Information Technology Services

Students can print documents on any networked printer on campus through the use of a commercial software program called PaperCut.

The PaperCut system is a university wide print management system designed to make day-to-day printing easy and affordable. Once set up, students can print from any of their devices to printers all across campus. Installation information for all devices can be found on this ITS page.

You will want to choose these two queues from the list.

• Design-findme-bw
• Design-findme-color

This allows you to print to ANY public Toshiba printer in the college of design.  All of the printers are both color and black & white, you are just choosing whether to print in color or in black and white.  Color prints will cost you 25 credits, black & white prints will cost you 0 credits (you start with 1000 credits but you can request more).

Each of these printers are loaded with 8.5×11 and 11×17 inch recycled paper

You’ll find the printers next to the staircase in the Atrium on the first floor and on the 4th floor outside the computer labs.

More printing options are available through the Output Center

If you are using a Mac on campus

1. Go to the desktop
2. Under the pull down menu “Go” select “Connect to Server” or open-apple-K
3. Connect to smb://my.docs.iastate.edu/dsn$/classwork/[FOLDERNAME] (no brackets–your foldername is provided by your instructor)
4. Put in your ISU username and password (the one you use for e-mail)
5. MYFILES server will show up as a hard drive on your desktop
6. If it won’t connect or gives an error, You MAY have to use IASTATE\netid as the username (or try netid@iastate.edu)

If you are using a Mac off campus

1. Go to http://vpn.iastate.edu and let it do its thing

1. Complete steps 1-6 of on campus directions

If you are using a PC on campus

1. Go to your START menu or go to your file management window.
   IF you click START, find the box that says “Search programs and files”
   IF you use the file management window, find the box at the top that lists the directory you are currently in.
2. Connect to \\my.docs.iastate.edu\dsn$\classwork\[FOLDERNAME] (no brackets–your foldername is provided by your instructor)
   If you are on a lab machine you will see a drive appear. If you are on your own machine, you may need to enter your username and password
4. Won’t connect or gives an error? Try mapping the drive then make sure that you check the “Connect using different credentials” when you connect to the drive. You MAY have to use IASTATE\netid as the username (or try netid@iastate.edu). If you don’t see the “connect using different credentials”, enter your netid and just hit enter. It will show an error but it will then give you the connect option.
   Also, make sure you are using the IASTATE or EDUROAM wireless SIDs (not the guest SID)

If you are using a PC off campus

1. Go to http://vpn.iastate.edu and let it do its thing
2. Complete steps 1-4 of on campus directions

Beginning in fall 2020, all students at Iowa State University are required to own or obtain a laptop computer or other device appropriate to their discipline. The most current information about this requirement is available on the Information Technology Services computer requirement FAQ webpage.

The first-year Core Design Program emphasizes hand drawing and manual skill building within studio courses, as well as digital literacy integration via our online Digital Design Literacy course. Students should purchase or bring a computer capable of running Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign for the simple project they will complete at the end of the digital literacy class.

Most computers purchased within the past four years should be capable of running these programs. More specific recommendations can be found below:

The complexity of coursework increases as students advance through their degree program; therefore, we recommend waiting until the student is admitted to their chosen professional program (second year) before purchasing a more powerful computer.

Waiting to get a higher-end device will mean that, during their final year, students will have more processing power when they need it most. One year of computer hardware advancement can provide significant additional power that will save students time in opening, working on, and rendering files/projects.

Students in most of the professional programs are encouraged to purchase a laptop computer when they are accepted in their second year. The machines specified are typically high-end laptops that can be quite expensive.  In addition, students are responsible for purchasing or downloading the software they may need. The college does provide a program for students who are accepted into the professional programs and wish to make the purchasing process easier. You are not required to participate in this program.

Design-intensive professions have become reliant on high-performance hardware and experience with a variety of platforms and software. Since your degree program’s curriculum is preparing you to enter the professional world, owning (or leasing) a laptop that is capable of running the software you will be using can be crucial to your success. Depending on your degree program, you may be required or heavily recommended to have a laptop with a minimum level of specifications. Additionally, there may be changes in what the university recommends/requires for this upcoming fall semester.

Here are some general specifications that meet or exceed the requirements of the commonly used software in the College of Design: