Information for Students
General Information
If you are enrolled in a course that meets in the NCAT, the doors will automatically unlock at class time.
Anyone with a valid SLU ID card is welcome in the NCAT during open hours; you do not need to be enrolled in a course that is making use of the NCAT.
All other hours are reserved. Please plan accordingly.
The NCAT student staff maintain a HelpDesk in 003 during open hours. Because of the wide variety of activities and software supported, the person or persons on duty at any given time may or may not be able to assist you with highly specialized work. (You can find out which student employees have the needed expertise and when they work on the NCAT staff page.) Professional staff can provide assistance on a limited basis and by appointment only.
The NCAT is located in the Noble Center. [view campus map]
Facilities and Applications
The NCAT lab (NC 003) is the only NCAT space available for student use on a walk-in basis. A list of hours, applications and specialized hardware is available here.
Equipment
Headphones
Headphones may be checked out from the NCAT HelpDesk in NC 003 during open hours. The NCAT student employee will hold your SLU ID card as collateral. Please do not take headphones out of the NCAT. We cannot supply headphones for classes; each student is responsible for bringing his or her own headphones to class meetings.
Equipment for Loan
The NCAT has consumer-level camcorders, still cameras, and audio recorders that students may check out for use on course projects. Professional-level equipment is not generally available for loan. The NCAT does not have a recording studio.
Please be sure to consult NCAT staff before assigning a project that will require a number of students to borrow equipment; inventory is limited and demand is very high at several points in the semester (please see guidelines above).
Items may be checked out from the NCAT HelpDesk in NC 003 during open hours or by making special arrangements with NCAT staff.
Printing
Black-and-white 8.5×11 printing is charged against individual user quotas. We also offer color laser and wide-format printing to departments only; a budget code must be provided at the time of printing. All others needing wide-format prints should contact ODY library, the GIS lab in Launders Science Library, or Office Services in Vilas Hall. Faculty members wishing to give their students access to the printers must make prior arrangements with NCAT staff and provide a budget code.
Note: we stock different papers and have different pricing than other printing locations on campus.
Print Guidelines
Images submitted for printing can be prepared in PhotoShop, which is available on all NCAT workstations.
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Scale to print size (NOTE: wide-format prints smaller than the paper size are no problem; but charges are based on the amount of paper used, regardless of image size)
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Resolution: 300ppi
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Image mode: CMYK
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Export as .tiff with no image compression
When image or images are ready to print, contact the NCAT staff to make an appointment. When image quality is uncertain, arrange for a test print on lower-quality paper.
Large prints can take as long as two hours to spool and print. Last-minute requests cannot always be accommodated, so plan ahead!