Module 7: Setting up a Network Printer
Introduction to Windows NT Printing
Windows NT Printing Requires:
- Print Server running Windows NT Server or WS. The printer
is installed on the print server.
- In Windows NT, a printer is the software interface
between the application and the print device.
- A Print device is the actual hardware device that
produces printed output.
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- Local print device = print device attached locally
to the print server.
- Network interface print device = print device plus
network card directly attached to the network.
Users can print from computers in NT network that are
running the following operating systems:
- Windows NT
- Windows 95
- Windows for Workgroups
- Windows 3.1
- MS DOS
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- LAN Manager 2.x
- OS/2
- Netware
- Unix
- Macintosh
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There are four levels of printer
permissions: |
- No Access
- Print (default)
- Manage Documents
- Full Control
These are the capabilities of the four levels of
permissions:
Capabilities |
No Access |
Print (Default) |
Manage Documents |
Full Control |
Print documents |
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Pause, resume, restart and cancel the user's own document |
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Connect to a printer |
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Control job settings for ALL documents |
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Pause, restart and delete (purge) all documents |
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Share a printer |
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Change printer properties |
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Delete Printers |
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Change printer permissions |
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Setting up a network printer |
- Verify that print device is on the Windows NT Hardware
Compatibility List (HCL).
- Log on as a user with Administrator privileges.
- Members of these groups can add or share a printer
- They have also Full Control print permission and can
administer printers.
A member
of this group |
Can
administer a printer |
Administrators |
On any computer in domain
running Windows NT |
Print Operators |
On any domain controller |
Server Operators |
On any domain controller |
Power Users |
On any local computer in the
domain on which the group exists |
Add a printer -- this installs the printer driver on
the print server
By default the permission assigned is
EVERYONE PRINT
Adding and Sharing a New Printer: |
Options which must be defined during setup:
My computer |
The computer designated as the print server |
Available ports |
specify the local part attached to the print device |
Manufacturers/Printers |
install correct print drivers |
Printer name |
name printer |
Default printer |
designate default so user doesn't have to. This is automatic if it is the first
printer on the print server |
Shared |
makes it possible to connect over the network |
Share name |
name users see in nethood |
Operating Systems |
identify types of clients that will use printer; then appropriate print devices will
be installed on print server |
Test page |
prints test page |
- Printer properties 6 tabs, which are:
- General
- Ports
- Scheduling (Permissions, Auditing, Ownership)
- Sharing
- Security
- Device settings
Again, by default the group
Everyone is assigned the Print permission.
This is the dialog box seen by default when you click the Print Processor button:
This is the dialog box seen by default when you click the Permissions
button:
Setting up a Network Client: |
There are 3 classes of network clients:
- Windows 95 and Windows NT based clients.
- Once you shared a printer you don't need to do
anything further. The user only needs to connect to the printer.
- Other Microsoft based clients
- a driver needs to be installed locally on the
client computer
- MS-DOS
- OS/2 (with LAN Manager Client 2.2 c installed)
- LAN Manager 2.x
- Windows 3.1
- Windows for Workgroups
- Non Microsoft-based clients
You have to you 2 things:
- Install a service
- Install the printer driver on the client computer
- The print server must have a service
installed on it:
UNIX |
TCP/IP Line Printer Daemon (LPD) Service |
NetWare |
File and Print Services for Netware (FPNW) |
Macintosh |
Services for Macintosh |
- Then a printer driver must be locally
installed on the client computer
Accessing a Network
Printer
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Clients running Windows
NT and Windows 95
- Each time a Windows NT based client reconnects, if
driver is not current, a copy of the new driver is downloaded. This automatically keeps
the driver current.
- Printer driver in Windows 95 based clients is not
automatically kept current. It must be manually installed every time the print device is
updated on the server.
To connect to a printer use
commands specific to the client
The Client... |
The Command to use... |
LAN Manager clients running MS-DOS or OS/2 use the Net use command |
net use lptx \\server_name\sharename |
NetWare clients configured with a Monolithic IPX and NetWare VLM use the
NetWare Capture command |
capture queuename |
UNIX clients running TCP/IP, use the LPR utility |
lpr -Sserver-name -Psharename filename |
Apple MacIntosh |
Chooser |
- A printer pool is one printer connected to multiple print
devices through multiple ports of the print server.
- A printer pool decreases the time that documents wait in
the print queue. They are also easier to manage because there is one printer, not multiple
printers for multiple print devices
- The user prints a document without having to find out which
print device is available because the printer checks for an available port.
NOTE
- the printer checks the ports ini the order that they are
added, so add the port for the quickest print device first
- When using printers in a pool, they ALL MUST be using
the same print driver
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Scheduling tab includes three areas |
- Set available printing times. -- Large documents print
after hours
- Set priorities between printers.-- Critical documents print
first
- Change how the printer processes documents -- Larger
documents start printing before print process is completely finished
Setting
priorities between printers:
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Lowest Priority -
1....................................Highest Priority - 99
This makes it possible for you to set priorities between
groups of documents. This requires that you do the following:
Options |
Description |
Spool print documents so program finishes printing faster |
Either this option OR the Print directly to the printer option is selected. If
you choose this option, the documents will spool.
This option has two choices |
Start printing after last page is spooled |
document won't print until completely spooled - the application that is printing is
unavailable during the spooling |
Start printing immediately |
document starts to print before it spools completely, which means it prints
sooner
the application that is printing is available sooner |
Print directly to the printer |
document doesn't spool - decreases printing time
select this option only for a NON shared printer |
Hold mismatched documents |
documents that don't match the configuration of the printer will not print |
Print spooled documents first |
a spooled document prints before a partially spooled document |
Keep documents after they have printed |
documents remain in the print spooler after printing and can be quickly resubmitted
for printing |

NOTE: in Windows NT printing, there is a SPOOLER on the print server. The spooler
processes and schedules documents. Spooling is the process of storing documents on the
hard disk, and then sending them to the printer.
- If a print device has multiple trays that hold different
types of forms, you can assign a form to a paper tray.
- "Form" refers to the paper size and type
- the default form setting for a paper tray is NOT AVAILABLE
Setting a separator
page has two functions:
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- To access dialog box, click Separator Page on the General
Tab
- To identify and separate printed documents.
- To switch print devices between the different print
modes, as shown in the following table. Print modes process documents into a format
that the print device understands.
Windows NT includes three separator page files
(LOCATED IN: Winnt\System32):
- Sysprint.sep: prints a page before each document.
Compatible with PostScript printing devices.
- Pcl.sep: Switches the printing mode to PCL for
HP-series printing devices and prints a page before each document.
- Pscript.sep: Switches the printing mode to
PostScript for HP-series printing devices, but doesn't print a page before each document.
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