Clueless about printing over network

s3raphim · 08-21-2003, 09:20 AM

I work in a lab with a basic windows networks setup containing 7 or so computers and 2 printers. I have been able to join the workgroup and connect to the various machines via smb with no problems, however, I am clueless as to how to connect to the printers.

What exactly do the AppleTalk, IP Printing, and Rendezvous lists represent in the Print Center. My network's printers are, I think, visible under AppleTalk but I can't connect to them.

I tried holding down the option key to add a printer, but the smb option does not appear under the Advanced settings.

And advice?

webmonkey · 08-21-2003, 04:47 PM

Sure!

By far the quickest and easiest way is to use IP Printing. You'll need to know the IP address of the printer on your network. This can be determined by printing out a test page or config sheet on the printer from a machine that is already connected to it. (Most printers with LCD displays such as HP Laserprinters allow you to print out just such a page using their inbuilt menus; if you tell me the printer model I can help you out more here.)

Once you have the IP of the printer, proceed as follows:

1) Fire up "Print Center" in the Utilities folder of your Applications collection.
2) Click "Add" and wait for the dialogue box to appear.
3) From the drop down list, choose "IP Printing"
4) Type the full IP address of the printer into the "Printer's Address" edit box.
5) Leave the tick box for "Use default queue on server" checked. The only time you'd want to specify it would be when printing to large presses and pro colour machines like Xerox DC40s etc...
6) If you can find your printer's model number in the "Printer's Model" box, select it; otherwise just leave it at "Generic"
7) Click Add.

Next time you go to print a document, the IP address of your printer will be listed as one of the available printers.

I helped install the network in a professional printers, so have done this countless times. It seems to work very well for everything from tiny Laserjets to large scale outfits, but do shout up if you have any problems...

s3raphim · 08-21-2003, 05:05 PM

I'm afraid my initial question was not accurate. Upon further investigation, the printers are not (and I had assumed they were) plugged into the router, they are plugged into Win2k machines and then shared out.

As I said, I dont see SMB in the Advanced options for adding a printer.

webmonkey · 08-21-2003, 05:48 PM

Oh dear...

In that case, I would highly recommend this hint from Mac OSX Hints site.

It makes reference to this tutorial, which should contain everything you need to get printing on a printer connected to a Windows Box.

[EDIT: The following tutorials are more specific to Win2K -

LPD Printing 1

LPD Printing 2

I had forgotten that the LPD daemon is installed by default in win2k, which makes some of the steps in the aforementioned win98 tutorials unnecessary.]

s3raphim · 08-22-2003, 11:11 AM

Is this only for Win2k server? I haven't had any luck connecting to printers via smb.

I'm moving into a dorm in two weeks and would like to be able to connect to a windows printer without the windows user having to do anything special to the machine.
If the printer is set to be shared over the windows network and I can access the windows network and any shared folders, isn't there a way for me to get to the printer too?
Thanks for the tutorial, I am now printing to one of the TCP/IP enabled printers in my office, but I'm going to need to connect through a windows machine too.

webmonkey · 08-22-2003, 12:01 PM

I can't think of a way that you can print directly to a printer that's connected to a Windows box without having the Windows user make some kind of minor alteration. But we are talking minor here...

If you really don't want to have to make any alteration on the Win2K system, the answer is to buy a cheap print server. (You can pick these up for about £30.) They come in the form of little boxes, often featuring one or more USB sockets and then a single RJ-45 (regular network) connection. By plugging the print server into your network router or hub you can network a printer that only has a USB connection and then follow my tutorial above for the IP printing...

If it were my money, I'd buy my friend a pint in return for him/her letting me tinker with his Windows box for 15 minutes... Depends how persuasive you are really!

