How to print from a Windows Desktop
List of Printers and Adding Printers
You can print to a number of departmental printers, which ones you use depends on what you want to print. Please see the link bellow for a list of printers you may use and to check a given printer queue.
If you want to print mono outputs then you can use any of the public accessable printers like pidg or G1 or bones for example. If you want to print out colour paper copies then you can use spect, nsynd, peacock, prism or bungle. If on the other hand you want to printout OHP's then you have two options. You can either use the colour laserjets or for a better quality printout, you can use the inkjet printers locally attached to the two public Windows pc's, the Cannon 450i's. Note, these inkjets are not on the network and can not be assessed by unix computers. This might change once the new CUPS printing method is implemented in place of the current lpd system.
By default, all users on the public Windows pcs get given a selection of printers. This selection might not include the one you want to use. If this is the case, look at 'Add a printer to your Pc' for a web based method of adding printers. This isn't the only way to add a printer, you can use the wizard found in Start Menu -> Settings -> Printers -> Add Printer. You'll need to know the queue name of the printer you want to add but they are called sensible names.
Managing your printer jobs
When a file is "printed" it first enters a queuing system for transmission to the printer. In fact two queues may be involved. First, the file is queued for transmission over the network to the computer which actually controls the printer. This normally happens so quickly that you are not aware that it has happened. Then the file sits in a queue on the controlling computer until the printer becomes available. A file, when in the printer queue is called a "job". You may only add and remove jobs you own, but you can see what jobs are waiting in the printer queue. Controlling your jobs and being aware of the waiting list on a printer queue not only avoids wasting your time, but it prevents unwanted duplication of jobs and hence, the waste of toner and paper. You can check the status of a printer, location and printing queue by pointing your browser to
If a printer isn't working the best thing to do is remove your job from the printer queue and send it to a different printer. Do not re-send the job, since that will merely cause the queue to build up and result in a large amount of wasted paper when the printer finally comes back on line.
Printing OHPs
OHPs for the inkjets attached to public pcs are obtained from reception. These printers are not accessible via the network and the machines connected to them are running Windows.
For help on printing OHP's, look at the FAQ page
For help on how to print a postscript file onto an OHP, look at