Services

Our booking policy is designed to give as many students access to the equipment in as equitable a manner as possible. In general, you will be allowed to book for 1-2 two days, based on the demand that term. More specifically, we will be operating under one of these two loan schemes:

1. Single Business Day Loan
   • Booking times are 13:30 to 11:30 the next business day, or 09:00 to 16:00 on the same day.
   • No consecutive days or consecutive weekends unless there is no demand.
2. Monday - Wednesday - Friday Loans
   • Book to pick up Monday after 13:30 or during business hours on Tuesday and return it Wednesday by 11:30
   • Book to pick up Wednesday after 13:30 or during business hours on Thursday and return it Friday by 11:30
   • Book to pick up Friday after 13:30 and return it Monday by 11:30
   • No consecutive booking periods or consecutive weekends unless there is no demand.

We try to operate on the M-W-F Loan plan except in times of very high demand. Note that anything shorter than these booking periods is also acceptable, so long as check-in time is during staff hours. If you want a longer loan, you can request to be put on a waiting list for those extra days, or just ask if an extension is available at the time your kit is due for return.

When you book or sign out equipment from us, we ask for your U of C ID number as well as a phone number (with voice mail or answering machine attached) or e-mail address as contact information. We are collecting this information within the guidelines and under the authority of FOIP so that we may contact you regarding the return of the camera.

Once you have made your booking, you simply come to the Main Lab at the appointed time and ask the technician to assist you. (We are under no obligation to give you your equipment earlier than the booking time.) The technician on duty will go through the contents of the equipment bag (generally in front of you) to verify all of the items that are going out.

When you sign out equipment from us, be aware that you are taking personal responsibility for it. The University does not provide insurance coverage, and some of these devices would cost $1000 or more to replace. If the device requires repair or replacement due to user neglect or mishandling, or if you do not return all the parts given to you, you can be held financially responsible.

It is vitally important that you return the equipment on time. In the case of cameras and camcorders, where battery chargers are included, you should return it with the batteries charged if at all possible. In order to maximize user time with our equipment, we use a very short turnaround time. If you are even a couple of hours late, you jeopardize another user's access. For this reason, we reserve the right to limit future access to our equipment to users who do not return loaned items on time.

If you find that you cannot return the device on time due to an unforeseen circumstance, please contact the IAML Office as soon as possible (click on Contact in the navigation bar above for current contact information; the information is also included in all of the main equipment kits). We will give you further instructions at that point. This also applies if you wish to seek a loan extension.

Users are expected to bring their own headphones. All computers accept 3.5 mm (mini-jack) plugs, so you may already have a set of earbud headphones that will work. The Lab has a few pairs of headphones for in-Lab use only during office hours — see the technician on duty to borrow a pair. You use these headphones at your own risk.

On The Lab Computers — fineartsuser Home Directory

Space is available on each computer's hard drive where you can store your files temporarily. This is called the fineartsuser home directory — it’s represented by the house icon that you see in most Open and Save dialog boxes. (Items you save to the Desktop are a part of the home directory.) There are number of folders inside the home directory that you can use to subsort your data (e.g., Documents, Movies) or you can create your own folder (recommended).

Any file on the hard drive that is more than 7 days old may be deleted by staff. Also, if you are taking up huge amounts of space on any one machine and it is causing that machine to become hard to operate, we reserve the right to delete such files without notice.

Remember that this is a public storage space — you should not keep sensitive personal materials on the Lab hard drives. Also remember that it is a shared space — we cannot guarantee that another user will not accidentally delete your files. Try to make sure you have backup copies of your important data using one of the methods described below in Taking Your Data With You.

There are a number of ways you can get your files from the Lab to another computer and vice versa. These fall into two categories: portable/removable storage and online storage/transfer.

We offer printing on 17 x 22" paper for Drama students doing computer-assisted drafting (CAD). The charge is $1.50 per printout. Open your Vectorworks file on any station in the Main Lab and talk to the staff member on duty when you are ready to print. For smaller sizes (tabloid or less), you can use the laser printers. For larger sizes requiring roll paper, the Division of Drama now has a large format printer to serve you (yes, the Lab's old one) — talk to your professor.

The IAML provides laser printing for most academic uses. Our Xerox Phaser 7500 is loaded with Letter and Tabloid paper and can print in colour at 1200 dpi, meeting many of the specific needs of students in the visual and performing arts. (Note: If you want photographic-grade printing, whether in colour or black & white, see our Photographic Printing page for more information.) Here are some common questions and answers about our laser printing service.

A few more points about our photographic printing service:

• Payment must be made in full prior to any print being released to the user. We may also ask to see proof that you have the money to pay for the job before starting printing. (At this time, we only accept cash.) Again, inspect your prints before you leave in case we need to reprint due to a technical/printing error.
• We reserve the right to refuse to print on any media supplied by the user that we deem unsuitable. In general, we will only print on media specifically coated for inkjet printing. If you are bringing your own media, please bring it in its original box so that we can confirm this and select a suitable colour profile.
• During peak printing times, lab staff may choose to alternate access between users. Often, jobs will be organized by media type to speed up overall processing. Jobs printed at 1440 dpi will have priority over those printed at 2880 dpi.
• The Lab reserves the right to book time on the printer for classes, etc., such that immediate printing may not be available.
• Access to colour printing may be limited when staff is limited or when the cost of starting the printer up is out of proportion to the printing request. (Alternatives would be suggested.)
• We do not offer the option of printing on plain paper, as it produces results that are unsuitable for the approved uses of the printer.
• Prints are for UCalgary academic use only within Art and as such may not be sold or be printed in quantity. (The only exception we have made in the past is for UCalgary-based fundraisers like the Post Miniature Exhibition and Auction.)

Colour laser printing is available during business hours. If you need to print outside those times, you may be able to access the laser printers around campus which accept Unicard for payment.

Students have access to up to 1 TB of storage on OneDrive using their University of Calgary account. When used in the IAML, you will be generally be accessing your files from a web browser interface.

Users may already be using online storage services like Dropbox or iCloud Drive. You should be able to access your files using a web browser.

A method of file transfer that most people are familiar with is sending files as attachments to an e-mail message. People frequently send themselves messages to accomplish this. This is a method that works well for most small files, but you should be aware of some limitations. Most e-mail providers (e.g., Shaw, Telus, Google, Microsoft) limit the size of e-mail message you can send and receive — if you exceed this limit, the message is rejected and never reaches the recipient. It is common for this limit to be between 5 and 25 MB. As well, files are encoded when sent via e-mail; you may lose Mac-specific information if you transfer files this way. If you are transferring larger files, you may want to use another method.

The primary responsibility of lab staff is to help keep the machines operational and answer your technical questions (e.g., "there is no sound coming through the headphones"). Our lab staff also has a wide range of knowledge about programs used in the lab, so they may even be able to help you with some quick questions that might be program-specific.

What we do not have time to do, for the most part, is teach you how to use programs. If you need to use this program/equipment for a class and a number of other students will also need instruction, your professor should book instruction time in the lab. (Normally the professor or a graduate assistant would do the teaching.) If you are doing a special project for a class and you need to know the basics on how to use lab hardware (e.g., scanners), ask the technician on duty. Otherwise, please refer to the online manuals (included with the applications) and help files we have on our web site to teach yourself.