Creative Print Bureau (CPB)

The Creative Print Bureau (CPB) is located on the second floor of the Pollak Building, Room 219.

Hours for the Fall 2024 Semester:
Monday–Friday 9AM-5PM
Saturdays: 11pm-2pm

From Aug 20th–Sept 9th our services will be available by appointment only–no walk-ins allowed. The CPB will still take print jobs with a 2-3 day turnaround.

Please email printbureau@vcu.edu with any questions, print requests or to schedule an appointment.

Thank you for your understanding and patience as we train up a new staff!

Summer Sessions: via appointment only

We invite you to ask us for cost quotes when submitting jobs. If requested, we will send you a quote and wait for you to confirm before printing your job. Your final costs may not always be the same as your initial quote. At pick-up, a studio assistant will happily break down any charges for you.

A valid VCU email is required for us to send your invoice. If you do not have a vcu email, you may also pay using our checkout tablet in the front entrance.

Invoices will be sent to your VCU email, payments can be made online using a debit or credit card.

The Creative Print Bureau focuses on the following goals in pursuit of its mission:

1. Promote, foster, and improve student’s knowledge of print production in an accessible environment
2. Increase awareness of responsible, environmentally-friendly practices during print production
3. Complement and expand faculty’s curriculum with educational resources and programs
4. Empower our students to graduate highly skilled and confident in an increasingly DIY, collaborative culture

For more information regarding our studio guidelines please view our PDF here

The Creative Print Bureau (CPB) operates through two rooms.

When you first walk in, there is a doorway leading into our self service stations. Feel free to use this space to do work, document projects, and trim posters. We have exacto knives, scissors and some bookbinding supplies. Our supplies are free to use, however you will need to exchange your VCU ID to borrow. In addition to being a place for you to work on your creative projects, this space houses:

• (1) 25″ x 19″ high-resolution scanner
• (1) Risograph Machine, including scrap paper and drying racks
• (1) Perfect Binder for Letter-Size books
• (1) Guillotine for trimming down stacks of paper
• (1) Spiral Bind machine
• (1) Saddle-Stitch stapler
• Cutting boards and rulers
• Documentation corner for printed works

To the right of our main entrance, you will see a table with several desktop computers, and many printers in its surrounding vicinity. This is our production zone, where staff complete your jobs. We currently work with:

• (1) 60 inch wide Inkjet Printer
• (1) 44 inch wide Inkjet Printer
• (1) Vinyl Cutter, up to 48 inches wide
• (1) Textile Printer, 75 inch wide
• (1) Laser Jet printer, printing duplex up to 18×12 inches
• (1) Grommet Machine

If you have any questions please ask for help at our checkout counter.

The efficiency of this lab is thanks to our amazing Studio Assistants who help customers and do print production at the CPB.

Production is guided by Cassie Grace (they/she), a 2021 graduate of the VCUarts School of Graphic Design, who manages our services and coordinates all programming.

Keep up with us on social media! We post updates on hours, workshops and events, turnaround time influxes.

Instagram

Youtube

We currently have two inkjet printers.  Marco is our 44-inch Canon PRO-4100, and Jerry is our 60-inch Canon iP9400. They are both capable of printing on matte, satin, process film and glossy paper. We stock mostly 24, 44, and 60 inch rolls. Prints that we cannot nest and are smaller than half the width of the roll, are subject to excess paper fees. See our Print Ready Policies for specifics.

Available Inkjet Media:

Matte

Matte is a heavy weight photographic paper stock that has almost no reflective coating on the paper. The matte coating prevents ink from fully absorbing into the stock, so it is still able to maintain vibrant color with high contrast. This paper is great for prints with lots of text or illustrative elements.

Satin

Satin is a lighter weight photographic paper stock that has a pearlescent sheen that exceeds that of matte but is less reflective than glossy. Both Satin and Glossy papers are great for photographic prints.

Glossy

Glossy is a heavy weight photographic paper stock that has the highest reflective sheen and produces high color definition.

Process Film

Process Film is a transparency that is best used for photographic processes like screen printing and in dark room photography.

Bond paper

Bond paper is great for drafting and pattern prints. This is a very lightweight, copy paper. We do not encourage printing heavily saturated prints on this paper, as it can cause warping with such a thin paper.
See price chart below. Average turnaround for a poster print is 1-2 business days.

We also have a variety of cut-sheet photo papers. Please email us for those inquiries.

Pricing reference for typical poster sizes

Laser printing is an electrostatic digital printing process. It produces high-quality text and graphics by repeatedly passing a laser beam back and forth over a negatively charged cylinder called a “drum” to define a differentially charged image. The drum then selectively collects electrically charged powdered ink (toner), and transfers the image to paper, which is then heated in order to permanently fuse the text, imagery, or both, to the paper.

