Printing Policy & Tips

The mission of Brown Library is to support the educational goals of students and employees of Virginia Western Community College. To support that mission we provide computers with Internet access and installed with Microsoft Office software. We also provide a laser printer so print-outs can be made from either the Internet or from Microsoft Office applications.

Printing is free for students and employees as long as the printing is related to academic work or college needs. This printing may include: research from the Internet, copies of course documents from Blackboard, or typed assignments for classes. Printing for personal use is not allowed.

If we feel that the materials you are printing are not related to academic work, we reserve the right to terminate the print job and to ask you to refrain from further printing.  We appreciate your cooperation with this policy.

Print on Both Sides from Microsoft Word 2007

1. Click on the Microsoft Office button  found in the upper left corner of the screen. from the menu bar. A new window opens.
2. Click on print. A new window opens.
3. Click on print. A new window opens.
4. Click on properties. A new window opens.
5. Under Document Options, uncheck Print on Both Sides.
6. Click on OK to confirm selection. The window closes.
7. Click on OK again to print. The window closes.
8. When finished printing, go back and check Print on Both Sides. This option saves paper and is recommended for most print jobs.

Printing Frames in Blackboard
All of the screens in Blackboard are divided into sections or frames. The top of the screen is the header frame. On the right side, you have the button frame. In the middle, you have the content frame. When you print, it is necessary to select the right frame. To do that, simply click someone in the frame you want to print.

Power Point Slides in Blackboard

1. Find the link to the Power Point
2. Move the cursor over the link and click the right mouse button.
3. A menu appears. Select Open in New Window.
4. The presentation opens in a new window.
5. Select File and Print.
6. Print What: Handouts.
7. Handouts: Slides per page. Please do a minimum of 3 slides per page. This will give you plenty of space for notes.

Word Documents in Blackboard

1. Find the link to the document
2. Move the cursor over the link and click the right mouse button.
3. A menu appears. Select open in new window.
4. The document opens in a new window.
5. Select File and Print.

Blackboard Printing Alternative
As an alternative, if you are unable to open your Blackboard documents, you may choose to save them first.

1. Find the link to the document or presentation.
2. Move the cursor over the link and click the right mouse button.
3. A menu appears. Select Save Target as.
4. Save to desktop. Please be aware that files saved to the desktop will be lost when the computer is shut down.
5. From the desktop, double-click the saved file to open.
6. From the menu bar, select File and Print.

Printing from Electronic Databases
When printing from the library electronic databases you will always be given an option to format your article from printing. Always use this option rather than printing from the file menu. When you format your article for printing you guarantee that you have a nice clean copy. Otherwise, your pages will have the edges cut off on the sides.

• Encyclopaedia Britannica - With Britannica articles you have a choice. You may print the entire article, or just one page.  Britannica articles can sometimes be over a hundred pages long. Please print only the pages you need.
   
• EBSCO - Click on the printer icon.
   
• Facts on File - Click on Print/Citation
   
• JSTOR - Click on Print Print  - In JSTOR, all of the articles appear as screen images rather than text. To print formatted pages from JSTOR it is necessary to have Adobe Acrobat Reader. This software is available on all campus computers. It is also available for free download from Adobe Publishing.

Printing from the Internet
When printing from the web, it is common for the right margin to be lost and for the edges to be cut off on printed pages. Here are some options:

• Look for a "printer friendly" link
• Highlight the text you want and paste it into a Word document
• Change the printer settings so that the page prints in landscape mode, or horizontally.
• Use the print preview to lower the margins on the left and right sides to the smallest allowable.