for Creative Cloud suite
$156 per year for CC Photography plan with 20 GB cloud storage (Photoshop + Lightroom) or Lightroom with 1 TB cloud storage
$312 per year for CC Photography plan with 1 TB cloud storage (Photoshop + Lightroom)
$348 per year for Illustrator or Premiere Pro only
$45 per month for any one app (no annual commitment required)
License: Subscription (only)

Adobe offers all of its products as subscriptions; you must pay Adobe a monthly or annual fee (billed monthly) to continue to use the software. Which app or combination of apps you need and for how long will determine which option is the most cost-effective for you — the student discount may not be the best deal for you if you only need one app or only need three months of use. Subscriptions are priced in Canadian Dollars.

All of Adobe’s annual subscriptions can be billed on a monthly basis, but if you cancel early, you pay a 50% penalty for each month you cancel. For example, if you only needed to use Photoshop or Lightroom for three months for a Fall or Winter class, your best choices would be Adobe’s regular offers, not the student offer:

$156 for a one-year subscription to the CC Photography plan with 20 GB storage ($12.99/month × 12 months; no student discount)
$97.50 for 3 months of CC Photography plan (20 GB) subscription ($12.99 × 3 months + $6.50 × 9 month penalty for early cancellation)

For an app like Illustrator or Premiere, your best choices would be:

$312 for a one-year subscription to the Creative Cloud suite ($25.99/month × 12 months after student discount)
$195 for 3 months of the CC student discount subscription ($25.99 × 3 months + $13 × 9 month penalty for early cancellation)
$135 for 3 months use of the app ($44.99/month × 3 months, no student discount)

Once you need two or more Adobe apps (other than Photoshop + Lightroom), you are almost certainly better off subscribing to the full Creative Cloud plan for students. Note that the price increases by 50% after the first year of your subscription if you choose to use the software long-term.

If you do not wish to subscribe to Adobe’s software, there are now excellent alternative apps that can accomplish much of what Adobe’s products do and even export to Adobe’s file formats. For example, perpetual licenses for Affinity Photo (similar to Photoshop) and Affinity Designer (similar to Illustrator) are available for $100 each, which includes an iPad license, and are available on a six-month free trial as of Fall 2024. Check with your instructor to see if such alternatives would be suitable for your particular class.

Final Cut Pro

TL;DR: 90 day free trial

Platform: macOS and iPadOS (limited)
Free Trial: 90 days (macOS), 30 days (iPadOS)
Student Discount Price: $260 as part of a bundle for macOS (no Education price for iPadOS)
Regular Price: $400 (no bundle) for macOS, $6.99/month or $69/year for iPadOS
License: Perpetual (one-time payment) for macOS, Subscription for iPadOS

Apple extended their normal 30 day trial on Final Cut Pro during the pandemic, so tactical use of the macOS trial could get you through a Term without needing to purchase the app. If you wish to use the app longer than that, the best value for dollar is Apple’s “Pro Apps for Education” bundle, which includes apps like Compressor and Logic Pro (Apple’s digital audio workstation app — think GarageBand on steroids). Note that the iPadOS version of Final Cut Pro cannot exchange projects with the macOS version — you can import your work from iPad to Mac but not the other direction.

Logic Pro

TL;DR: 90 day free trial

Platform: macOS and iPadOS
Free Trial: 90 days (macOS), 30 days (iPadOS)
Student Discount Price: $260 as part of a bundle for macOS (no Education price for iPadOS)
Regular Price: $280 (no bundle) for macOS, $6.99/month or $69/year for iPadOS
License: Perpetual (one-time payment) for macOS, Subscription for iPadOS

Apple didn’t have a trial version of Logic Pro prior to the pandemic, as most people’s needs were met with GarageBand. Tactical use of this new trial option could get you through a Term without needing to purchase the app. If you wish to use the app longer than that, a small discount comes by purchasing Apple’s “Pro Apps for Education” bundle, but you also receive Final Cut Pro video editing software (normally $400 itself — think iMovie on steroids). The new version for iPad can exchange projects back and forth between itself and the macOS version.

ZBrush

TL;DR: $90 for one year

Platform: macOS, Windows
Free Trial: 14 days (as part of the Maxon One bundle)
Student Discount Price: Maxon One bundle (including Cinema 4D and other apps) $90 per year
Regular Price: $516 per year or $65 per month
License: Subscription

We know that ZBrush is quite costly — it’s a professional tool used in the industry and it is priced accordingly. The Student pricing is quite reduced but expect to pay a high subscription price once you graduate (much like with Adobe software). Due to a recent change in ownership of the company that makes ZBrush, the old perpetual license model has been eliminated.

Vectorworks

TL;DR: Free student licence

Platform: macOS, Windows
Student Offer: Free student license
Regular Price: $4200 (!!) for perpetual license or $175-210 per month for subscription
License: Perpetual or Subscription

Here’s another professional-grade tool that students can not reasonably afford themselves. Luckily, it is now offered for free to Education users. Use the link above to download a copy for your own computer.