08-21-2003, 09:20 AM	#1
s3raphim Prospect Join Date: Aug 2003 Posts: 40	Clueless about printing over network I work in a lab with a basic windows networks setup containing 7 or so computers and 2 printers. I have been able to join the workgroup and connect to the various machines via smb with no problems, however, I am clueless as to how to connect to the printers. What exactly do the AppleTalk, IP Printing, and Rendezvous lists represent in the Print Center. My network's printers are, I think, visible under AppleTalk but I can't connect to them. I tried holding down the option key to add a printer, but the smb option does not appear under the Advanced settings. And advice?

08-21-2003, 04:47 PM	#2
webmonkey Triple-A Player Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: UK Posts: 72	advice Sure! By far the quickest and easiest way is to use IP Printing. You'll need to know the IP address of the printer on your network. This can be determined by printing out a test page or config sheet on the printer from a machine that is already connected to it. (Most printers with LCD displays such as HP Laserprinters allow you to print out just such a page using their inbuilt menus; if you tell me the printer model I can help you out more here.) Once you have the IP of the printer, proceed as follows: 1) Fire up "Print Center" in the Utilities folder of your Applications collection. 2) Click "Add" and wait for the dialogue box to appear. 3) From the drop down list, choose "IP Printing" 4) Type the full IP address of the printer into the "Printer's Address" edit box. 5) Leave the tick box for "Use default queue on server" checked. The only time you'd want to specify it would be when printing to large presses and pro colour machines like Xerox DC40s etc... 6) If you can find your printer's model number in the "Printer's Model" box, select it; otherwise just leave it at "Generic" 7) Click Add. Next time you go to print a document, the IP address of your printer will be listed as one of the available printers. I helped install the network in a professional printers, so have done this countless times. It seems to work very well for everything from tiny Laserjets to large scale outfits, but do shout up if you have any problems... __________________ recursive adj see 'recursive'

08-21-2003, 05:48 PM	#4
webmonkey Triple-A Player Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: UK Posts: 72	Oh dear... In that case, I would highly recommend this hint from Mac OSX Hints site. It makes reference to this tutorial, which should contain everything you need to get printing on a printer connected to a Windows Box. [EDIT: The following tutorials are more specific to Win2K - LPD Printing 1 LPD Printing 2 I had forgotten that the LPD daemon is installed by default in win2k, which makes some of the steps in the aforementioned win98 tutorials unnecessary.] __________________ recursive adj see 'recursive' Last edited by webmonkey; 08-22-2003 at 03:46 AM.

08-22-2003, 12:01 PM	#6
webmonkey Triple-A Player Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: UK Posts: 72	hmm.... I can't think of a way that you can print directly to a printer that's connected to a Windows box without having the Windows user make some kind of minor alteration. But we are talking minor here... If you really don't want to have to make any alteration on the Win2K system, the answer is to buy a cheap print server. (You can pick these up for about £30.) They come in the form of little boxes, often featuring one or more USB sockets and then a single RJ-45 (regular network) connection. By plugging the print server into your network router or hub you can network a printer that only has a USB connection and then follow my tutorial above for the IP printing... If it were my money, I'd buy my friend a pint in return for him/her letting me tinker with his Windows box for 15 minutes... Depends how persuasive you are really! __________________ recursive adj see 'recursive'

08-21-2003, 05:05 PM	#3
s3raphim Prospect Join Date: Aug 2003 Posts: 40	I'm afraid my initial question was not accurate. Upon further investigation, the printers are not (and I had assumed they were) plugged into the router, they are plugged into Win2k machines and then shared out. As I said, I dont see SMB in the Advanced options for adding a printer.

08-22-2003, 11:11 AM	#5
s3raphim Prospect Join Date: Aug 2003 Posts: 40	Is this only for Win2k server? I haven't had any luck connecting to printers via smb. I'm moving into a dorm in two weeks and would like to be able to connect to a windows printer without the windows user having to do anything special to the machine. If the printer is set to be shared over the windows network and I can access the windows network and any shared folders, isn't there a way for me to get to the printer too? Thanks for the tutorial, I am now printing to one of the TCP/IP enabled printers in my office, but I'm going to need to connect through a windows machine too.