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Ubuntu Printing

In building 32 all users who wish to print must be on the CSAILPrivate wireless network or wired CSAIL Ethernet. In building 45 printing is available wirelessly via MIT Secure or wired Ethernet configured on CSAIL subnet (mostly 6th and 7th floors).

Ubuntu Printing

CSAIL Ubuntu machines use CUPS (Common Unix Printing System) for printing. For full documentation, see the CUPS help.

CUPS Info

You can monitor and manage print jobs through CUPS:

Available Printers

	<table>
Location Printer Queue Name Model 45-701P xerox45-7 Xerox PrimeLink c9070 207 xerox2 Xerox PrimeLink c9070 307 xerox3 Xerox PrimeLink c9070 347 xeroxhq Xerox PrimeLink c9070 near 399 bean Xerox Phaser 6510DN D408 twd (the-weekly-dig) Xerox PrimeLink c9070 D475 ham Xerox C310 G475 betty Xerox PrimeLink c9070 G550 xerox5 Xerox PrimeLink c9070 G675 xerox6 Xerox PrimeLink c9070 G726 xerox7 Xerox PrimeLink c9070 G824 xerox8 Xerox PrimeLink c9070 G875 serenity Xerox Phaser 6510 G950 xerox9 Xerox PrimeLink c9070

Quick Start

Using the XFCE Printer Manager (GUI)

  1. Open XFCE Menu (upper left) → Settings → Printers
  2. View all available CSAIL printers
  3. Right-click your preferred printer and select “Set As Default”
  4. Select “Set as my personal default printer”

Using the Command Line

Print a file using:

lpr -Pprinter-name filename.pdf

Replace printer-name with the queue name from the printer list above.

Command Line Options

CUPS supports many printing options via the command line. Use the format:

lpr -Pqueue-name -o option=value filename

Multiple options can be specified by adding additional -o flags.

Common Options

Option Syntax Notes
Duplex (2-sided) -o sides=two-sided-long-edge Default
Simplex (1-sided) -o sides=one-sided
No banner page -o job-sheets=none
Print banner -o job-sheets=standard
N-up printing -o number-up=N N = 1, 2, 4, 6, 9, or 16

For more options, see the CUPS documentation.

Advanced Options

Printer-Specific Options

Different printers support different options (paper tray, quality, etc.). List all available options for a printer:

lpoptions -p printer-name -l

Output format:

OptionName/Long Option Name: value1 *value2 value3

The asterisk (*) indicates the default value. To use a different value for a single print job:

lpr -Pprinter-name -o OptionName=value3 file.pdf

Example: Print from tray 2 with high-resolution quality:

lpr -Pxerox0 -o InputSlot=Tray2 -o OutputMode=HiResPhoto file.pdf

Saving Custom Print Profiles

Repeatedly specifying multiple options is tedious. Save them as a printer instance using the format printer-name/instance-name:

lpoptions -p xerox0/photo -o number-up=4 -o sides=one-sided -o InputSlot=Tray2 -o OutputMode=HiResPhoto

Now print with all those options using:

lpr -Pxerox0/photo file.pdf

View your saved options:

lpoptions -p xerox0/photo

Options are stored in ~/.lpoptions.

Non-CSAIL Ubuntu Printer Setup

Access All CSAIL Printers

For Ubuntu/Debian machines not running CSAIL’s TIG-managed configuration:

  1. Create /etc/cups/client.conf:

    sudo nano /etc/cups/client.conf

  2. Add this line:

    ServerName cups.csail.mit.edu

  3. Restart CUPS:

    sudo systemctl restart cups.service

Access Specific CSAIL Printers

To add individual CSAIL printers to a non-CSAIL machine:

sudo lpadmin -p printer-name -v ipp://cups.csail.mit.edu/printers/printer-name
sudo cupsenable printer-name
sudo cupsaccept printer-name

Replace printer-name with the queue name from the CUPS printer list.

Note: You can omit sudo if you’re in the lpadmin group. This approach is useful if you print to both CSAIL and home printers.

Troubleshooting

Printer not appearing in list:

Print jobs stuck in queue:

Permission denied errors:

Still having issues? Contact help@csail.mit.edu or visit TIG at 32-270.

Resources: