Printing FAQ

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How do I add a department printer on a Windows machine?
What's the difference between ECEn and CAEDM printers?
Which printers are ECEn printers and which are CAEDM printers?
What ECEn printers are available?
Can I use lab printers to print transparencies?
Which printer command should I use?
How do I convert a text file to postscript?
I can't get my file to print from within the program and I'm in a hurry; what should I do?
What do I do if the printer is out of paper?

How do I print on both sides of the paper (duplex)?
- HP-UX and Linux
- Windows
Besides printing on both sides of the page, how can I use less paper when printing a document?
- HP-UX and Linux
- Windows
How can I find out the status of my print job?
How can I cancel a print job?

How do I add a department printer on a Windows machine?

The following printers have automatic installation files that can be downloaded and run:

ps459 (Dept. Office)

For other printers, please refer to the "Installing a Department Printer in Windows" tutorial.

What's the difference between ECEn and CAEDM printers?

CAEDM and the ECEn department manage their printers differently. In general you can only print to ECEn printers from ECEn computers and to CAEDM printers from CAEDM computers. This FAQ is for ECEn Department printers; for help with CAEDM printers email the CAEDM SysOps or search the CAEDM Knowledge Base.

Which printers are ECEn printers and which are CAEDM printers?

You can find a list of CAEDM printers on CAEDM's Printer Status Page. ECEn printers are listed in this FAQ.

What ECEn printers are available?

Note: Color printers are highlighted in blue.

Printer	Location	Model	Driver	Paper Sizes
ps400new	CB 400	HP LaserJet 8000dn	HP LaserJet 8000 Series PS	Min: 3.67 x 7.5" Max: 11.7 x 17.7"
psdigital	CB 413 (Digital Lab)	HP LaserJet 4100dtn	HP LaserJet 4100 series PS	Min: 3 x 5" Max: 8.5 x 14"
pstelem	CB 424 (Telemetry Lab)	HP LaserJet 4050tn	HP LaserJet 4050 series PS	Min: 3 x 5" Max: 8.5 x 14"
cps425	CB 425 (Spice Lab)	HP Color LaserJet 4650dn	HP Color LaserJet 4650 PS HP Color LaserJet 4550 PS	Min: 3 x 5" Max: 8.5 x 14"
ps425 * ps425a ps425b	CB 425 (Spice Lab)	HP LaserJet 4300dtn	HP LaserJet 4300 PS HP LaserJet 4100 Series PS	Min: 3 x 5" Max: 8.5 x 14"
psanalog	CB 430 (Analog Lab)	HP LaserJet 4100dtn	HP LaserJet 4100 series PS	Min: 3 x 5" Max: 8.5 x 14"
cps459/cpsoffice	CB 459 (Dept. Office)	HP Color LaserJet 5500dn	HP Color LaserJet 5500 PS HP Color LaserJet 5/5M PS	Min: 3 x 5" Max: 12.3 x 18.5"
ps459	CB 459 (Dept. Office)	HP LaserJet 4050tn	HP LaserJet 4050 series PS	Min: 3 x 5" Max: 8.5 x 14"
cpsvlsi	CB 480 (VLSI Lab)	HP Color LaserJet 4600dn	HP Color LaserJet 4600 PS HP Color LaserJet 4550 PS	Min: 3 x 5" Max: 8.5 x 14"
ps480	CB 480 (VLSI Lab)	HP LaserJet 4MV	HP LaserJet 4MV	Min: 3.9 x 5.8" Max: 11.7 x 17.7"
ps494	CB 494	HP LaserJet 8000dn	HP LaserJet 8000 Series PS	Min: 3.67 x 7.5" Max: 11.7 x 17.7"
ps400	CB 496 (Wireless Lab)	HP LaserJet 4100dtn	HP LaserJet 4100 Series PS	Min: 3 x 5" Max: 8.5 x 14"
ps530	CB 530 (Electromagnetics Lab)	HP LaserJet 4M Plus	HP LaserJet 4M Plus	Min: 3.5 x 6.3" Max: 8.5 x 14"
cps440	end of faculty hall furthest from dept. office	HP Color LaserJet 4600dn	HP Color LaserJet 4600 PS HP Color LaserJet 4550 PS	Min: 3 x 5" Max: 8.5 x 14"
ps440-2004	end of faculty hall furthest from dept. office	HP LaserJet 4300dtn	HP LaserJet 4300 PS HP LaserJet 4100 Series PS	Min: 3 x 5" Max: 8.5 x 14"
ps440b	end of faculty hall furthest from dept. office	HP LaserJet 4100dtn	HP LaserJet 4100 series PS	Min: 3 x 5" Max: 8.5 x 14"
psdistill	emails a PDF version of the document to you