Laser Printing is most suitable for booklet prints, double sided copies and large quantities of prints. Average turnaround for prints is 1-2 business days. Average turnaround for booklets is 2-3 business days. Ricoh Pro C7200e is a Laser printer equipped to handle any Laser paper.

Available Laser Media:

The Risograph is a digital duplicator made for high volume printing. It can print only one color at a time. The original image is scanned by machine and burnished into the master sheet in order to create a stencil for the ink to stamp as your print runs through the machine. The masters can also be sent digitally via a connected computer. If sending your prints through Adobe Acrobat on the computer, make sure your file sizes are kept as small as possible. The Risograph maximum paper size is 12 × 18 inches, with 11 x 17 inches being the largest size available for a full bleed print.

The Risograph is self-operated and requires an appointment to be made via our Google Calendar. You must have prior training before being added to the Risograph Calendar. If you have taken a training please email us to be added to the calendar. We offer trainings throughout the semester, so keep an eye on our social media for signups.

For Faculty, class trainings can be coordinated with our Production Manager, Cassie Grace.

When you arrive for your appointment please bring your images to be scanned or digital files, and make sure you get a Risograph docket from a Studio Assistant. The Creative Print Bureau will sell you sheets of our 80lb Cougar stock for $0.15. Recommendations for paper can be found under our Resources for Students section.

Please pay special attention to the copy and master counters on the Risograph machine. Failure to fill these numbers in properly on your dockett will result in overharges. When you have wrapped up your appointment, leave a filled out docket with a Studio Assistant to be sent your invoice. Failure to pay your Risograph invoices will result in suspended printing privileges.

Each layer of ink requires two hours of drying time minimum before it can be run back through the machine for another layer. A hair dryer may be used to help speed the process along. If the print is not dried correctly, it can bleed onto the drum, which may cause future smudging.

LaTHOR is our Roland CAMM-1 Pro GX-500 vinyl cutter, used to cut vinyl with a drag-knife. This machine creates weather-resistant graphic designs, such as single-color line art or typography. It is operated by the Production Manager and the CPB Assistants.

To cut vinyl, please send us a packaged Illustrator file. All text in the design should be outlined. Customers can choose to provide their own vinyl or use our inventory of black or white vinyl.

Finishing cost is accounted for weeding and applying transfer tape. For more instruction on file prepping your vinyl files, please go to the student resources tab for PDF and video tutorials!

Vinyl Cutting Prices:

If bringing in your own vinyl, you will only be charged for labor and tape.

Perfect binding is available inside our self service room, is a DIY process, and allows customers to bind the pages of a book with thermal activated glue. Wire-o binding is additionally DIY. The machine allows students to punch holes and add a looped-wire to enclose the pages. We also have staplers for your zines and saddle stitch booklets.

Demo videos for both binding machines can be found on our youtube and under the student resources tab. If you have additional questions or want to make an appointment for a hands-on demo, talk to a Studio Assistant or send us an email.

We are currently providing book binding materials for free. That means glue, staples, and spirals for the machines are all being provided by the Creative Print Bureau. Please take special care of the machines and keep supply waste to a minimum so we can continue to provide these resources for everyone.

We have recently added a new printing service to our facility. The Mutoh 1938 TX is a 75 inch wide direct-to-textile printer, featuring 8 color channels and 2 printheads for incredible speeds and detail. We are using an aqueous-based pigment ink that is compatible with natural, blended, and coated fabrics. The Mutoh operates similarly to an inkjet printer, spraying out the ink as the print head moves along the fabric.

We will be carrying a lightweight Sateen and a heavier, Canvas material. Both materials are 100% cotton. Prices are $18 per yard, the width of the fabric rolls are 60″. These prints are intended to be samples, and are not durable for heavy wear and tear immediately after printing. We do not have a heating system for the textile printer, so DO NOT wash fabrics right after printing.

If you will need treat and wash your prints, we would recommend going to a laundromat to get your prints heat-set or using an iron without steam for 5-10 minutes. Then hand-washing your fabric in cold water. This method has rendered successful results for us, but this is still very much an experimental process. If you intend on using your prints for a presentation, for simple wall hangings or demo mockups, do not worry about treating the prints.

We will be printing Canvas on Tuesday, Sateen on Thursday, and 15-minute appointments are required before we print your assets. Please visit this link to reserve an appointment. During your appointment, we will download your assets, and set them up for print. We can resize your assets and turn on step-and-repeat patterning with this printer’s software.

