7.2 Managing Printers

The following sections help you perform management functions for printers.

NOTE:While most tasks can be done in Novell iManager, some tasks require you to use NetWare Administrator.

7.2.1 Enabling/Disabling iPrint on Individual Printers

  1. In Novell iManager, click iPrint > Manage Printer.

  2. Browse to and select the printer you want to enable IPP printing for.

  3. Click Client Support > iPrint Support.

  4. Check the Enable iPrint Support Access check box.

    The URL that appears in the Accepted IPP URL(s) box is the URL used when the printer is created on a workstation. This is also the URL you should use when creating iPrint maps. For more information, see Creating Location-Based Maps with iPrint Map Designer.

    To disable iPrint, deselect the check box.

  5. (Optional) For secure printing, check the Require SSL and User Authentication check box.

    This requires users to authenticate to eDirectory using their usernames and passwords.

    For more information, see Section 8.3, Secure Printing Using SSL/TLS.

  6. To update the printer settings, click Apply or OK.

7.2.2 Enabling iPrint Direct

Users of an iPrint Direct-enabled printer send print jobs directly to the printer instead of sending the job to the Print Manager first. The job is sent to the printer in LPR or raw 9100 format, depending on the setting gateway autoload command for the printer. Although this greatly reduces server communication, the ability to audit print jobs is lost. iPrint Direct still supports driver updates, and printer information is gathered directly from the printer by using SNMP.

  1. In Novell iManager, click iPrint > Manage Printer.

  2. Browse to and select the printer you want to enable iPrint Direct printing for.

  3. Click Client Support > iPrint Direct.

  4. Select the Enable iPrint Direct Printing option.

  5. Click OK.

7.2.3 Moving Printer Agents to Another Print Manager on NetWare

Using Novell iManager, you can move printer agents to a different Print Manager.

WARNING:The URLs generated by iPrint are based on the server’s IP address or a DNS name. If you move a Printer to a server that has a different IP address or a different DNS name, a new URL is generated. Users must delete and reinstall their printers. If you are using NDPS Printers, printing is not affected.

  1. From Novell iManager, click iPrint > Manage Print Manager, and then browse to and select the Print Manager.

  2. Click Printer Agents, then click Move.

  3. Select the printer agents you want to move by checking the check box next to them.

  4. Click Move, and then select the Print Manager where you want the printer agents moved to.

  5. Click OK.

You want to ensure that the same printer drivers are available to the printer agents.

7.2.4 Managing Printer Agents

Using iManager you can manage printer agents. You can start up or shut down a printer agent, pause or resume input and output, view printer information, set configuration settings, and change the printer drivers.

  1. From your Web browser, log in to Novell iManager.

  2. Click iPrint > Manage Printer, and then browse to and select the printer you want to manage.

  3. Click OK.

  4. Use the tabbed property pages to complete the task you want.

7.2.5 Managing Print Jobs

The following sections provide specific information about the print job management features. All of the procedures listed below can be performed through Novell iManager, NetWare Administrator or through the Novell Printer Manager. Users designated as managers or operators for a printer can perform these tasks for all jobs routed to that printer; individual job owners can only perform these tasks for their own print jobs.

Viewing Print Job Information

To view information about individual print jobs waiting to be processed by a specific printer:

  1. In Novell iManager, click iPrint > Manage Printer.

  2. Browse to and select the printer the job was sent to.

  3. Click Printer Control > Jobs.

    Information about the print jobs is displayed.

Deleting Print Jobs

Administrators can delete any print job after it has been submitted if the job has not yet started printing. Users can delete only their own print jobs.

  1. In Novell iManager, click iPrint > Manage Printer.

  2. Browse to and select the printer the job was sent to.

  3. Click Printer Control > Jobs.

  4. Select the check box next to the job you want to delete.

  5. Click Delete.

Changing the Order of Print Jobs

Occasionally, you might need to print a job ahead of other jobs that have already been submitted to a printer, but have not yet started printing. and are awaiting servicing. Administrators can move jobs up or down the list. Users can move only their own jobs and can move them only down the list.

