Print@UCL - Printing in Colour

This guide will explain how to print in colour using a Print@UCL device

This guide is aimed at...

• Staff
• Students
• IT Administrators
• SLMS staff
• Researchers

Before you start...

• You will need your UCL ID card - your card will need to have been registered with Print @ UCL before you can print.
• You will need access to a Print @ UCL Multi-function device or printer
• You'll need a computer with access to the Print @ UCL print queue. Computers in computer workrooms as well as Staff Desktp@UCL computers will already be set up for you. If you are using your own computer you will need to add the Print @ UCL print queue.

IMPORTANT NOTE - students should familiarise themselves with the print charging costs as changing the colour setting will affect the cost of the print job.

Instructions

This guide contains printing in colour tips for the following situations:

• Desktop@UCL Workstation or Windows PC with the print-UCL queue installed
• Printing Photo images using Windows Photo Viewer application
• Printing PDF Files from a browser (Microsoft Edge, Chrome, Firefox etc.)
• Printing PDF Files from Adobe Acrobat Reader
• Printing in Colour from MacOS

From a Desktop@UCL Workstation or Windows PC with the print@UCL queue/driver installed.

In the print driver window, select the Image Options tab and un-tick Xerox Black and white Conversion, then select OK.

Fig 1 - Unticking Xerox black and white printing option

Windows: Pro Tip 1: When printing photo images (JPG, JPEG, PNG, TIF files etc), printing from the native Windows Photo Viewer app only supports black and white printing. (This is a known Microsoft problem which is outside the control of UCL). To print these files in colour from a Windows PC, open them using Paint or an alternative Image viewer application and follow the instructions above.
Windows: Pro Tip 2: When printing PDF files opened in a browser, it may be necessary to select “Print using system dialogue (Ctrl + Shift + P)” even though Colour is already selected in the Colour dialog box.

Fig 2 - Print using systems dialogue window

Selecting Print using system dialogue opens the Print dialogue window. Ensure that print-UCL on print.ucl.ac.uk is selected as the printer, then select Preferences.

Fig 3 - System Print dialogue

In the Printing Preferences dialog box select the Printing Options tab, then set Xerox Black & White to Off (Use Document Color), then select OK.

Fig 4 - Xerox preference dialogue

When Printing PDF Files in Colour from Adobe Acrobat Reader

Ensure that Print in grayscale (black and white) is NOT checked. Ticking this box prioritizes Grayscale output and disregards the Xerox Black and White – Off setting described previously.

Fig 5 - Print in greyscale checkbox

Additional Pro Tip: When printing any document from Adobe Acrobat Reader, ensure that Choose paper source by PDF page size is un-checked. Setting this to on will cause the printer to continually request resources if the PDF file’s page size is not exactly A3 or A4.

Common causes of Black and White printing when using MacOS

When installing the print-UCL queue, ensure that the correct printer model software is selected. The correct model software is Xerox AltaLink C8055, but it is easy to select the B8055 instead. The B8055 is a mono only device, and consequently does not include the option to print in colour.

Fig 6 - MacOS print driver selection window

When the correct printer software is installed, select File, Print from the application’s menu. From the dropdown menu under the Presets: field select Xerox Features and ensure that Xerox Black and White is set to Off.

Fig 7 - MacOS Xerox printer options

MacOS Pro Tip: When following the Recommended Print Settings guidance on the Connecting to Print@UCL with macOS, it is recommended to create a Colour Duplex preset in addition to the Mono Duplex preset described in the instructions.

Related guides & other info

• Printing your job
• Printing letterheads, labels and cards

Help & Support

For further help and assistance you will need to contact the IT Services.