Design notes: It is recommended that you keep font sizes above 10pt, and graphic elements thinner than a quarter inch may become blurred.

You may bring in custom paper but understand these guidelines:

You must bring in an additional 30-45 sheets if you want your paper calibrated. There will be a $3.00 up-charge for every calibration run.

With new paper comes different calibration, set up and troubleshooting. Your job may take longer than the average turnaround time; account for 2-3 additional business days before completion.

We will not trim custom paper down for printing. Please use the guillotine in our self-service room to trim papers down to size before bringing to us.  For double-sided printing, paper size should be no smaller than 5×7 inches and no larger than 13×27 inches.

We have successfully printed on newsprint, adhesive, transfer and even handmade paper. To print on speciality papers such as these please schedule a consultation prior to sending your job in. Our Production Manager will need to decide if your paper will work before we accept the job.

To submit your jobs, please email the following information to printbureau@vcu.edu with your .PDF files.

1. Name, email, and department
2. Print job category… vinyl, inkjet, laser, booklet, textile
3. Paper type for each file submitted, choices available under the Services & Equipment tab
4. Print dimensions of each file
5. How many pages of each file and how many copies needed
6. Whether or not you need trim marks, or have already included them

Keep in mind vinyl jobs require a completely outlined .AI folder.

Book prints require a packaged InDesign folder.

When sending a packaged art folder, compress and attach it as a .zip to your email. 

Printing

The CPB will print your files as they are submitted, but we will contact you if we see any extreme issues that are immediately noticeable (such as conflicting sizes). We will not edit any files once we receive them. Please check your size, colors and copy before submitting a file to prevent misprints. If you require a white border, it should be added to your file before submission. We recommend first printing a test strip if you have concerns about resolution and color. You may send us a test strip per print that can be up to 4″ long and 44″ wide. Only 1 free test strip per job, more will incur charges.

We cannot add bleeds.

Test Strips

Customers are welcome to print test strips on our inkjet media, up to 4″x42″ inches. Please send a .pdf of your asset sized properly, and specify which media you would like it printed onto. Only one free test strip allowed per project.

Up-chargES

In efforts to minimize inventory waste, we only carry 24, 44, and 60 inch rolls for our inkjet printers. So if your smaller print leaves a large amount of excess paper, the CPB is at liberty to include a $5.00 up-charge. If concerned at all, feel free to discuss with a Studio Assistant and they can check if your prints will require an up-charge. Vinyl cuts should be at least one square foot to avoid up charges for material.

When possible, the CPB nests multiple prints together to prevent waste. The act of nesting is placing one or more prints along the width of a roll to be printed.

reprints

It can happen occasionally where our printers, vinyl cutter, or other services experience problems. We work hard to catch and avoid these problems. However if something slips our notice, it is still the student’s responsibility to check their prints before leaving the Bureau. If there is a print error, the student must request a reprint before leaving. If the problem can be immediately resolved, a staff member will take the defective print and reprint the file in question without delay. 

If the defected print is due to a printer malfunction or technician error, our lab will provide you with a free reprint. If you wish to keep the defect in addition to the reprint, you may do so for half of its original price.  

In the case of reprints, no changes to the original file will be allowed. The reprint will follow the original print specifications.

The Creative Print Bureau rarely accepts claims of defective prints once they have left the studio.

Once the print leaves the bureau, complaints regarding fingerprint marks, scratches, paper dents, color or resolution will not be considered.

If the misprint is ruled to be the designer’s error, you will still be charged for the print and any reprints.

However, if a printer-specific defect (example: wrong paper type, printer smudge, incorrect pagination) is discovered after leaving the lab, bring the print back immediately. Students have three (3) business days to return the defective print. If a defective print is reported more than three (3) business days after picking up the job, management will not consider a reprint or credit.

We welcome all of the VCU community to the Creative Print Bureau! Alumni, faculty and students are welcome to attend any events, use our self-service lab, and send us print jobs.

We also are looking to increase services to members of the Richmond community. Richmond plays a huge role in the making of VCU and it’s important to us to support and engage with our city outside of the classroom doors. If you would like to send us a print but do not have a vcu email, let us know when you send your files!

We average on a 1-2 business day turnaround. A business day is defined as a measurement of time in which normal business hours are operating.

During midterms, finals, our turnaround can often become 3-4 days. Please read under our Services and Equipment tab for more quotes on turnaround for each service. We will also post about turnaround time changes on our Instagram.

We can usually get very simple print jobs completed day of, when the queue is light. Do not assume this will be the case for your job, it is best to ask a Studio Assistant about the length of our job queue before submitting prints needing quick turnaround.

