Linux

Printing on Linux has changed a lot from debian Wheezy to debian Jessie. At the moment we support both of the printing systems available at the ETH. The old VPP printing system with mostly Xerox printers as well as the new PIA/Nashuatec printers connected via samba. In the future, the VPP system will go end of life and the old printers will be replaced with new Nashuatec printers.

As we did a complete rework of the printing accessibility, there are some significant changes for the users. The main difference is that every client runs it's own CUPS (printserver) instead of connecting to the former central printserver (ipp2vpp.ee.ethz.ch). As a consequence of that, you can now print out of any application which supports CUPS printing.

Although you can't see any difference in the list of printers between the VPP and the PIA printers ( except of the name: PIA printers start with "p-" ), there are some substantial difference in the background which have to be concerned. More about that in the system-specific paragraphs below.

VPP

On one hand, there are is the old VPP printing system which already worked on Wheezy machines. Unlike as on wheezy machines, you won't have to print over LPR/ GTKLP anymore. It's possible to print on VPP printers using the printing dialogs of any applications which supports the CUPS printing now. For the reason of clarity we installed only the printers in the ET and the HIA area. If there is a need for more printers, please contact ISG.EE <support@ee.ethz.ch> with an explanation why it's needed. The website http://www.vppspy.ethz.ch/tools/vpplist.php provides a list of all currently available printers including printing logs for the last days.

PIA

On the other hand, there is the new PIA printing system. General information about the system are available here: https://www1.ethz.ch/id/services/list/print_service/index . Since the upgrade of our managed clients to debian Jessie, all the PIA printers of the ET and HIA area are installed by default. They are listed at the end of the printer list, as their labeled with a "p-" prefix. Additionally the PIA system offers a PULL-queue named "card-ethz". Print-jobs that were sent on this queue, can be printed out at any PIA printer which provides a card reader using your legi.

As these PIA printers require an authentication every time a print-job is sent, we have implemented a password saving solution that includes the gnome keyring. The keyring ( as long as your keyring has the same password as your NETHZ account ) will be unlocked at login and allows you to print without any further authentication in your everyday life. This solution requires some initial steps to work properly. Please consult the following instructions to do so.

At the moment, students have only limited access to these printers. Currently the only way a student gets credit for the new printers is that an employee transfers it to the student. ( https://www1.ethz.ch/id/services/list/print_service/geld )

Initial steps to save the password for PIA printers

In theory, it should be possible to save to password at any time a print-job is sent from any application. A password dialog appears and with the correct credentials, the password should be saved without a problem. Sadly there is a bug in one of the printing dialogs that causes the printing application to crash. Fortunately there is a simple initial task flow to avoid these crashes:

1. Open a console.
2. type "system-config-printer" to open the printing management.
3. Double-click on the printer "card-ethz".

   

4. Press "Print Test Page"

   

5. Enter your NETHZ credentials as described. The domain "d\" before the username and the tick in the checkbox are necessary. This dialog doesn't throw any errors if you enter the wrong credentials. It will simply pop up again.

   

6. Press "Print Test Page" again. If the dialog didn't pop up again, you have successfully saved the password in the keyring.
7. To be sure, you can verify the process with the instructions in the chapter "Verifying the Keyring".

Verifying the Keyring

1. At first, open a terminal and type "seahorse". That's a tool to get an overview of your saved passwords. If there is an entry like on the screenshot, your password has been saved successfully.

   

2. Next, open firefox and try to print on either the card-ethz PULL-queue or any of the pia printers ( p-et* ). The print-job should be sent without any further dialog popping up.
3. To finish the verification, head to a PIA/Nashuatec printer in your area and hold your ETH card/legi on the marked area on the printer. The previously send test pages should now appear on the display. Pressing the "Print All" button will release the jobs.

If all these steps went well, your password has been saved successfully and your printing system is installed correctly. If any of these steps fails, try the "Initial steps to save the password for PIA printers" or contact ISG.EE <support@ee.ethz.ch>.

TODO: NETHZ PASSWORD CHANGE

1. todo

Troubleshooting

Problem: I've printed something, but it didn't come out of the printer.

Solution: First, you can check your local printer queue. Start "system-config-printer" in your console and right-click -> "View Print Queue" on the printer/queue you've selected previously. If your job's hanging here, try right-click -> "Release". If the desired jobs isn't listed in the queue, check www.vppspy.ethz.ch (VPP) or www.print.ethz.ch (PIA) for errors in regarding your print-job. If you can't find any problem, please contact ISG.EE <support@ee.ethz.ch>.

P: I've started "system-config-printer" but no printers are available.

S: This probably means the cups service has crashed and can't recover itself. Restart your computer or contact ISG.EE <support@ee.ethz.ch>

P: The tick in the checkbox of the password saving dialog disappears everytime i press it. ( probably XFCE )

S: This is only a visual error. Press the checkbox once, and it will save the password.

P: Printouts out of the firefox PDF preview look messed up

S: The firefox PDF preview is not compatible with our system. Please download the pdf and print it using a PDF viewer. ( e.g evince )

P: The Application ( e.g Firefox ) crashes when I try to save the password in the keyring.

S: Please follow the "Initial steps to save the password for PIA printers"