Facilities and Resources

The Student Intranet has links to the Fab Lab, Digital Print Bureau, ERC bookings, the Learning Lab and the Library. This page provides an overview of College resources as a quick guide.

Studios and workshops

The College has undergone major transformations to learning and teaching facilities providing, over 13,000 square metres, some of the best specialist space and equipment available to any art students in Europe.

We continue to invest in our studios and workshops that redefine the relationship between media, fine art, digital technology and handcrafted traditions. We offer some of the richest, most diverse ecosystem of materials, technologies, processes, practices, and exchange of ideas of any art school in the UK, supported by comments made by our external examiners.

Computing

IT Suites

There are a number of IT Suites (both PC & MAC) in Tavistock Place including a mixed IT suite on the ground floor as part of the Learning Lab - an open access space that is available for drop in. All machines are available on a first come first served basis. IT suites T2.1, T2.2, T2.27 & T1.20, may be used for open access when they are not booked for teaching. When teaching is taking place only those taking part in the teaching sessions may use the rooms.

Please refer to the timetable outside the rooms for open access availability. All machines are available on a first come first served basis. The IT Suites will follow Library opening times.

You are also recommended to read the content in Essential IT information

For help contact ithelpdesk@pca.ac.uk

Equipment resource centre (erc) / connect 2

ERC - opening times:

Monday 09:00 - 11:30 / 12:30 - 18:30
Tuesday 09:00 - 11:30 / 12:30 - 18:30
Wednesday 09:00 - 11:30 / 12:30 - 18:30
Thursday 09:00 - 11:30 / 12:30 - 18:30
Friday 09:00 - 11:30 / 12:30 - 16:30
Saturday Closed
Sunday Closed

The Multimedia equipment Resource Centre (ERC) at T3.21 is the heart of the College for all your creative equipment needs, be it the latest mirrorless cameras, DSLRs, digital video equipment or lighting as well as stocking a wide range of photographic and media consumables.

The resources can be booked online through Connect 2 application software or at the desk in the ERC - all you will need is your College ID. You must undergo the relevant induction to the equipment before loaning can commence, so please plan ahead.

Please visit the ERC Bookings and the ERC Google Site for information regarding the in-depth list of resources, a look at the rules and procedures, along with detailed information on equipment housed within the facility and latest news on our resources.

Please see the following site for information on ERC / Connect 2 login with policy and guidance/announcements plus insurance information: https://ercbookings.plymouthart.ac.uk/connect2/

In addition a handy Guide to Using Connect2 is available at the following student portal link:

ERC mail: erc@pca.ac.uk (for technical aid/cancellations / late returns)

Telephone: 01752 203401 (for technical aid/cancellations / late returns)

Note: Connect2 to be replaced by SmartHub at the end of January 2022

Fab Lab

Full details are on the Fab Lab website: https://fablabplymouth.org/ or via the Fab Lab intranet page where booking information can be found.

Fab Lab Plymouth is a digital 'fabrication laboratory' based in the heart of the campus – for use by students across all areas and levels of the College.

Our Fab Lab is part of a network of over 1,000 official Fab Labs worldwide.

Students from every programme at the College have access to the technologies housed within Fab Lab Plymouth, allowing them to create work that would otherwise be impossible using traditional methods. Cutting-edge 2D and 3D design software and machinery, including 3D printers and scanners, prototyping tools, laser cutters, vinyl cutters, milling machines, and a large CNC router, are housed alongside the Material Lab, Fabric Lab, Imprint Lab and Multimedia Lab. This creates the perfect setting to work across traditional making and cutting-edge digital technology.

Situated next to our Craft and Design workshop complex it creates the perfect setting for traditional crafts and new technologies to merge - with exciting consequences!

Material Lab

In the Material Lab you can acquire haptic – touch-based – and manipulative skills and gain an understanding of material properties. Some components of the Material Lab are based in the £8m Craft, Design and Fabrication workshops, formally opened by Sir John Sorrell in November 2014, including our glass-blowing house, our ceramics space, our metals workshop, and our plaster room.

Bookings can be made through https://ercbookings.plymouthart.ac.uk/connect2/

Fabric Lab

In the Fabric Lab you will acquire material and process knowledge around texture, pattern, colour and construction – interlacing your skill-set through an understanding of textile and fabric properties.

Dye and Print – over 30 linear metres of print tables, large and small-scale heat presses, and a dedicated dye lab for colouring fabrics, including natural dye processes.

Cut and Sew – industry standard, professional sewing studio layout accommodates a variety of production methods including pattern-cutting, millinery and upholstery; specialist machines include digital and domestic knit, tufting, and embroidery machines.

Design Software – access to pattern design and cutting CAD system Assyst alongside AVA industry standard specialist design and colour software for design practices. Access to WGSN, the trend forecasting site used by professional buyers, designers, and creatives.

Bookings can be made through https://ercbookings.plymouthart.ac.uk/connect2/

A tufting gun working on a piece of fabric

Full details are on the Fab Lab website: https://fablabplymouth.org/ or via the Fab Lab intranet page where booking information can be found.

Imprint Lab and Digital Print Bureau

In the Imprint Lab you will gain expertise across a range of 2D printmaking and mark making techniques using various mediums.

Printmaking – a broad range of printmaking techniques, including etching, collagraph, lino, letterpress, monoprint, engraving, intaglio, lithograph up to A0, and bookbinding, you’ll have access to multiple presses, including a large Rochart Aquatint press, a Hunter Penrose printing machine, an A2 Columbian press and two large Star presses.

The Digital Print Bureau offers professional and quick print services to all staff and students, including wide-format or solvent printing, photo printing, vinyl cutting and finishing. All the services offered by the Digital Print Bureau are competitively priced, and in some instances free to use as long as you have undertaken an induction for the equipment.

The range of industry-standard printers include a 42 inch sublimation printer, a Mimaki fabric printer, and a solvent printer, and we can print and process a range of media, such as acetate, wallpaper, PVC banners, silk and cotton. With wide format printers that allow you to create prints up to 42 inches wide, the only size limitation is the roll length (25 metres to 30 metres).

Additional services include a Dry Lab photo printer for instant photo prints, Risograph printing, xerox facilities, and a digital plotter to cut vinyl stickers. A suite of professional print finishing equipment also allows you to scan, bind and laminate, and there is a large, fully equipped area for trimming and cutting prints.

The Digital Print Bureau is staffed by a team of knowledgeable and experienced technicians with backgrounds in creative and photographic practice. They can help you to achieve highly professional results across all kinds of printing, print finishing, and mounting.

You can find the Digital Print Bureau in our Central Tavistock building, on the first floor next to the Textiles studio (directly above our Fab Lab).

Bookings can be made through https://ercbookings.plymouthart.ac.uk/connect2/ or contact erc@pca.ac.uk

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