As a VCUarts affiliated service, we prioritize helping students develop creative agency. We do not offer finishing services or bind your books for you, but we are more than happy to show you trimming techniques, or guide you in using any one of our self service machines. We value your creative practice, so please never hesitate to ask a staff member for advice or assistance. 

We reserve the right to offer finishing services on a case by case basis, especially when doing larger-end jobs. Departments, Faculty and Staff may request finishing services, for an up-charge.

The Creative Print Bureau requires majority of your job files be submitted as .PDF for our printers.

There are currently a couple exceptions that require a different file format.

• Vinyl Cutting requires an outlined .AI folder.
• Saddle-Stitch booklets will need to be in a packaged InDesign folder.
• Textile prints should be saved as a photo file, such as .tiff or .jpeg

Unsure how to package your files using Adobe applications?  Check out this Youtube tutorial explaining how “packaging” files works on Adobe applications 

The benefits of saving a PDF for print are:

1. All elements are self-contained in the file, including images, fonts, and graphics being automatically included.
2. PDFs can be viewed as they intend to be printed.
3. PDFS are smaller than working files (the files created by image building programs like .INDD, .PSD, and .AI), and don’t rely on having specific types of software to view.

Inkjet Printing is going to be your best tool for anything poster sized or larger. These printers are great for creating vibrant, highly saturated prints.  Keep in mind that inkjet printing is not capable of double-sided printing, especially at large poster sizes. What we can do is print two images side-by-side, and then you can fold the separation to create a double-sided effect.

Laser printing is perfect for small prints, especially if you are wanting to print many copies for a cost efficient price. It is also the only printer we have that prints double-sided up to 12×18 inches, so any kind of book printing will be done on our Laser. This printer is not the best for heavily saturated, high detail prints, but the quality will still be of high standard.

Vinyl cutting is perfect for wall decals, wall text and decorative elements. Because our vinyl machine simply cuts the forms out from a large roll of vinyl, your design will be one color. You can always bring in vinyl if you would like to use a color other than our black or white stock.

For our wide format Inkjet printers, we print on rolls of Matte, Satin, Glossy, Bond, and Process Film (transparent paper). We can also do sheet cut prints, but it must be on specialized inkjet paper. If you would like to see the inkjet papers we have available, please stop by the CPB and ask an assistant.

For our Laser printer, we stock several cover and text weighted papers made for laser printing. We also have successfully printed on newsprint, vellum and some handmade papers but we do not provide the paper. Any paper you would like to bring in needs to be approved by the Production Manager first. More guidelines for bringing in your own paper under the Services and Equipment tab.

Text paper is a thinner stock, ideal for flyers, copies, book body pages, zines. Cover paper is a heavier card stock.  Bond is even simpler than text paper, and is best for rough drafts. Cover paper is best for cards, book covers, high quality prints. We currently carry Cover and Text paper, please specify in your email which you would prefer. We also now have a Paper Samples Board out front of our studio, feel free to take samples for future reference.

We currently stock a medium weight Satin Cotton and a heavier Canvas Cotton for textile printing. The rolls are about 58 inches wide.

• Use only high-resolution images to avoid distorted, pixelated prints. The Creative Print Bureau suggests a 300 DPI/PPI resolution to get the best print.
• Add bleeds for trimming. A bleed allows your image to “bleed” slightly over the dimensions during print so the edges appear even after trim. A bleed cannot be added to a file after it is submitted to us, so it’s best to design with a bleed. More information about bleeds can be found here.
• Design your work at the same size it will be printed. If you want your print to be 18×24 inches, create the file dimensions to be 18×24 inches. The Creative Print Bureau will not resize files. You can double check your file’s dimensions by opening up the file in Adobe Acrobat, moving your mouse over to the lower left corner, and its dimensions should appear at the bottom of the screen.

Paper Feed Calibration is the process we go through that allows our Laser printer to properly register front and back images for double-sided printing. If you are bringing your own paper into the Creative Print Bureau, you must bring in an additional 70 – 100 sheets if you want your paper properly  calibrated. There will be a $3.00 up-charge for every calibration run. If we can’t get close enough calibration after one run, we will check with you before completing a second run. Remember, single sided prints do not need to be calibrated.

Wire-o/Wire Binding
Wire-o binding allows customers to punch holes and add a looped-wire to enclose the pages.

Perfect Binding
Perfect binding allows customers to bind the pages of a book with thermal activated glue.

Vinyl Preparation
In this video, we will cover weeding and taping in two parts by showing you how to weed your vinyl decal and prepare for the manual taping process.