  1. In Novell iManager, click iPrint > Manage Printer.

  2. Browse to and select the printer the job was sent to.

  3. Click Printer Control > Jobs.

  4. Select the check box next to the job you want to modify.

  5. Click Promote to move a print job up the list.

Moving Print Jobs

You can allow operators and job owners to copy or move a print job to another printer. The target printer must be running on the same server (managed by the same Print Manager) as the printer on which the job currently resides. Also, the target printer must be compatible with the driver that formatted the job. For example, if a job was formatted with an HP5si driver, it should not be copied or moved to an HP LaserJet* III.

Administrators can copy or move any print job after it has been submitted if the job has not yet started printing. Users can copy or move only for their own print jobs.

  1. In Novell iManager, click iPrint > Manage Printer.

  2. Browse to and select the printer the job was sent to.

  3. Click Printer Control > Jobs.

  4. Select the check box next to the job you want to move.

  5. Click Move to move the print job to another printer in the list.

Modifying Print Job Characteristics

You can modify a print job in two ways:

  • Use printer driver profile. To set the defaults for a printer driver so that the same defaults are installed every time a printer is installed, create printer driver profiles. This is the recommended method. For more information, see Section 7.2.6, Using Printer Driver Profiles.

  • Modify the specific job. When a job is submitted, it inherits the properties of the installed printer’s configuration. The configuration of the job can then be modified, if needed, by the job’s owner or the printer’s Operator.

    When jobs are modified, additional configurable properties are available which are not included in the original printer configuration. For example, the job can be delayed and advanced attributes can be viewed and modified.

Administrators can modify any print job after it has been submitted if the job has not yet started printing. Users can modify only their own print jobs.

To modify a job:

  1. In Novell iManager, click iPrint > Manage Printer.

  2. Browse to and select the printer the job was sent to.

  3. Click Printer Control > Jobs.

    If you want to see a list of jobs already processed and being retained, click Retained Jobs.

    Information about each print jobs is displayed.

7.2.6 Using Printer Driver Profiles

Printer driver profiles let you set the driver defaults for a Windows printer driver. Then you associate the printer driver profile to a printer so that when the printer is installed, it is configured with the settings you want.

For example, in a law office you might want the default paper size to be legal size. This means every time the printer and corresponding driver are installed on a workstation, the paper size is set to legal size.

Create, Modify, and Delete Printer Driver Profiles

When creating a printer driver profile, you work directly with a platform-specific printer driver; therefore, you must create and modify profiles from the same operating-specific platform as the printer driver. For example, to create or modify a Windows 2000 printer driver profile, you must access iManager and complete the task from a Windows 2000 workstation.

  1. In Novell iManager, click iPrint > Printer Driver Profile.

  2. Browse to and select the Print Manager where you want the driver profile stored and made available to the printers on that manager.

  3. Select an Operation and click OK.

    • Create Printer Driver Profile: Creates a new printer driver profile.

    • Delete Printer Driver Profile: Deletes an existing driver profile.

    • Modify Printer Driver Profile: Edits the settings of an existing printer driver profile.

After creating a printer driver profile, you need to associate it with a printer.

Associate a Printer Driver Profile with a Printer

  1. In Novell iManager, click iPrint > Manage Printer.

  2. Browse to and select the printer you want to modify.

  3. Click Drivers > printer_driver_operating_system.

  4. Select the printer driver from the list of Available Drivers.

  5. Select the profile you want associated with this printer from the list of Available Driver Profiles for Selected Driver.

    If you do not want a profile associated, select None.

  6. Click OK to save the changes.

7.2.7 Using Printer Banner Pages

Banner pages create a cover sheet for each print job that a printer produces. Using the Printer Banner Configuration task, you can customize the information printed on a banner to your needs. If you select eDirectory information such as the eDir e-mail address, the Print Manager needs rights to read these attributes. Follow the steps in Using eDirectory Attributes with Custom Banners.

