Frequently Asked Questions

The department has 3 laser colour printers for use:

1. Peacock: HP, MATH121 (Office, see Graduate Secretary)
2. Jay: Xerox 7750DN, MATH1108
3. Moa: Xerox 7760DN, MATH222

Access to these printers is curtailed to Faculty and Staff due to the cost of consumables. Other users can gain access to the colour printer provided they can show it is for department business. Attempts to print to these printers without proper authorization fail; you may also receive an Email notice about the failed attempt.

Sending print job using the Unix command line

The method to send print jobs to the colour printers is the same as for the public laser printers. From Unix, you can submit jobs via the application menus or the Unix command line:

	# Single sided
	lpr -Pjay file.ps
	lpr -Pmoa file.ps

	# Double sided
	lpr -Pjay2 file.ps
	lpr -Pmoa2 file.ps

	# Transparencies
	lpr -Pjay-transp file.ps
	lpr -Pmoa-transp file.ps
	

Sending print job using Windows

In order to use these printers from a Windows workstation, you must have a working Samba password to provide the necessary authentication. If one has not already been set up for you, you can update your Samba password by following the instructions in this FAQ:

How do I change my password?

You can use the "Print" menu in your application to

1. Select which printer to send your printout to.
2. Select whether you want single-sided or double sided output.
3. Select the media type (i.e. you must set the "Output Paper Type" to "Transparency" in order for the correct printing tray to be used).

Detailed Instructions on Loading Colour Transparencies

Obtain suitable printing stock: transparencies made for laser printing can be purchased from the UBC Bookstore or from the receptionist in the Mathematics Office. Make sure the transparencies are designed for use in colour laser printers: other types may damage the printer.

The Multi-Purpose Tray (MPT, Tray 1) has been configured by default to use transparencies. Please use this tray for transparencies only: do not put regular paper stock in this tray. Feed the transparency one at a time into the hopper, with any paper backing face-up (and away from the input side if it is a strip). The printer may prompt you with a beep to confirm that the media type is a transparency: confirm by pressing the "OK" button.

After loading the MPT tray, you can send your printout to the printer with the methods outlined in the previous sections.

Useful tips

1. If you are printing more than a few pages on expensive media, it's useful to make a test run using paper if you are unfamiliar with the procedure
2. If printing a large job, you may also want to break up a large files into smaller print jobs (psselect is a useful utility to extract pages from a Postscript file) so that if things go awry, you can limit the waste.
3. Double check the single-sided/doubled sided option.
4. If nothing is coming out, check that
   1. your Email to see that you are authorized to print to these printers;
   2. the printer's LCD window to see if there conditions that prevent usage (e.g. out of paper);
   3. the printer is properly warmed up. The printer needs a few minutes to warm up after long period of inactivity; do not be impatient and resend the job, otherwise you may get 2 copies;
   4. you have sent it to the correct printer and not to another printer by mistake.