Adobe Settings for Printing Cage Cards
Adobe Settings for Printing Labels
Important - You must feed the paper through the printer in the direction noted by the arrows on the paper.
Q: Where can we print our cards and/or labels?
A: ARP has set up satellite workstations specifically for the investigators and their staff to print cage cards and/or labels. They are located in the following animal housing areas:
BBRB – In the alcove on the main hallway across from the B60 suite
KAUL 100
LHRB 863
RSB – 1st floor near the east elevators
SC – 5th floor outside the 512 suite (coming soon)
Volker Hall – Across from the B038 suite
Q: Do we need to bring our own supplies to the workstations?
A: No. Labels, card stock, a color printer and a computer are located at each workstation for your use. If you do not see any labels or card stock at the workstation, please see the building supervisor for that facility.
Q: If we want to print the cards and/or labels from our lab or office, may we do that?
A: Yes. You can purchase cards and/or labels to keep in your office. Cage card size is 3” x 5” and label size is 1” x 2 5/8”.
Q: Can we save the cage cards and/or emails and reuse them?
A: No. Each cage card has a unique cage card number below the barcode that identifies the cage. It is critical to the integrity of the reporting system to not use duplicate cage numbers on the cages.
Q: How do we keep from constantly going to the website to print new cage cards when we have a breeding colony?
A: For non-covered species it is always acceptable to print out multiple sheets of labels and/cage cards and just keep them ready for use in your office/lab or behind the current cage card until the cages are broken out and then use those cards to populate the new cages. There is no negative impact to your protocol based off the number of bar code cage cards/labels you print.
If you have a barcode label in the wrong position on the tagged cage card you will need to use a black marker to mark out the barcode on the offending label and place a new label in the proper position on the cage card. Large posters pertaining to this are also in the animal facilities for reference.
Q: How do you keep from getting the labels and/or cards mixed up with different studies?
A: Animal Bioware uses three fields as primary study identifiers; they are the 1) Animal Project Number (APN), 2) Investigator Name and 3) Species.
Q: Does it matter which cage card option we choose?
A: The only requirement regarding cage card options is that all cage cards need to be printed in portrait (vertical) format unless landscape (horizontal) printing is the only option available for your cages. Portrait format is the only option available when printing cards from the Bioware web page. If you are in need of landscape cage cards please contact arpbioware@uab.edu with your request.
Q: Where do barcode labels need to be placed on the cage card?
A: The label must be placed horizontally and centered at the top of a cage card that is in portrait (vertical) format. Basically, the top 1" of the cage card needs to be dedicated to the barcode label. Do not place labels on the side, bottom or back of a cage card. Do not place labels upside down on the cage card. Do not cover the barcode label in any way (this includes placing a card over the cage card marking the cage for transport or using colored clips on the top of the cage card).
Q: Can I place a label on a clear card that is placed directly over my custom cage card instead of on the cage card itself?
A: No. All barcode labels must be placed on the cage card itself.
Q: What will happen if labels are not properly placed on a cage card or if cage cards are printed in the wrong format (ie landscape instead of portrait)?
A: The ARP will place a notice on cage cards with improperly placed labels and/or cage cards in the wrong format. These issues will need to be resolved by the investigator and/or their staff before the next census scan.
Q: What constitutes inappropriate cage card identification?
A: Inappropriate cage card identification includes, but is not limited to the following: no barcode on cage, barcode on clear acetate/plastic cover, barcode on side, bottom, middle or back of card, upside-down barcode, double bar codes, duplicate barcodes, writing/marking on bar code, barcode on paper towel/other inappropriate material, barcode placed directly on cage card holder and paper clips or stickers covering the barcode.
Cages separated by ARP for fighting, weaning, health related issues, overcrowded cages, etc are also included because the ARP does not place barcodes on cages after these types of separation. These cages will be identified with a blue separated cage sticker. The PI/lab personnel will need to generate an appropriate CC or CCB cage card to replace the blue separated label.
Q: What’s the best way to know if I have inappropriate cards and what steps do I need to take to resolve the issue?
A: Cage cards with barcode issues will be tagged by the ARP with a neon yellow dot which will read Please Replace Barcode. The location of the neon yellow dot on the cage card will be placed where the new barcode label will need to be placed (the new label can be placed directly over the dot). You will have until the next census scan (Monday–Friday) to fix the barcode before the ARP changes the barcode on the offending cage(s).
Q: When do census scans occur?
A: Scans occur on Monday, Wednesday and Friday.
Q: What if the ARP marks a cage as being out of compliance and the investigator or their lab is not informed of the issue; how can the investigator be responsible for something they are not made aware of by the ARP?
A: The ARP is unable to perform colony management for the investigator; this is the responsibility of the investigator and lab personnel. With the dots being neon yellow with bold black writing, a fairly quick scan of the cages in the room on a regular basis will reveal any issues immediately.
Q: What will happen if the investigator or lab personnel doesn't place a new label over the yellow dot?
A: The ARP will place a neon yellow label over the yellow dot and charge the investigator a Colony Maintenance Fee of $3 per label placed. The ARP WILL NOT assume responsibility for covering information you have listed on the cage card.