NOTE:If you are using banners under Manage Printer > Configuration > Defaults (Legacy), we recommend that you transition to using custom banners. If you continue to use a legacy banner and specify a custom banner, both banners print with each print job. Custom banners is the preferred method for implementing banners.

Configure a Custom Banner

  1. In Novell iManager, click iPrint > Printer Banner Configuration.

  2. Browse to and select the Print Manager you want.

  3. Select an Operation and click OK.

    Create Custom Banner: Lets you create a new custom banner.

    Delete Custom Banner: Lets you delete an existing banner.

    Modify Custom Banner: Lets you edit the settings of an existing custom banner profile.

  4. Complete the fields with the information you want. If you create multiple banners, you should use banner names that are descriptive enough to identify them when you associate the banner to a printer.

  5. Select the Banner Text Location.

    This is where the banner option information appears on the banner page. The banner information is grouped together and then placed as a chunk either starting at the top of the page, centered on the page, or starting at the bottom of the page.

  6. Select the banner options you want and the font size you want to use to display the information.

  7. Click OK to save the changes.

Associate a Custom Banner to a Printer

  1. In Novell iManager, click iPrint > Printer Banner Configuration.

  2. Browse to and select the Print Manager where the printer agents are hosted.

  3. Select Assign Custom Banner, then click OK.

  4. From the Custom Banner drop-down list, select the banner you want.

  5. Select the check box next to each printer you want this banner associated with.

    When you select the check box, the banner name appears in the Assign Banner field. To associate a different banner, select the desired banner from the Custom Banner drop-down list, and select the check box for the printer you want to change. If you do not want a banner to be used, select None.

You can also assign banners when using the Manage Printer task.

  1. In Novell iManager, click iPrint > Manage Printer.

  2. Browse to and select the printer you want to modify.

  3. Click Configuration > Custom Banners.

  4. In Available Banners, select the banner that you want this printer to use.

  5. Click OK to save the changes.

    If you select eDirectory information such as the eDir e-mail address, the Print Manager needs rights to read these attributes. Follow the steps in Using eDirectory Attributes with Custom Banners

NOTE:If you are using banners under Manage Printer > Configuration > Defaults (Legacy), we recommend that you transition to using custom banners. If you continue to use a legacy banner and specify a custom banner, both banners print with each print job. Custom banners is the preferred method for implementing banners.

Using eDirectory Attributes with Custom Banners

Custom banners let you select the information you want displayed on the banner page. Some of the banner options are information contained in eDirectory™. In order for the Print Manager to obtain this information, you must modify the trustee rights and allow read access to these attributes. Because rights flow down the eDirectory tree, you can assign the trustee right at a container level above the users, or to the tree.

  1. In iManager, click Rights > Modify Trustee Rights.

  2. Select the container or tree where you want to modify the rights.

  3. Click Add Trustee, then select the object.

  4. Click Add Property, then select the Show All Properties in Schema check box.

  5. Select the following attributes:

    Banner Option

    eDirectory Property

    eDir mail stop

    mailstop

    eDir e-mail address

    EMail Address

    eDir location

    L

    eDir telephone number

    Telephone Number

    eDir user first name

    Given Name

    eDir user full name

    Full Name

    eDir user last name

    Surname

  6. Click OK.

  7. Ensure that at least the Read right is selected.

  8. Click Done.

7.2.8 Modifying the Printer’s Gateway Load Commands

  1. In Novell iManager, click iPrint > Manage Printer.

  2. Browse to and select the printer you want to modify.

  3. Click Configuration > Gateway.

  4. Edit the Gateway Autoload Command.

    The following tables describe the gateway load commands and parameters that can be used.

    Gateway Load Parameters

    Description

    NDPSGW

    The gateway NLM™ that is loaded for this printer agent.

    Additional third-party gateways are also available and only run on NetWare. The gateway executable displays at the beginning of the gateway autoload command.

