Printing

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Printing on a network printer means:

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the document is copied

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the copy is sent via the network to a print server (a special computer)

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all print jobs on the print server are collected in queues

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the printer gets the jobs in queueing order

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Several queues can be routed to the same printer, e.g. a queue for normal jobs, another one for double-sided printing.

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Some queues and printers at the computing center of the TUHH:

printer	queue	location	remarks
QMS2060	duo	SBS95/2029	duplex
QMS magicolor 2CX	qms2cx	SBS95/2029	color
QMS 2060 PS	ntqms	SBS95/2042	duplex
HP DJ 2500CP	A0	DE17/3024	A0 plotter, with costs!
QMS magicolor 330	folie	DE17/3024	transparencies, with costs!

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If one doesn't give a special queue name, then the system standard printer queue is used.

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Lots of infos about queues, concepts and commands can be found at the TU Printer Page

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A printer understands a special file format, i.e. a command language that describes a document. A widely used standard is Postscript.

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Another step in the printing process: the document is translated into the printer format. This can be done explicitely by the user, by the application program (under UNIX) or by a printer driver (under Windows).

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Programs under Windows usually use the standard windows print panel:

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Clicking on properties opens a window, which allows to configure special printer options. This should be avoided on network printers! Use the proper queue instead.

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Under CDE one can use the printer panel:
Dragging a document onto one of the printers puts it into the corresponding queue. Clicking on a printer icon opens a window showing the queue status.

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From a shell window the following commands can be used:

command	meaning
lpr -Pduo mytext.ps	send the document to the given queue
lpq -Pntqms	show all jobs (including their id) in the given queue
lprm -Pduo ID	remove the job with the given id from the queue

without -P: default printer is used.

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With the command

ghostview FILE

one can display a postscript document on the screen.