What kind of printers are supported?

In order to provide virtually identical output on a large variety of printers, certain minimum capabilities must be met by the printer.

A printer must PCL5 or greater OR PostScript compatible.

By far the easiest and most reliable printer configuration is realized with a network printer that is directly on the departmental network and supports lpr/lpd printing protocol.

PCL3 and PCL4 printers (typically inkjet) are NOT supported. GDI or HOST BASED printers are NOT supported.

What type of connectivity do I need for my printer?

Users need a network connection that supports a Unix style lpr/lpd print connection.

This can be accomplished in a large number of ways depending on the computing environment you are in.

  • Network printer that supports lpr/lpd
  • Printer attached to a departmental print server that supports lpr/lpd protocol

What information do you need to provide in order to get your printer set up as a destination for printing from the AMS system?

Please visit the AMS / ROSI Printer Request Form to get your printer defined as an output device in the AMS system.

If you are setting up a new printer, the following information is required:

  • lpd hostname
  • lpq queuename
  • printer model
  • printer mode
  • description
  • contact person
  • department

 

lpd hostname:

The host name (IP address) of the machine that will accept lpd (unix line printer daemon) jobs from our print server (emma.utcc.utoronto.ca). If the destination is an HP LaserJet on an ethernet network (via a JetDirect card) then the hostname is usually is the IP address of the printer, ie. the IP address that has been assigned to the printer. If the the destination is a PC running SAPLPD then the hostname is the IP address of the PC running SAPLPD. If the destination is a printer attached to a Unix machine or a Novell server running Flex/IP or Unix Print services, then the hostname is the IP address of the Unix host or Novell server. If the printer is connected to a Mac running MacLPD then the hostname is the IP address of that Mac. In the case of a dialup user that has no campus backbone ethernet connection for their printer, supply the library barcode instead of an IP address or hostname.

lpd queuename:

The name of the queue on the lpd host to which print jobs are to be sent. If this is an HP LaserJet directly on an ethernet network, the queuename is usually raw. If this is a printer attached to a PC running SAPLPD then the queuename is the port to which the printer is connected, usually lpt1. If the printer is connected to a Unix host or Novell file server running Flex/IP or Unix Print Services then the queuename will be the name of the queue on that host or server to which jobs should be sent. If this is a printer accessed via MacLPD then the queuename is the parameter from the LPD.config file in the SPOOL folder.

printer model:

The actual model of the printer that print jobs are to be sent to.

printer mode:

The printer mode is the normal mode of operation of the printer. Usually this is PCL or PostScript. Typically an HP LaserJet uses PCL mode and an Apple LaserWriter uses PostScript mode. Some HP LaserJets may operate in PostScript mode if they have the PostScript option installed. If you have a printer that supports multiple modes, only provide the preferred mode.

description:

This is a simple 3 or 4 word description that will display in the long list of possible printers available onthe system. Choose this to be something meaningful to the people that will be using the printer. It is recommended that this indicates the business function rather than a person’s name. For example “Dept XXX – Business Officer” or “Dept YYY Accounting Clerk”.

Contact and Department:

Provide a contact name and telephone number so that the person setting up the printers can contact you in case there are other questions. Include the department name so that printers can be grouped by department.

What do I do with this information?

Send it to access.easi@utoronto.ca


“registered IP address” no longer required

It is no longer required for you to “register” the IP address of the host that will accept the print jobs. It is not a bad idea to register them, but it is no longer required. Keep in mind that in order to get SAPLPD running on a PC, SAPLPD must be able to obtain the PC’s hostname, either by using a registered IP address or assigning a name in the PC’s local HOSTS file.

 

Examples

 

Example 1: Printer directly on the network using an HP JetDirect card.

Please configure the following printer for printing
from AMS (SAP)(FIS)
Printer IP Address (lpd hostname): 128.100.102.XXX
Queue: raw
Printer: HP LaserJet 4siMX
Mode: PostScript
Description: YYY Dept Printer
Contact: Jane Doe, YYY department 978-1234

Example 2: Printer connected to a workstation using SAPLPD program to accept the lpd connection.

I would like to set up printing from SAP 
on the printer in my office.

The IP address of my computer is (lpd hostname): 128.100.XX.XXX
Queue: LPT1
Printer: HP LaserJet IIIP
Language: PCL5
Description: My Favorite Printer

Thanks.

John Smith
Business Officer        
Faculty of Whatever
(416) 978-1234 Voice  (416) 978-5678 Fax

Example 3: Dialup user with printer attached to PC

Please configure the following printer for AMS printing:

lpd hostname: 02780924 (library barcode)
lpq queuename: LPT1
printer model: HP LaserJet 4M
printer mode: PostScript
description: Dept of XXX business officer
contact: xxx.yyy@utoronto.ca

Note that in the above examples, the “mode” and “language” are used for the printer mode. The printer mode is often referred to as a “page description language”. If your printer supports multiple modes, it is recommended that you use the same mode for AMS printing as you do for your regular everyday printing. For example, if you have a LaserJet 4M which can do either PCL or PostScript, and you have Windows configured to print in PCL mode and not PostScript mode, then AMS printing should also be done in PCL mode.

Also if you already have some printers defined in your department, it would help to mention them to make sure the new printer

Print Job Fails to Print

When you print a report, if you fail to select “print Immediately” then the print job goes to the output controller and waits for you to “print it”. Select the job and choose Print to send it on its way.

You can set print immediately as the default from the
System>>User Profile>>User Defaults
menu so that this will always be the case.

At any time when you have a problem printing, check the output controller
System>>Services>>Output Controller
And look at your print spool requests to determine their status.

The output controller will tell you whether they are in process, waiting, had an error, or have completed.

If you had selected print immediately, and the job is in the output controller showing an error message, you can double click on the job and then display the log to see what the error was. If it is a system error of some form, please report the problem to the console operator at 978-7335.

If your print jobs are showing WAIT status then there may be a long print job that is holding up the print queue. At month end, there is a possibility of seeing a delay of perhaps 1 hour while the huge month end report is transmitted to the print system.

If your jobs have left the AMS system (completed) but have not printed, check your local print configuration for problems. For SAPLPD users, the two most likely problems are: SAPLPD is no longer running; SAPLPD is running but detected a configuration problem. Check the SAPLPD window for messages. Ensure that the IP address of the PC running SAPLPD has not changed or the Windows name of the SAPLPD printer has not changed.

Ensure that Windows and departmental firewalls allow 128.100.102.31 (emma.utcc.utoronto.ca) to connect to the printer using TCP port 515.

For network attached printers, ensure that access control lists allow access from 128.100.102.31 and that printers that enforce user codes allow an exception for 128.100.102.31

If your jobs show completed, but still have not printed, and everything looks correct at your end, contact access.easi@utoronto.ca and report the problem. They can look for your print jobs at various stages along the route to your printer and check for problems. Please tell them you are an AMS user and provide them with the name of your AMS printer (the 3 character name assigned to your printer).

Setting Print Defaults

To make one of the printers in the list of printers your default printer, use
System>>User Profile>>Own Data>>Defaults>>Output Device
to set that printer as the default. A different printer can be chosen at print time if desired, but normally this will save you time by having the correct printer already chosen.

It is also recommended that you select Print Immediately as well as Delete After Printing on this same screen.