    PA=

    The printer agent name that is to be loaded.

    PORT=port_value port_specific_parameters

    The type of port to be used. Supported values are LPR, RAW and NULL. Most printers use LPR. Some printers use RAW, which defaults to PORT 9100. Other ports can be used by appending :port_number to the HOSTNAME or HOSTADDRESS. For example, 129.63.47.78:9101.

    The port value is followed by port-specific parameters. See the Port-Specific Parameters in the table below

    HOST= or HOSTADDRESS=

    The hostname (DNS Name) or IP address of the printer.

    PRINTERNAME=

    Passthrough is used for most printers. If you are printing to a UNIX printer, use a UNIX-type printer or queue name.

    GETCOMMUNITYSTRING=

    Specifies the community string to be used for SNMP Get and GetNext requests.

    SETCOMMUNITYSTRING=

    The community string to be used for SNMP Get and GetNext requests.

    NOSNMP

    No SNMP traffic is generated by the gateway and printer status information, such as the information displayed on the printer, is not gathered.

    Parameters

    Description

    T= and R=

    Used to set the timing to re-establish a connection if communication with the printer is lost. You should leave this at the default of T=90 and R=60.

    SPOLL=

    The base SNMP polling interval (in seconds). Only certain SNMP information, such as the printer’s alert table and display console, is gathered at this polling interval.

    VENDOR=

    The printer vendor. Reserved for the vendor’s use only.

  5. Click OK to save the changes.

7.2.9 Configuring Printer Settings

IMPORTANT:While you can configure the settings in this section on a per-printer basis, we recommend that you use Printer Driver Profiles and Custom Banners for iPrint and new NDPS printers. The printer configuration defaults should be used only for existing NDPS printers that already use these settings.

To modify the default settings:

  1. In Novell iManager, click iPrint > Manage Printer.

  2. Browse to and select the printer you want to modify.

  3. Click Configuration > Defaults (Legacy).

  4. Modify the settings.

    • Copies: The number of copies that are to be printed for this configuration.

      Max Copies: The maximum number of copies that a user can print using this printer.

    • Priority: The priority assigned to jobs using this configuration.

      Max Priority: The maximum priority (Low, Medium, High) set by the administrator for jobs using this printer. This setting determines when the job prints in relation to other jobs with different priorities sent to this printer.

    • Banner: A list of banner pages users can select from. Banner pages are printed at the beginning of print jobs using the configuration. If multiple copies of a document are printed, the banner page are printed only at the beginning of the first copy.

      HINT:If your client, printer, and server are not all configured for the same language, you might experience problems with the output of your banner pages, such as the job name being corrupted. If you are working in this type of mixed environment, you should consider not using banner pages.

      If you select the check box to lock the current setting, users cannot change this setting on the printer.

    • Medium: The medium (form) on which jobs can be printed without stopping the printer to mount a different medium (form). The default on the printer is Any Medium, which allows jobs to be printed using the currently mounted medium regardless of media specified in the job data. If a medium is specified for this configuration and a different medium (anything other than Any Medium) is mounted on the printer, this condition causes the printer to pause for the given amount of time (default is 15 minutes) or until the new media is mounted. If this Job Wait Time expires, the job is placed on hold and returned to the spooling area.

      If you select the check box to Lock the current setting, users cannot change this setting on the printer.

  5. Click OK to save the changes.

7.2.10 Configuring Job Holds

  1. In Novell iManager, click iPrint > Manage Printer.

  2. Browse to and select the printer you want to modify.

  3. Click Configuration > Job Holds.

  4. Modify the settings.

    • Operator Hold: Jobs do not print until the Operator releases them.

    • User Hold: Jobs do not print until the user who submitted the job releases it.

    • Retain Job No Longer Than: The maximum amount of time that jobs to this printer can be retained after printing before being deleted (Minutes, Hours, Days, Years). By default, jobs are not retained.

