These are the currently available wide format printing stocks (Semester 1, 2021)

Lightweight Matte: Chromajet Hi-Res 180

Chromajet 180 is a white matte presentation paper.

More than twice the thickness of regular office paper, when coupled with our 12 ink printers (compared to a home printer with 4), this will give your designs that extra edge for a very reasonable price!

This media is made from 100% virgin fibre sourced from sustainable forests. It has received the Nordic Swan Award- the most demanding ecology mark in international paper. The manufacturing mill maintains ISO14001 Environmental Management System certification as it recycles water, uses waste products as an energy source and has waste and effluent treatment systems in place. There are no detectable dioxin charges in the production and manufacture of this media.

Heavyweight Art Paper: Hahnemühle Photo Rag 308

Hahnemühle Photo Rag 308 is a smooth bright white 100% rag based paper specifically designed to meet the needs of photographers or artists seeking archival quality prints.

Almost four times as thick as office paper!

The coated side of this paper provides excellent image sharpness and optimum colour graduation. The coating also offers a very high level of water resistance.

Photo Rag is the most popular paper chosen by photographers to create high quality fine art prints. The fine, smooth surface and feel of Photo Rag make this paper very versatile and it is ideal for printing both black and white and colour photographs and art reproductions with impressive pictorial depth.

The heavier 308gsm paper provides the weight of an art paper with a smooth calendered surface, which picks up every detail captured in the photograph or illustration.

Heavyweight Art Paper: Chromajet Cotton Rag 310gsm

This smooth bright white rag based paper meets the needs of photographers or artists seeking archival quality prints at a more affordable price than the Hahnemühle option, it is also available in wider formats.

This 100% cotton bright white matt fine art paper provides a luxuriously smooth surface ideal for high-resolution photographic images. This 310gsm hot pressed fine art paper is able to produce deep blacks, excellent image sharpness and details, optimum colour graduation. Acid-free, lignin-free and archival certified 100+ years.

Almost four times as thick as office paper!

Pearl Lustre: Ilford Galerie Smooth Pearl Lustre 310gsm

GALERIE Smooth Pearl paper features the very latest HDR (High Dynamic Range) optically clear coating and coupled with recent advancements in inkjet receiving layer design, makes this the reference media for producing images with superb clarity, high sharpness and excellent colour gamut.

The high-density, resin coated heavyweight base and smooth pearl finish not only eliminate glare and fingerprints but with its natural photographic white tint, produce prints with the true look and feel of a photograph. For outstanding imaging performance, combined with the benefit of “touch dry” from the printer, this pearl surface media is the “choice of professionals”.

Photosatin: Chromajet Spectrum Satin 255gsm

Chromajet Spectrum Satin 255gsm is a satin finished photograph and design paper. A more affordable option that the Pearl Lustre.

More than three times the thickness of regular office paper.

It has a microporous coating on a resin coated base. This makes it a very stable paper with sharp image quality that shows great detail. This media also has a very wide colour gamut and is particularly good for images with a lot of shadow detail.

The 100% virgin fibre media is sourced from sustainable forests and has received the Nordic Swan Award; the most demanding ecological mark in international paper. The manufacturing mill maintains ISO14001 Environmental Management System Certification, recycles water, uses waste products as an energy source with waste and effluent treatment systems in place. There are no detectable dioxin discharges in the manufacture of this product.

Custom Papers

We do not guarantee the colour matching on custom paper types.

As a general rule, we print these through the 610mm wide Canon ipf6450.

Allow for 10mm cropping either side

We can print on card up to 1.5mm (~1000gsm) thick – this requires specialist loading, please contact Technical Staff before attempting such a print job.

If you’re looking to up your game from the office printer for your pin-ups, a good starting point is to try efficient wide format printing.

When used effectively, this can save you a lot of money and produce high quality prints. The principle is simple: make one document the width of the print roll, align your artworks onto this document, and minimise gaps by filling any blank spaces where possible.

Jump to:

• 1 x A3 (297 x 420mm)
• 2 x A3s (A2) (420 x 594mm)
• 3 x A3s (1118 x 594mm)
• Other Sizes

A3s – 297 x 420mm

The cheapest way to print A3s on higher quality paper than the office printer is through the wide format print submit on 610mm lightweight matte paper.

1 x A3

For 1 x A3, it’s most efficient to print in landscape on the wide format printer:

To do this, rotate your image to landscape, then change the canvas size to 610mm.

n.b. in Illustrator they are called Artboards rather than ‘Canvas‘

You will be charged for 30cm of paper & ink – $6

2 x A3s

For 2 x A3s, it’s most efficient to print two side by side portrait layouts on the wide format printer:

IMPORTANT: If your artworks have white or light backgrounds, make sure you add a 1 pixel, 10% opacity stroke for a cut line!

You will be charged for 42cm of paper & ink – $8.40

3 x A3s

IMPORTANT: If your artworks have white or light backgrounds, make sure you add a 1 pixel, 10% opacity stroke as a cut line!

You will be charged for 42cm of paper & ink (on the 1118mm (44″) roll) – $10.50

Other Sizes

Once you get the hang of a few A-series prints, you will start quickly being able to adjust the width of our paper rolls and use whatever height fits your artwork best.

If you lay your artwork out on the width of the roll – in the most efficient way possible – it will not only save you money, but it will also save paper and our time!

The Paper Types article has a list of the currently available paper stocks.

The Print Media Payment Portal has the current pricing of all offered materials.

If your artworks have white backgrounds, make sure you add a 1 pixel, 10% opacity stroke for a cut line!

Information regarding how chemicals and new materials are managed in the Makerspaces.

Some materials and chemicals used in making can be harmful to you and those around you when used in inappropriate ways. For example when some plastics are laser cut, they release acidic or corrosive chemicals that are destructive to the machine and dangerous to the operator and environment.

To ensure the safety of all users and staff, and limit environmental damage, you must either use approved materials that can be purchased through the Makerspace Online Materials Store or have the materials and chemicals you wish to work with in the Makerspaces approved by the Technical Team.

Approved Materials Available for Purchase

The Makerspaces provide a range of materials for purchase that are approved and safe to use within the Makerspaces facilities. These can be purchased via the Online Materials Store.

Approved External Suppliers

The individual Makerspaces have approved chemicals / materials that can be sourced from external commercial suppliers. It is recommended to work with materials identified by the Technical Team to avoid delays and hurdles.

Non-Approved Materials

If you wish to use materials and chemicals that are not provided through the Makerspaces you must have these approved before use. For approval please follow these instructions:

• Source the Material Safety and Data Sheet (MSDS) for the material or chemical. This information will detail the potentially harmful risks of the chemical / material and how these risks can be managed. By law all suppliers are required to make this available upon request.
• Provide the MSDS along with a sample of the material or chemical and a description of how you intend to work with the chemical / material to Technical Team for review and approval. Please be aware that providing the MSDS does not guarantee that the chemical/material will be safe to use in the Makerspaces and therefore may not be approved.

This guide is based on the Maker Spaces of the Melbourne School of Design Knowledge Base Article