Contents

New Printer

Responsibilities for printing is separated between Technical Support and Services (TSS) and Distributed Technology Support (DTS) personnel. DTS is responsible for configuration and management of the on-site printers, while TSS handles network issues, Banner printing, facsimile (fax), and external factors. Key points of the configuration to consider before contacting TSS about either Banner or network issues are expanded in the subsequent sections. For common problems see the article PrinterTroubleShooting.

Definitions:

  • FQDN: The Fully Qualified Domain Name is a human-friendly means of referring to an IP address. Instead of needing to type 10.28.20.78 in order to go to print to a networked printer, you can type regp28.printers.oakland.edu. regp28.printers.oakland.edu is the FQDN. Note that all networked printers are suffixed by the domain name of printers.oakland.edu.

  • IP address: The Internet Protocol address is used to direct traffic to and from a device on the network. IP addresses are comprised of four number separated by dots in the form of A.B.C.D. Note that all networked printers are in the VLAN 10.X.Y.Z.

  • MAC address: The Media Access Control address or hardware address is the specific identifier of the device's network interface. MAC addresses are comprised of six 12-hexadecimal number separated by colons in the form of AB:CD:EF:GH:IJ:KL.

New Printer Request

When creating Banner print queues, a few questions need to be answered. The printing workflow is graphically represented in the image. Printing Workflow

  1. Manufacturer of printer (e.g. HP)
  2. Model of printer (e.g. Laserjet 2200)
  3. MAC address
  4. Name of department (e.g. University Technical Services)
  5. Location of device
    1. Do any adjacent, available, active, network drops exist?
  6. Name of the DTS person
    1. If a department lacks a DTS person, whom do we contact?
  7. Is this printer a replacement?
    1. Old FQDN (example.printers.oakland.edu) or IP?
    2. Old Banner print queue name?
    3. Old fax number?
    4. Old directory in Shares (i.e. \\admnet.oakland.edu\shares\pub\)?
  8. Scan to e-mail?
  9. Scan to Shares?
    1. Path to Shares?
    2. Owner of Shares?
  10. Does this printer need Banner printing?
    1. Desired format?
    2. Legal values
      1. courland
      2. elitdplx
      3. elite
      4. elitsimp
      5. landdplx
      6. landscape
      7. landudplx
      8. portrait
  11. Does this printer need to be able to fax?
    1. Is the location equipped with either an analog plain old telephone service (POTS) line or a digital Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) line for the fax?
    2. Is it a new number or has it been reused? If it has been reused, then what was it?

New Printer Tasks

This section outlines the responsibilities and tasks done in response to a new printer request.

  • Printer DNS entry and DHCP entry are created by UTS-NCS.
    • Printer MUST be restarted/started after configuration is completed
  • Printer is physically installed and configured by local DTS member, Vendor, or the OU Helpdesk.

Optional:

  • If requested, a banner print queue is created in BannerPROD and TEST by UTS-TSS
  • If requested, fax is configured by UTS-NCS
  • If requested, scan to shares is configured by UTS-TSS

New Printer Configuration

Printers have myriad firmware, versions, attributes, and values such that it is difficult to enumerate all settings, but UTS has published a common configuration for usage.

Using a New Printer

Three methods exist to print.

  1. Print from a computer
    • Client applications, e.g. Microsoft Access, Microsoft Word, etc.
  2. Print through Banner

  3. Print through wēpa

    • Client applications on general-usage computers, e.g. Kresge Library

This document covers only printing from a computer. A printer have a Banner print queue not necessarily make the printing problem a Banner printing problem. If printing through Internet Native Banner (INB), Banner Forms, such as SHRTRTC, et cetera; then it involves a Banner print queue. If you are printing through Microsoft Access, that is printing either "from a Computer" or wēpa.

It is important to note that simple because the expected outcome is not printed does not mean that it is a problem due to the Banner print queue. The most common problems associated with Banner print queues are a function of:

  1. Sending the data to another printer
  2. Using the wrong parameters to print the Banner data
  3. Requesting data from either the wrong table or the wrong view

In these cases — especially in the latter two — the Banner documentation in the Ellucian Hub needs to be reviewed. If a problem of Banner functionality is requested, then a ticket with Ellucian needs to be made in the Ellucian Hub.

From a Computer

To print directly from a computer, it must be configured locally to print by either FQDN or IP address. The Windows print queues are no longer being created for printers. The only printers that will receive Windows print queues are the wēpa printers. The Windows print server has been deprecated and is being phased out. Simply because you can refer to the printer with the IP address in the local configuration does not mean that it is best. It is preferred that the FQDN is entered into fields that request an IP address wherever possible so that the local configuration continues to be valid even if either the printer is replaced or the IP address is given to a new printer. The FQDN will be given in the New Printer Request ticket, it will typically adhere to the nomenclature of something.printers.oakland.edu.

Through wēpa

Printing through wēpa is similar to printing directly from a computer. If a user should send a print job to a wēpa configured printer, it will not be immediately printed. In order to print the job, the user must first go to the wēpa station, choose the user's job, and then pay the fee. Configuration of wēpa must be specified in the New Printer request and is currently managed on a Windows Print Server. This is the only case that a new printer needs be added to the Windows Print Server.

Through Banner

Printing through Banner is a broad topic and, as such, is not covered in this guide. When the Banner print queue has been created, please reference the relevant Banner documentation.

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