    • Retain Job For: The amount of time that a job sent to this printer should be retained (regardless of when it is printed) until it is deleted (Minutes, Hours, Days, Years).

  5. Click OK to save the changes.

7.2.11 Optimizing Event Notification

With the iPrint Client users can be notified when their print job is complete (see Managing Print Job Notifications). You can also configure event notification for users who want to be notified of a defined printer or server event that occurs during the processing and printing of a job.

For example, the administrator for a specific printer (by default a Manager of that printer) can designate an Operator to be notified if the printer runs out of paper or if the toner is low.

This type of Event Notification is configured using NetWare Administrator.

Notification Types

Using NetWare Administrator, you can configure two types of event notification:

  • Job-owner notification. You can configure event notification for job owners only through the printer’s Configuration dialog box. When notification is part of a configuration, the owner of a job submitted to a printer with that configuration receives the notification specified. For more information, see Configuring Job-Owner Notification.

    At the workstation, individual users can use the Novell Printer Manager to configure event notification pertaining to their own jobs.

  • Interested-party notification. You can use the Access Control Notification feature to configure notification to be sent to a printer’s Managers, Operators, or other interested parties about specified events, normally those that require intervention of some kind.

    Because this feature is tied to the Printer Access Control feature, it allows you to restrict the list of individuals who receiving this notification as much as you want. For more information, see Configuring Interested-Party Notification.

Delivery Methods

The availability of the following delivery options are depends on which of them you have enabled. See Enabling Event Notification Delivery Methods for more information.

  • Pop-up notification. Messages popup on the screen of individuals designated to receive them. Users designated for pop-up notification must have a default server defined in their User Environment specified in NetWare Administrator. They also must be currently authenticated to that server or they cannot receive notifications.

  • SMTP notification. Messages are sent to the recipient through SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol) in IP-based systems.

  • Log file notification. Messages are written to a file at a designated location on a NetWare server that the recipient has rights to. This is especially useful for keeping a record of printing events for auditing purposes (such as job completions, how often the toner ran out, etc.).

  • Programmatic notification methods. Two programmatic notification delivery methods are included: SPX™ and RPC.

  • Third-party notification methods. The open architecture of the print system allows third parties to develop additional delivery methods.

Configuring Job-Owner Notification

Job-owner notification can be configured for specific print jobs or for printer configurations. This section provides procedures for each method.

Notification for Specific Print Jobs
  1. From the main Printer Control view of the printer’s Details page, click Jobs/Job List.

  2. (Conditional) To see a list of jobs being retained and not currently scheduled for processing, click Show Retained Jobs.

  3. Click Job Options and select Configurations from the drop-down list.

  4. Click Notification.

  5. Select the notification methods and events you want.

  6. Click OK.

Configuring Interested-Party Notification

The following procedure allows you to specify the users who receives event notification for a Printer object, the method of notification, and the types of events they receive notification for.

  1. In NetWare Administrator, select the printer you want to configure.

  2. Click the Access Control button.

    Three roles are available: Manager, Operator, and User.

  3. Select the role you want to configure Access Control notification for.

  4. Select the object you want to configure notification for, then click Notification.

  5. Click the icon representing the method you want to use.

  6. Select the notification methods and events you want.

  7. Click OK.

7.2.12 Setting Print Job Spooling

Although you do not need to send print jobs through queues, jobs submitted to printers often need to be stored somewhere when the printer is already processing other jobs or when the job is on hold or retain status. Job spooling allows you to specify where you want jobs to be stored while they await processing.

By default, the spooling area for a printer is located on the same volume as the database for the Print Manager supporting that printer. However, the Spooling Configuration option allows you to spool jobs to a different location through the following procedure.

Job spooling offers greater simplicity and management convenience than queue-based printing. Spooling requires only that a directory be designated where jobs can be stored while awaiting processing.

You can modify job spooling at any time, even when a job is already being processed.

