Students, Faculty, and Staff have access to a wide variety of printing and plotting resources. They can print and plot from any computer to any printer or plotter at anytime of the day or night. Students can also print and plot from their own personal equipment. This includes laptops and tablets.

The School has a print rooms located on each studio floor as well as a printing cluster. On each floor there is a photocopier that can print in black and white or in color. It can print on 8 1/2” x 11 and 11 x 17 paper and it will also print on both sides. This photocopier can also scan and e-mail documents in color. There is a manual feed plotter that can accept up to 44” wide paper and can plot to a wide range of specialty papers. On the 4th and 5th floors there is a 60” wide Presentation plotter and a 42” wide production plotter. on the 6th and 7th floors there is a 42” wide production plotter and a 24” wide Bristol paper plotter.

In addition there is a color draft plotter located on the 5th floor that does high speed B&W and color prints on 36” wide paper as well as a 42” wide semi-gloss plotter and a 42” wide Bristol paper plotter for really high quality plots.

On the 6th floor there are 47 Ultimaker 3D printers and on the 7th floor we have 2 high end 3D Printers and two free open filament 3D printers. Learn more about 3D printing here.


Printing Policies

General Printing and Plotting Policies:

  • If you are printing your document to a device, you need to first Print a PDF, and then follow the “Required Workflow”. If you print directly from your original application, you will not be granted a reimbursement for plotting mistakes that may occur.

  • Only school provided paper can be used in the B&W/color photocopiers, Mylar printers, and pre-loaded plotters. I understand that I may not remove paper from these devices, and if I do, I will be fined on a per incident basis.

  • Only school provided paper and pre-approved specialty papers are allowed in the Manual Feed printers. For a comprehensive list of approved papers refer to the Manual Feed plotter website

  • Only approved materials can be cut or etched in the laser cutters. For a comprehensive list of approved materials, refer to the signage located in the laser cutter rooms. Please consult with staff if you have questions about a material.

  • Students may not remove any media, ink, or hardware from school devices and will be responsible for the cost of repairing any damage to devices, hardware, or media incurred as a result of tampering with a school owned printer.

  • Students will be responsible for the cost of any repairs or replacement of equipment if they attempt to use any unapproved paper or materials in any of the printing, plotting, or laser cutter devices and that I will be fined on a per incident basis.

  • Students will be responsible for the cost of any repair or replacement of equipment if they attempt to remove or replace any internal or external components including but not limited to inks, toner, print heads, fusers, paper rolls, and in addition, they will be fined on a per incident basis.

  • Students will be responsible for all printing, plotting, and laser cutter charges under their printing account. In addition they are responsible for any unauthorized printing from their printing account such as all printing done from a machine left logged in or from all printing done by someone who they have given your login account information to.

  • The Draft Print prints with mild, vertical banding. This is inherent to the printing process and as such will not be refunded.

  • Students will not be granted a reimbursement for any plots that exceed 96” or 8ft in length.

  • Students are responsible for all aspects of a submitted 3D print, including but not limited to, size, rotation, position, scale, print quality, color, supports, surface adhesion, surface finish, etc. regardless of how the 3D print actually turned out.

  • Students who use a print or 3d print for any type of presentation, critique, or for a class; even if it did not print correctly, I will not be reimbursed for that print or part.

  • Students have only 30 calendar days to request any printing reimbursement. After 30 calendar days all printing charges are final and will be billed to their Yale Bursar Account.


Reviewing your charges

Advanced Technology charges can be from the following sources:

  • Printing
  • 3D Printing
  • Advanced Technology Store
  • Equipment Late Fees
  • Backup and Recovery Fees
  • Inappropriate Use Fines

These charges are recorded in the School’s print recovery system called PaperCut.

Please note the School of Architecture’s PaperCut system is separate from the University-wide PaperCut system.

When you print or plot to the School’s equipment, you will automatically be billed for that job and it will appear in your PaperCut account. If you are issued a refund, that refund (called a credit) will also appear in your PaperCut account. If you purchase something throughh the digital media store, those charges will be recorded in PaperCut.


Billing Schedule - Bursar Bill

Your PaperCut account totals will be submitted to your University Bursar account 5 times in a given academic year. These totals will then appear in your university bill.

Submission to your bursar account occurs:

  • Right after fall semester midterm reviews
  • Right after fall semester final reviews
  • Right after spring semester midterm reviews
  • Right after spring semester final reviews
  • Just before the beginning of the fall semester

Once your PaperCut charges have been sent to your Bursar account for billing, your paperCut account will be zeroed out.


The way PaperCut keeps track of charges

We use a decreasing account system that starts at $0.00 and subtracts for each charge. It runs a negative balance.

Your printing statement will show a negative balance. That is the total amount of your charges. At the end of each billing period (see above) we will reset your balance back to $0.00.

Your printing account has a limit of $1,500.00. If your balance reaches -$1,500.00 in charges your account will automatically lock out. This is a safety feature to prevent accidental excess charges. We can reset your cap balance at any time.

How to check your PaperCut account balance

Username = Your Yale NetID

Password = Your Yale NetID Password

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Once you have logged in, you will be brought to the summary page displayed below. Then just click Recent Print Jobs link to review your recent prints.
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Reimbursement Procedure

To ensure problems with the printing system are found and addressed, we need to review misprints before a reimbursement can be made. This allows us to identify and correct issues quickly and identify and explain any user mistakes that might have been made.

Printing Reimbursement Procedure

  1. You have 30 days to report to the Advanced Technology staff a printing error. No refunds will be made after 30 days from the date the print was released.
  2. File a ticket in Zendesk or email support@ysoa.zendesk.com.
  3. Then come to the Advanced Technology office to seek a refund. If the office is closed, or you are unable to bring the print to us, follow up with the Zendesk ticket when you are available during office hours. Please Note: You need to bring with you any misprints for review. If you do not have the misprints with you then a reimbursement cannot be given.
  4. If there is a dispute with what was reimbursed, then a final decision will be made by the Director of Advanced Technology.

The following printing errors WILL NOT be reimbursed. These are caused by user errors and unauthorized use of a logged in machine.

  • Plots that did not follow the “Plotting Required Workflow including printing via the Adobe PDF Printer and then printing the resulting PDF.
  • Printing done during an unauthorized login using your NetID and password.
  • Prints that are rotated or cropped.
  • Prints sent to the wrong printing device.
  • Excess printing by accidentally selecting multiple copies.
  • Plots that exceed the maximum recommended length of 8’ (96” or 243cm).

The following printing errors WILL be reimbursed. These types of errors were caused by a malfunction in the system or printing device.

  • The print job ran out of media or jammed during printing. You need to present the partially printed portion in order to get reimbursed for the whole print job.
  • Printing jobs that completely spooled, but then never printed. Please note that if the job did not spool completely, then it was not charged to the PaperCut.
  • If you cancel your job part of the way through, you need to bring the printed portion of your print and you will only be charged for the portion of the plot that actually printed.