* Printing to ps425 will automatically select either ps425a or ps425b.

Note on drivers: Some printers have a second driver listed. The first driver is the best choice, but either one will work.

Note on paper sizes: All of the printers are set up to use 8.5 x 11" (Letter size) paper by default. To use another size you will have to provide your own paper.

Can I use lab printers to print transparencies?

Using transparencies or other non-standard materials in lab printers is not allowed. If you need to print a transparency, the ECEn Dept. Secrataries in CB 459 can help you.

Which printer command should I use?

The lp command allows the user to print documents in the postscript format to a printer. For example,

lp -d ps425 donuts.ps

prints the the postscript file donuts.ps to the printer named ps425. Note: Netscape's default printer is lpr. However, it's better to use the lp -d command to specify which printer to use.

How do I convert a text file to postscript?

You can actually print plain text documents directly, without having to convert them to postscript format. If that doesn't work for some reason, use the a2ps command. For more details on using a2ps, type:

man a2ps

I can't get my file to print from within the program and I'm in a hurry; what should I do?

Most programs have an option for printing to a postscript file. Try doing that, then executing

lp -d (printer name) (file name)

in an xterm window.

What do I do if the printer is out of paper?

Go to the main department office, room 459, and the secretaries will give you paper to fill the trays with.

How do I print on both sides of the paper (duplex)?

HP-UX and Linux

For details on how to do this, see the CUPS documentation. For example, to print rootbeer.ps as a two-sided portrait document on printer ps425a, type:

lp -d ps425a -o sides=two-sided-long-edge rootbeer.ps

The difference between flipping on the long edge and on the short edge can be kind of confusing. Generally, the short edge option (-o sides=two-sided-short-edge) is suitable for landscape pages:

Click for illustration

The long edge option (-o sides=two-sided-long-edge) works best for portrait pages:

Click for illustration

Windows

Configuring Dual Sided Printing in Windows

Besides printing on both sides of the page, how can I use less paper when printing a document?

HP-UX and Linux

The mpage command can be used to print multiple pages on a single piece of paper. For details on how to use it, type man mpage in an xterm window.

Note: The -P[printer] option does not work. You cannot use mpage to select a printer. Fortunately, you can get around this by "piping" the output of mpage to lp, which is capable of successfully selecting a printer. For example, to print out 2 pages of the file watermelon.ps on each piece of paper using printer ps425, type the following:

mpage -2 watermelon.ps | lp -d ps425

Note: The file to be printed doesn't need to be specified if you are executing the command in some application's print command dialog box (i.e. - Netscape).

Windows

In the bottom right hand corner of the print window that opens after selecting "Print..." from the File menu, there should be a "Pages per Sheet" option. Pick the number of pages per sheet you would like from the pull-down menu and print normally.

How can I find out the status of my print job?

There is no way to for regular users to view the status of print jobs on the ECEn print server. If you tried to print something and after a long time it still hasn't printed, contact the ECEn SysOps for help.

How can I cancel a print job?

Contact the ECEn SysOps and give them your CAEDM username, the printer you are using, and which job(s) you want removed.