|
Printing Tips
|
|
NOTE: The default printing format on the IAM Linux and Windows workstations
is black-and-white double-sided, so you must specifically ask for
single-sided or colour output if you need it.
1. LINUX
- Pre-Defined Printing Queues
The following printing queues are defined on the IAM Linux machines:
hp (default) – double-sided black-and-white, long-edge page flip (HP 4050)
hp1 – single-sided black-and-white (HP 4050)
hp2s – double-sided black-and-white, short-edge page flip (HP 4050)
hpbig – double-sided color, long-edge page flip (HP 5500)
hpbig1 – single-sided color (HP 5500)
hpbig2s – double-sided color, short-edge page flip (HP 5500)
hpcolor – single-sided color (HP 4500).
This means that you can print {File} double-sided by issuing one of
the following commands from the shell prompt:
lpr {File} (long-edge flip, black-and-white)
or
lpr -Php2s {File} (short-edge flip, black-and-white)
or
lpr -Phpbig {File} (long-edge flip, color)
or
lpr -Phpbig2s {File} (short-edge flip, black-and-white).
To print single-sided, use
lpr -Php1 {File} (black-and-white, HP 4050)
or
lpr -Phpbig1 {File} (color, HP 5500)
or
lpr -Phpcolor {File} (color, HP 4500).
Similarly, if you need to print something from within an application
(Acroread, GhostView, Mozilla, Matlab, etc.), simply specify the appropriate
command in the application's Print dialogue box:
lpr, or lpr -Php2s, or lpr -Php1, or lpr -Phpbig, or lpr -Phpbig2s, or lpr -Phpbig1, or lpr -Phpcolor.
In each of these printing queues, all page margins are set to 1/2 inch (36 points).
- Additional Printing Options in CUPS
You may also want to take advantage of additional options offered by the Common Unix Printing System (CUPS).
For instance, you could modify any of the printing queues with specific options of your choice.
For a full documentation of the CUPS options, see
http://www.cups.org/sum.html.
Note that the lp and lpr commands are equivalent in CUPS.
Here are examples of using some of the options offered by CUPS:
-
Print {File} double-sided
with the sheet flipped along the long edge and the
left and right margins adjusted to 3/4 inch, using the default queue (hp):
lp -o page-left=54 -o page-right=54 {File}
where 54 is the margin width in points, each point being 1/72 inch in size.
Note that if the page is flipped along its long edge, then the left margin
of the front page becomes the right margin of the back page.
-
Print pages 2-7 and 9-14 of {File} double-sided
with the sheet flipped along the short edge and the top and bottom
margins adjusted to 1 inch, using the hp2s queue:
lp -Php2s -o page-ranges=2-7,9-14 -o page-top=72 -o page-bottom=72 {File}
-
Print {File} in 2 columns per page, single-sided
and the top margin adjusted to 1 inch, using the hp1 queue:
lp -Php1 -o columns=2 -o page-top=72{File}
- If you anticipate to use a particular set of options a lot, consider
setting up an alias in your environment configuration file
(i.e., in .bashrc for bash, or .cshrc for c-shell).
For example, you could define
alias lp1odd='lp -Php1 -o page-set=odd -o page-left=72 -o page-right=72' (bash)
or
alias lp1odd 'lp -Php1 -o page-set=odd -o page-left=72 -o page-right=72' (c-shell)
and then use the command
lp1odd {File}
to print odd pages of {File} single-sided with the left and
right margins adjusted to 1 inch.
- Printing Text Files Using a2ps
The a2ps command is a text-to-postscript converter. It is currently set up so as to print two columns
of text on each page. As an example, to print {TextFile} double-sided with the
left margin set to 3/4 inch, you can use the default queue:
a2ps --margin=32 {TextFile}
where the --margin option sets the width of the left-edge margin in points
(which are of different size than for the CUPS lp/lpr command).
To print the same file single-sided, you can use either the hp1 queue:
a2ps -Php1 {TextFile}
or the default queue with the simplex option:
a2ps -s 1 {TextFile}
where -s 1 is equivalent to --sides=simplex and
produces single-sided output.
Please consult the Linux manual pages to find out more about a2ps
(type man a2ps at the shell prompt).
TOP
2. DOUBLE-SIDED PRINTING IN WINDOWS
- IAM Machines: albatross, flamingo, pelican
Double-sided output is the default on HP 4050 (the black-and-white printer) and HP 5500 (colour printer). If you want a single-sided output, open the print dialogue, select (HP 4050 or HP 5500 from the printer list, click Properties, and uncheck Print on Both Sides.
- Your Own Computer (Laptop)
NOTE: You will not be able to access the IAM network printers from a computer running Windows XP Home Edition.
To print a document double-sided, first, make sure that your system knows that the duplex is installed:
- open Settings-Printers in the main Windows menu, select the HP 4050 or the HP 5500 printer,
click Properties;
- in Windows 2000: click on the Configure tab, check the Duplexing Unit
option;
- in Windows XP: click on the Device Settings tab, select Duplex Unit:
Installed.
Then, choose Print on Both Sides in the Print dialogue as described in (a)
above.
TOP
3. TROUBLESHOOTING TIPS
-
PROBLEM:
An attempt to print a pdf file fails, generating an error on the printer panel.
This may happen if the document you are trying to print contains some flaws in the postscript code. Adobe Acrobat seems to be particularly prone to produce such errors.
SOLUTION:
- Cancel the print job: in Linux, use the lpq command to get the job id, and then lprm id to remove it from the print queue; in Windows, right-click on the printer icon in the system tray and choose Cancel.
- Manually reset the printer by turning it on and off.
- Save the pdf document on disk, open it using a different application, e.g. xpdf or ghostview, and then print it from there.
-
PROBLEM:
You are trying to print something, but nothing happens.
This mostly happens when trying to print a corrupt postscript file or when printing directly from the internet browser.
SOLUTION:
- Save the document to a file on disk.
- Open it using an appropriate application and then print it from there. You may also try to print the saved file using the lpr or lp command as described above.
- If you attempted to print a corrupt postscript file, try converting it to the pdf format: (i) In Linux, use the ps2pdf command; (ii) in Windows, open the file in Ghostview and use its built-in pdf converter. In most cases, the resulting pdf file should print without problems.
TOP
| 
