Use printer on network and local PC at the same time..?

[Ivor Jones]

A question; I have a printer at work (HP 6980 inkjet, they won't give me a
colour laser..!) that is at present connected directly to my PC via USB.

Due to the networking system we have installed (Citrix) I can't print to
this printer from networked applications as it is a virtual desktop and
doesn't see any ports on the local machine (most terminals in the company
are diskless workstations). I'm getting rather fed up with walking to the
nearest network printer some 2 minutes away and so I need either (a) this
printer networking or (b) a separate network printer provided.

My manager is reluctant to pay for a separate printer, and to be honest I
don't have the space for it, so I want to know can the 6980 be networked
(it has an Ethernet port) at the same time as it's connected to the local
machine's USB port and will it respond to both when a print job is sent..?

If it can, all well and good, if not I am going to be struggling to get
another printer installed..!


Ivor

 

[Rev.GGWillikers]

A question; I have a printer at work (HP 6980 inkjet, they won't give me
a colour laser..!) that is at present connected directly to my PC via USB.

Due to the networking system we have installed (Citrix) I can't print to
this printer from networked applications as it is a virtual desktop and
doesn't see any ports on the local machine (most terminals in the
company are diskless workstations). I'm getting rather fed up with
walking to the nearest network printer some 2 minutes away and so I need
either (a) this printer networking or (b) a separate network printer
provided.

My manager is reluctant to pay for a separate printer, and to be honest
I don't have the space for it, so I want to know can the 6980 be
networked (it has an Ethernet port) at the same time as it's connected
to the local machine's USB port and will it respond to both when a print
job is sent..?

If it can, all well and good, if not I am going to be struggling to get
another printer installed..!


Ivor

What OS? are you in a domain?
Is your Citix client limited to certain printers?

The 6980 can be put on the network, provided that you have an available
ethernet port, and you configure it with an IP address. This would be
something to ask your sys admin to provide.

 

[Warren Block]

A question; I have a printer at work (HP 6980 inkjet, they won't give me a
colour laser..!) that is at present connected directly to my PC via USB.

Due to the networking system we have installed (Citrix) I can't print to
this printer from networked applications as it is a virtual desktop and
doesn't see any ports on the local machine (most terminals in the company
are diskless workstations). I'm getting rather fed up with walking to the
nearest network printer some 2 minutes away and so I need either (a) this
printer networking or (b) a separate network printer provided.

My manager is reluctant to pay for a separate printer, and to be honest I
don't have the space for it, so I want to know can the 6980 be networked
(it has an Ethernet port) at the same time as it's connected to the local
machine's USB port and will it respond to both when a print job is sent..?

Generally, using an Ethernet interface doesn't disable USB or parallel
interfaces.

However, it's probably not something you even need to worry about. If
you put the printer on the network, you can print to it through Citrix,
or you can send print jobs directly from your computer. Given that, you
shouldn't need to have both interfaces connected.

 

[Ivor Jones]

message
[snip]

: : What OS? are you in a domain?
: : Is your Citix client limited to certain printers?

Win98SE on the local PC, a mixture of Win2000/2003 Server on the network.

: : The 6980 can be put on the network, provided that you
: : have an available ethernet port, and you configure it
: : with an IP address. This would be something to ask your
: : sys admin to provide.

Ok, I understand that, but the question is, will the printer respond to
print jobs from both the local PC and the network at the same time..? Or
will it see (say) the USB port is connected and not respond to anything on
the Ethernet port and vice versa..?

Ivor

 

[Ivor Jones]

[snip]

: : Generally, using an Ethernet interface doesn't disable
: : USB or parallel interfaces.
: :
: : However, it's probably not something you even need to
: : worry about. If you put the printer on the network,
: : you can print to it through Citrix, or you can send
: : print jobs directly from your computer. Given that,
: : you shouldn't need to have both interfaces connected.

Normally, yes. However our network is set up so that the local PC is
invisible to the network and vice versa. I can't see local hard drives or
printers from within the network.

Most of the terminals in the company are diskless workstations and Citrix
appears as a virtual desktop so you get all the usual Windows icons etc.
as if you were using a standalone machine, but with the effect that you
can use any terminal anywhere on the network and what you see when you log
in depends on your username.

