Win2K Printing

Strange Terminology ???

•        Print device – the piece of hardware that produces the printed page, it can be a local print device directly connected to the print server or a network print device which has its own network connection

•        Print server – the computer that controls the printing by managing the queue etc.

•        Printer – the virtual software object that resides on the print server which the user connects to in order to print

Remote Local Print Device

Remote Network Print Devices

Printer Pool 

Ports

•        Printers print to ports

•        A port is a “pipe” down which the print job is sent

•        The port can be a local port such as LPT1 or a TCP/IP port addressed to an IP address

The Spooler

•        On the print server there is a spool folder where the print jobs for a printer are cached and queued waiting for transmission to the print device

•        the default location for this is
(if the system is installed on the C drive)
c:\WINNT\system32\spool\printers
this location can be changed

•        On the print server there is a service called Print Spooler. Stopping and restarting this service can remedy certain print problems

Security

•        Similar to NTFS permissions you can assign print permissions to users and groups for any particular printer

•        The three permissions are:
Print – can print to the printer
Manage Documents – can manipulate documents in the print queue
(but not necessarily print!)
Manage Printers – can manage all aspects of the printer

•        By default Administrators, Print Operators and Server Operators are given all permissions, and Everyone can Print

•        The user who sends a print job can by default manage that print job

And…

•        Printers can be audited

•        Printers can be added and administered through a web browser (IIS must be installed on the print server !)

•        Printers can be configured to only be available at specified times, print jobs sent out of hours will be queued until the printer is available

Even more…

•        If a print job stalls all printing is held in the queue

•        Documents can be redirected to another printer

•        Printing can be paused, all print jobs can be cancelled

•        Documents can be restarted, paused or cancelled

•        By default printers are published to the Active Directory (this can be overridden)

 

Last Updated 21 February, 2004

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