What printers can I print to?
We have two main printers in the ECE Department that are open to our users:
- hpps located in the ECE 237 lab
- laser203 located in the DB 203 lab
What can I print?
You can't just send anything you want to a printer. The HP printers that we have in ECE only understand two
printer languages:
ASCII (straight text) and
Postscript (ps).
If you are using the command line print command (see below), the
only files that will make any sense once they come out of the printer are straight text files and Postscript files. Any other type of file (gif, jpeg, etc) will come out as garbage when they reach the printer. You will use up valuable printing quota (see below) if you accidentally print 100 pages of random characters.
If you wish to print a file format other than ASCII or Postscript you must use a program that converts the file format to a Postscript file before it prints it. If you want to print a graphic, (gif, jpeg, etc), use a program like
xv to do so. Most other programs that generate their own format of output, (like Netscape or Matlab), have special printing features that can do this for you (see below).
How do I print?
It really depends upon what program you are using. Each piece of software handles (or fails to handle) printing differently. The key UNIX command behind printing is called
lp on HP unix machines such as Pal and Holmes, and
lpr on Linux machines such as Abacus. Most applications call this command somewhere behind the scenes during the printing process. The usage of the
lp command is
as follows:
lp -dprinter filename
Usage of lpr is similar:
lpr -Pprinter filename
Where
printer is the name of the printer you want to print to, (like hpps), and
filename is, of
course, the file file you want to print. Notice there is no space in between "-d" and
printer.
"OK, so what does that mean?"
Most programs will call the
lp or
lpr command somewhere during the printing process. If you are in Netscape, for example, and you wish to print, you must change the
Print Command box in the Print window to read "
lp -dhpps" if you wish to print to hpps. In other programs, like Matlab, you must make similar changes. These programs will then automatically apend the name of the file they have designed for print onto
your specified print command.
How do I check on my print jobs?
You can check on your print jobs using the
lpstat command on HP machines, and lpq on Linux machines.
lpstat or
lpq will tell
you what print jobs you have lined up in the print queue along with everyone elses. It works a lot like
lp/lpr:
lpstat -oprinter
or
lpq -Pprinter
Again, there is no space in between "-o" or "-P" and
printer.
How do I cancel a print job?
Once you have the number of a print job that you got by using the
lpstat or
lpq command, you can cancel
it using the
cancel or
lprm command, respectively. The
cancel/lprm command is very simple:
cancel printer-jobnumber
or
lprm jobnumber
Where
printer is the name of the printer and
jobnumber is the number beside the job in the output
from
lpstat.
Don't worry- no one else except you can remove your print jobs from the printer queue.
How much can I print?
ECE uses a printing quota, much like the disk space quota on user accounts. Every user is allotted 200 pages for the term - this should be sufficient for most printing needs. After this number of pages is used up, you will have to purchase more quota from the ECE main office.
Please be aware that printing mistakes, such as trying to directly print a .pdf or .jpg file can cause hundreds of pages of garbage to be printed, effectively using up your print quota. Wehn your quota is used up, you will not be able to print on ECE printers until more is purchased.
Your basic quota does not carry over to the next term. Every term, you are allotted 200 pages, and only quota that has been purchased from ECE will carry over to the next term.
The bottom line is, print carefully and print smart. Bad print jobs tie the printer up for hours and waste paper - and they can cost you money.