Vinyl Installation: Dry Application Method
In this video, we will cover basic vinyl installation using the dry application method for drywall and other surfaces.

Vinyl Installation: Wet Application Method
In this video, we will cover basic vinyl installation using the wet application method for windows, glass, and various weather conditions.

Risograph Printing
Falling somewhere between photocopying and screen printing, the process of risograph printing (or riso) is a simple and economical way for artists and designers to self-publish.

Free InDesign Business Card Template

For Graphic Design – LightBox Template

For further research into book arts, and incredible art archives, VCU Libraries Special Collections and Archives holds unique and rare materials that may be utilized for learning and inspiration. Highlights of the collection located on the fourth floor of James Branch Cabell Library include a nationally-recognized Comic Arts collection and over 4,000 items in the Book Art collection. VCU Special Collections and Archives is open to the public. Visit their website for more information on the collections and how to access them.

We are always happy to complete jobs for faculty. You can follow the instructions for submitting a job under the Submit a job tab. If you are looking to pay for a job with department or grant funds, please specify in your email which department or event the job is for, and C.C. your financial administrator.

We offer trimming for faculty and staff jobs, please just let us know you would like these services. Trimming will be a $5-10 up charge.

Sometimes, a project you assign for a class may call for a specific, unified output. We’ve worked with professors before to organize a google drive folder where, for example, each student uploaded their own PDF to be laser printed on 12×18 80lb paper. If you have a situation where you are looking to get your class output all in the same size, paper type, number of copies, it might be a good idea to set up a similar system.

First, work with Production Manager Cassie Grace in order to decide when the files should be submitted in order to have a turnaround that fits with you class schedule. Then the parameters of the project should be outlined. What kind of paper are your students using? What size will each file be, will trim marks or bleed marks already be included? Once the details of the project are understood and the submission date is set, the CPB will print your student’s files all at once and create individual invoices for each student to pay when they come to pick up.

This is by no means required from professors, but can be helpful especially if your class is working with a tight timeline, or you wish to assist your class with the job submission process. For inquiries please email Cassie at knudsencg@vcu.edu

We encourage faculty to work a class tour into your syllabus and set up the exact day/time at the beginning of the semester.

Our tours will be often be hosted by a Studio Assistant or the Production Manager, and can be customized to a specific topic or process. It can also be a simple overview of all our services. It really is up to you! After the tour, we will be on hand to answer any questions from students and discuss a specific topic or process if needed.

When looking to schedule a tour, please reach out to us at printbureau@vcu.edu

Sometimes it’s great to have a hands-on demonstration of how to do a technique. We can offer full class demos of all equipment by appointment. It is best to conduct these in smaller groups to ensure everyone can see, so large classes should be prepared to break up. We recommend groups of six or less.

In some cases, we can come to you. Topics like file prep, vinyl taping, trimming prints. Our Production Manager, Cassie Grace, is always open to new ideas and collaborations.

Keith Fabry
Located just south of the James, this printer is capable of printing signage and banners on multiple medias and additionally runs large format and small format printing.

Uptown Color
Digital color printer located on Main Street near campus that regularly works with VCU’s students, faculty, and staff to produce quality products. Can print stickers and vinyl banners.

Wythken Printing
Digital full-service printer located in the Carver neighborhood; regularly works directly with VCU’s students, faculty, and staff. Sticker capacity.

Worth Higgins
Specializes in offset printing and large volume runs.

Zooom Printing
Local Printing in Richmond Virginia, Zooom Printing specializes in full color digital printing using HP Indigo and offset printing.

Bizport
Digital and offset printing, signage, mailing, and imaging.

Clown Kisses Press
Local Richmond Risograph print studio, specializing in larger Risograph print runs.

French Paper Co.
Small, independent paper mill based in Michigan

Lindenmeyr Munroe
Fine paper merchant and distributor with a location in the near west end of Richmond

Paper Source
A chain store for decorative papers and crafting, they have an easy-to-access location in Carytown

Benj Franklin Printing Co.
A full service printer that works with VCU to provide its students quality papers for screen printing, letterpress, and other printing purposes

Grimco, Inc
A supplier and distributor for ORACAL Vinyl with a location in Ashland, VA

Fellers
Another supplier and distributor of ORACAL Vinyl

Blurb
Ideal for self-publishing graphic and photo books.

Moo
Ideal for business paraphernalia such as business cards and flyers (can do gold foil on small runs easily!)

Newspaper Club
Ideal for creating and printing your own newspaper.

Phototech Labs
Local photographic service provider that has film processing facilities located in downtown Richmond

Richmond Camera
Offers photofinishing and photography retail

Richmond Pro Lab
Offers photographic services and photofinishing