To optimize job spooling:

  1. In Novell iManager, click iPrint > Manage Printer.

  2. Browse to and select the printer you want to enable Access Control for.

  3. Click Configuration > Spooling.

  4. Modify the spooling information.

    • Spooling Location: Specify the path where print job data is stored while waiting to be printed. By default, the spooling area for a printer is located in the same volume as the database for the Print Manager supporting that printer.

    • Available Disk Space: The amount of disk space available on the volume.

    • Limit Disk Space: To limit the amount of disk space to be used for spooling, select the check box and set the limits you want.

    • Spooling Space: The total amount of disk space in kilobytes (KB) you want to set aside for print job spooling.

    • Retained Job Space: The amount of disk space in kilobytes (KB) you want to set aside for holding retained print jobs. This amount should be sufficiently less than the total spooling space to ensure that new print jobs can be processed efficiently.

    • Scheduling: Four common job scheduling algorithms are available: First In, First Out, Print Smallest Job First, Minimize Media Changes, Backward Print Only Current Medium.

  5. Click OK.

7.2.13 Configuring LPR Printers

UNIX, Macintosh, and other LPR clients can print to iPrint printers using LPR.

IMPORTANT:In order for LPR to work, the printer agent name cannot contain spaces. If it does, you need to recreate the printer agent or select a different printer.

  1. In Novell iManager, click iPrint Management > Manage Printer.

  2. Browse to and select the printer you want to enable LPR printing for.

  3. Click Client Support > LPR Support.

  4. Check the Enable LPR/LPD Client Support check box.

    The LPR Host and LPR Printer/Queue fields display information required when setting up printing for Macintosh, UNIX, or other LPR clients.

    LPR Host: The server name where the Print Manager is running.

    LPR Printer/Queue: The same as the printer agent’s name. The printer agent name cannot contain any spaces; otherwise, LPR does not work properly.

  5. (Optional) Enable the following options:

    Filter All LF to CRLF and Append FF to Jobs: Selecting this check box changes bytes in the LPR data stream of all incoming LPR print jobs from Line Feeds to Carriage Returns with Line Feeds and appends a Form Feed to the end of the print job. Typically, these changes are made at the LPR client; however, if you are sure of your users’ configurations, you can implement this option.

    Address Ranges: Add an address range only if you want to restrict access to this printer to LPR clients within the address range. When the list is empty, all addresses are allowed to print (default).

  6. Click Apply or OK to update the printer settings.

  7. From the UNIX, Macintosh or other LPR client, set up a printer using the LPR Host and LPR Printer/Queue information displayed in Step 4.

7.2.14 Migrating NDPS Printers to iPrint

You can migrate installed NDPS printers to iPrint printers following the steps outlined in Upgrading from NDPS to iPrint.

7.2.15 Migrating Queue-Based Printers to iPrint

You can migrate existing queue-based printers to iPrint printers following the steps outlined in Migrating from Print Queues. Once your iPrint system is configured, use iManager to select the queues you want to migrate and associate an iPrint printer.

To associate iPrint printers to your print queues:

  1. In Novell iManager, click iPrint > Migrate QMS to iPrint.

  2. Browse to and select the printers you want to migrate.

  3. Associate iPrint printers with each print queue.

    If you make a mistake repeat, the steps above to reassociate an iPrint printer.

When you are ready to have iPrint migrate users queue-based printers to iPrint, edit the iprint.ini as explained in Upgrading QMS Printers to iPrint Printers.

7.2.16 Supporting Queue-Based Client Workstations

If your network includes clients that are not able to send jobs to Printer Agents directly (such as Macintosh and OS/2), the backward compatibility of the Novell print system allows these clients to submit jobs to the same queues they always have. Then the Printer Agent can retrieve jobs from these queues and print them.

To set up a printer to service legacy queues:

  1. In Novell iManager click iPrint > Manage Printer.

  2. Browse to and select the printer you want.

  3. Click Client Support > QMS Support.

  4. Modify (add to/delete from) the Service Jobs from NetWare Queues list.

  5. Click OK or Apply to save the settings.