need help on advanced printer configuration

jackandking · 03-20-2008, 02:36 AM

RedHat Linux Enterprise 4
our group has a hp3505 color LaserJet
configured as Networked JetDirect (driver: HP Color LaserJet4500), it works fine, all stuff printed in color.

now, I want to configure two queues（Qa,Qb),
requirements:
Qa: print stuff in black/white only, available to all users.
Qb: print stuff in color, available to some uses.

any suggestion?

further more, we have 10 pcs, is it possible to configure one server with Qa+Qb, and all the other pcs just connect to the server without repeated configuration?

thanks in advance.

farslayer · 03-20-2008, 10:36 AM

I do something similar to that with my color copier..

Network is windows so there are some differences of course.

I created two seperate Queues for the Printing device on the server .

Queue 1 is B&W
Queue 2 is Color

I set permissions on the color printer object so only members of the ColorPrinting group would have access to the device configured as color.

This printer has access control settings as well (CopyTrack) which allows me to restrict color printing by code.. so I created access controls on the printer itself and assigned values to them. Users that are setup for B&W printing are unable to select Color in the printer properties. This is a function of the printer and print driver of my device so I don't know if your HP does something similar or not..

Assigned the appropriate users to each group and setup the printer on their PC's, setting the B&W queue as the default printer. Users that want to print color (and have the appropriate rights) simply choose the "color printer" when they print and everything just works..

That $0.10 a page for color prints can sure add up quickly if not restricted... B&W prints are $0.007 for our machine

jackandking · 03-20-2008, 11:54 PM

thanks a lot
your experience show me the way

but in our Linux system there are still two main problems in my mind:
1: how to configure a B&W queue, since i can't find a B&W driver for hp3505 color LaserJet
2: how to do access control, since i don't know the location of the print queue device, in /dev/ ?

farslayer · 03-21-2008, 09:21 AM

I use the same driver for Color or B & W it's not a different driver. it's the copy track functionality of the device that allows me to disable color for the one instance of the driver.

Copy track setup instructions I do not know if your printer has a similar feature or not..

In the USER ID section for Copy track I defined one user that can not print color and a different user number that can.

There are 3rd party products that do this as well for any printer.. although I don't know of one specifically for Linux. There has to be a way of doing it. Possibly modifying the .ppd file for the printer and commenting out the color capabilities section for one of the printer instances, or just using a standard Monochrome HP Laserjet driver for one of the instances. (almost ANY laser printer can print using the HP LJ 4 Driver, although you may loose access to some paper trays duplexing or other features of the printer. so the trick is choosing the correct monochrome driver that supports all the other features of your printer)

from hplj.ppd file from openprinting.org database..

Code:

*driverName hpijs/hpijs - HP's IJS driver for most of their non-PostScript printers: ""
*driverType I/IJS: ""
*driverUrl: "http://hplip.sourceforge.net/"
*driverObsolete: False
*driverSupplier: "Hewlett-Packard"
*driverManufacturerSupplied: True
*driverLicense: "BSD"
*driverFreeSoftware: True
*driverSupportContactVoluntary: "http://lists.sourceforge.net/mailman/listinfo/hplip-help HPLIP-Help Mailing List"
*driverMaxResolution: 600 600
*driverColor: True
*driverTextSupport: 60
*driverLineartSupport: 60
*driverGraphicsSupport: 50
*driverPhotoSupport: 50
*driverRenderingSpeed: 70

*DefaultResolution: 600dpi

Oh it looks like this type of feature IS built into the HP LJ 3000 series..
http://www.hp.com/sbso/productivity/...ss/manage.html
http://h20000.www2.hp.com/bizsupport...ctID=c00599749

Quote:

Color Access Control - Table of Contents
Tracking and Controlling Color Use
Monitoring Color Use
Using the Color Usage Job Log to Monitor Color Use
Using the Embedded Web Server to Monitor Color Use
Using HP Web Jetadmin to Monitor Color Use
Using HP Easy Printer Care Software to Monitor Color Use
Using Billing Programs to Monitor Color Use
Restricting Color Use
Using the Embedded Web Server to Restrict Color Use by User
Using the HP Embedded Web Server to Restrict Color Use by Software Program
Using HP Web Jetadmin to Restrict Color Use by Pre-configuring a Print Driver
Using the Monochrome Print Driver to Restrict Color Use
Using the Printer Control Panel to Restrict Color Use
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

http://h20000.www2.hp.com/bizsupport...ctID=c00597729

Boy their website kinda sucks for providing detailed info on how to configure these features.. but They should all be explained in detail in the printer manual.

this is a little better..

http://h20325.www2.hp.com/blogs/bits...1/29/5606.html

jackandking · 03-22-2008, 06:13 AM

thanks again,
in the url[http://h20000.www2.hp.com/bizsupport...ctID=c00597729] you provided i find something useful:
"In the color print driver, click the Color tab, and then select the Print In Grayscale option."
it seems that the driver i used in our Linux system support such driver options, i think this can solve my problem 1.

Further more, I find CUPS supports all the stuff i need:
print in Black: lpoptions -p Qa -o blackplot [modify /etc/cups/lpoptions]
user ACL: lpadmin -p Qb -u allow:@colorgroup [modify /etc/cups/printers.conf]

I can't do the test until monday, but I think it will work.

farslayer · 03-22-2008, 01:00 PM

Hope it works out for you.

Glad I could help.