However due to the requirements of my job, I need to handle large
quantities of photo images and video streams which would overload the
server and bog down the network if it was all done on there, so I have a
normal PC with a local hard drive. I also need to use the network, so I
need to be able to print from both environments. When I log into Citrix
from my PC, it appears as a window on the local desktop, with its own
taskbar and "start" button etc. which is totally separate from the local
machine.

Within the network session window, all that can be seen is the network
environment, just as if I were logged on at a diskless terminal. It's as
though the local machine doesn't exist.

Ivor

 

[Warren Block]

[snip]

: : Generally, using an Ethernet interface doesn't disable
: : USB or parallel interfaces.
: :
: : However, it's probably not something you even need to
: : worry about. If you put the printer on the network,
: : you can print to it through Citrix, or you can send
: : print jobs directly from your computer. Given that,
: : you shouldn't need to have both interfaces connected.

Normally, yes. However our network is set up so that the local PC is
invisible to the network and vice versa. I can't see local hard drives or
printers from within the network.

Citrix is not the network, just an application that uses it.

Let me make sure I understand: you have a printer that is currently
attached to your computer via USB. You can print to it from the
computer but you also want to print network jobs from Citrix. Citrix is
configured to ignore printers attached to the local PC, so the only
option for Citrix printing is to attach the printer to the network.

Most likely, your printer will handle print jobs from both USB and
Ethernet at the same time. So plug in the Ethernet cable and configure
Citrix to recognize it, and you're done. (Some very cheap printers let
you use only parallel or USB, not both. But your printer has USB,
Ethernet, and wireless. If it can't automatically queue jobs from all
ports, it's not something appropriate for business use.)

The other way is to connect the printer only to the network. Configure
Citrix to print to it, so your Citrix printing works.

Then, on your local PC, set up a network port to the printer. That has
nothing to do with Citrix:

http://groups.google.com/group/comp.periphs.printers/msg/850d68c775d43f25

Citrix won't know or care about those print jobs you send direct to the
printer.

 

[Ivor Jones]

[snip]

: : Let me make sure I understand: you have a printer that
: : is currently attached to your computer via USB. You
: : can print to it from the computer but you also want to
: : print network jobs from Citrix. Citrix is configured
: : to ignore printers attached to the local PC, so the
: : only option for Citrix printing is to attach the
: : printer to the network.

Yes, that's about it.

: : Most likely, your printer will handle print jobs from
: : both USB and Ethernet at the same time. So plug in the
: : Ethernet cable and configure Citrix to recognize it,
: : and you're done. (Some very cheap printers let you use
: : only parallel or USB, not both. But your printer has
: : USB, Ethernet, and wireless. If it can't automatically
: : queue jobs from all ports, it's not something
: : appropriate for business use.)

I know, but you know what managers are like, they'll buy whatever's
cheapest, not whatever's best ;-)
:
: : The other way is to connect the printer only to the
: : network. Configure Citrix to print to it, so your
: : Citrix printing works.
: :
: : Then, on your local PC, set up a network port to the
: : printer. That has nothing to do with Citrix:
: :
: :
http://groups.google.com/group/comp.periphs.printers/msg/850d68c775d43f25
: :
: : Citrix won't know or care about those print jobs you
: : send direct to the printer.

Hmm, I'll look into that. However whether the security permissions will
let me access the printer mappings is another matter. I know one of the IT
dept techie guys slightly, I'll ask him if he can do it.

Cheers,

Ivor

 

[William R. Walsh]

Hi!

Chances are that you probably can, although I wouldn't expect the printer to
take it well when input comes from both ports. I did exactly that with a
LaserJet 1200...and it worked fine with an external JetDirect unit connected
to the USB port and a very long parallel cable going to my desktop computer.

William

 

[Ivor Jones]

: : A question; I have a printer at work (HP 6980 inkjet,
: : they won't give me a colour laser..!) that is at
: : present connected directly to my PC via USB.

Update - they put the printer on the network today and it's working fine
on both USB and the network, so that's one hurdle out of the way.

Now all I have to get them to do is configure one application that runs on
a different server to see the new print queue..!


Ivor