Windows Printing

There Are Actually Two SCS Print Servers

In order to prevent confusion, the first thing to know is that CSCF maintains two different print servers for SCS.

• printers.cs.uwaterloo.ca is a Microsoft Windows print server.
• print.cs.uwaterloo.ca is an Ubuntu based CUPS server.

Both servers are mentioned in this document for different purposes. Both servers provide a slightly varying list of print queues.

Laptop wireless access to printers

• IMPORTANT if your are using wireless you may have also use the campus VPN to print
  • https://cs.uwaterloo.ca/twiki/view/CF/AnyConnect

Print via the SCS Print Server - printers.cs.uwaterloo.ca

This is perhaps the most straight forward means to setup an SCS print queue on a local Windows device, especially for a laptop computer on wireless. Also, not all SCS printers may be accessed through direct connection - outlined below - and must be reached through a CSCF managed server with access controls. You will require CS-GENERAL domain credentials to access its queues.

1. Open a File Explorer window on your local PC.
2. In the Address Bar of the window, enter the following network address: \\printers.cs.uwaterloo.ca\ (it must be typed exactly).
   • If you are on a laptop/wireless computer or any non CS-GENERAL domain device, you will be prompted for your credentials by Windows Security.
   • The default of using your wireless credentials will not work. You will have to provide your CS-GENERAL domain credentials.
     1. Select More choices above the OK button in the Windows Security pop-up.
     2. Select Use a different account.
     3. Enter CS-GENERAL\<username> for the username field.
     4. Enter your CS-GENERAL domain password for the password field.
     5. Ensure Remember my credentials is selected.
     6. Click OK.
3. The window will open to a list of available print queues, double click on the one you wish to install.
   • It is recommended to enable the View -> Details option on your window to obtain the most information about the displayed queues.
4. Your computer will download the driver and configuration for the selected print queue. This may take a few minutes.

With the new print queue installed, you may now send print jobs to it.

About Stored Credentials

If you entered credentials to access \\printers.cs.uwaterloo.ca\, they are stored by the Credential Manager in your local profile. The Credential Manager applet is found in the local Windows Control Panel. Within the applet, the credentials for printing to the SCS Print Server will be listed by selecting Windows Credentials. By maximizing the entry for printers.cs.uwaterloo.ca, you can modify or delete your stored credentials. This is important for whenever you update your CS-GENERAL domain password.

Direct to printer printing

Not all SCS printers accept print jobs in this manner and this technique is best for networked "private" printers, which might be found in an office or a lab. This technique requires the user to know either the hostname or IP address of the network printer they wish to use. If that is unknown, then that information might be found by using the steps in the Finding the printer network address section below.

1. In Windows Control Panel, under Hardware and Sound, click View devices and printers or search for Printers & scanners.
2. Click on Add a printer.
3. When it starts Searching for available printers - click on The printer that I want isn't listed.
4. Pick Add a printer using a TCP/IP address or hostname then click Next.
5. Under Hostname or IP address, paste the address or IP address you found from the Finding the printer address section below (do not include a port number, e.g.: 9100) and click Next
   • Note1: device type Autodetect, so when you enter the address, the port name field will be filled in automatically and will become the same as the above filed.
   • Note2: if you're using wireless without the VPN, this will fail.
6. It should install drivers and setup the printer (takes about 1 minute).

Finding the printer network address

Note: we will only use print.cs.uwaterloo.ca to find the printer's address - we will not be using print.cs.uwaterloo.ca itself to actually print

1. Open a web browser using this address: http:/print.cs.uwaterloo.ca:631/printers.
2. Click on the printer queue name for the printer you want to add.
   • Example: pick cs009969 - a CS GRAD printer.
3. In the Connection field, copy just the address part of the record (i.e.: cs009969.cs.uwaterloo.ca).
   • Note: do not include any port number, e.g.:9100.
4. To find the IP address, open Command Prompt and ping the printer using the above address (e.g.: ping cs009969.cs.uwaterloo.ca). The IP address will be the number series that follows “Reply from”.

Finding printer status with a web browser

1. You can open a web browser to the printers built in web server for printer status (paper jam, toner, etc).
2. Open a web browser to the address found in Finding the printer network address above.
   • Note: you will have to add an exemption to open the page - the printers use a self signed certificate.
   • “This site is not secure” will be displayed; click Details, than click Go on to the webpage (Not recommended) to see the printer's built in web page.
     
3. Keep this link bookmarked - you can always check this if you your print jobs are not working.

Troubleshooting

• See https://cs.uwaterloo.ca/twiki/view/CF/PrinterProblems for printer and queue related issues

Print Test page

1. Open Printers & scanners (if not already open).
2. Click on the new printer.
3. Click Manage.
4. Click Print a test page.

Seeing Errors in the queue status window ? How to fix it

• If your print job fails with an error in the status window, try canceling all of your print jobs, then retry printing.
• Details: To cancel all current documents, open the printer status:
  
  • Open Printers & scanners.
  • Click on the printer name.
  • Click Open queue.
  • Select Printer from the bar menu and click Cancel All Documents.
• After the status shows no print jobs in the queue, try reprinting your print job.

Comment: Any kind of remote printing problem can cause an error to occur in your printer status window (if you were printing at the time). Windows does not gracefully recover and restart printing when errors are reported by a remote printer. So, if you could try the "Cancel all Documents" step and resubmit your print job to see if that works, it would tell us a great deal about what is happening.

Historical information of possible interest