Unix Printing Requirements

From: Aquinas College <aquinas_at_ursa.Calvin.EDU>
Date: Mon, 14 Aug 1995 14:56:12 -0400 (EDT)

Environment:
------------
We are using Colleague from Datatel (in VA) as our administrative
application (accounts receivable, grades, financial aid, etc.).
We will soon be running Colleague on an Alpha 2100 with Digital
Unix 3.2.

Each form name that Colleague uses to print must have an entry
(that is, a queue) in the printcap file. (If we can provide the
required functionality, it may not be necessary that each form
name has its own queue.) Datatel's current implementation of
Colleague uses 450 different form names.

The printers are connected as network printers.

Here is a sample entry from the printcap file:
     lp2|2|hpiiid_ab350|form_name(s):\
     :lf=/usr/adm/lp2err:\
     :lp=:rm=aq1:rp=hpiiid_ab350:sd=/var/spool/lpd2:


Requirements:
-------------
End-users need the capability to manage their own print
queues/form names. If possible, we would like management of the
queues to take place on the Unix side.

1) End-users need the capability to turn on/off printing
     environments for a printer.

     Each of the printers has a standard form/paper type (usually
     greenbar). The parts of Colleague which do not specify a
     form name print with this standard form name. Other
     Colleague form names, although printed to a different form
     name/queue, will be printed on this standard form/paper
     size. When a printer is printing on a standard paper type,
     we must ensure that all other printer environments are and
     remain stopped.

     When a printer is printing on a special paper type (checks,
     POs, report cards, labels), we must ensure that all other
     printer environments are and remain stopped. That is, we do
     not want a standard form/paper size job to print on labels.

2) End-users need the capability to view print jobs in the
     queues/form names.

     Some queues/form names are never meant to be printed. Some
     queues/form names are meant to be viewed and then deleted.

     Some queues/form names are meant to be viewed for
     correctness prior to printing.

3) End-users need the capability to delete jobs in the
     queues/form names.

4) End-users need the capability to (re)route print jobs from a
     queue/form name to any printer.



Digital Unix is a new operating environments for us. Does Digital
Unix offer this type of print queue management? What about the
System V layered product? What third party applications are
available that offer this functionality?

Thanks.

Laura Grabinski
Network Administrator
Aquinas College
Grand Rapids MI 49506
616-459-8281
aquinas_at_ursa.calvin.edu
Received on Mon Aug 14 1995 - 21:16:35 NZST

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