thinlinc

The thinlinc environment provides a simple printing solution for workstations and personal devices.

Create own printer instances

Create own printer instances with personal settings. Such instances are only available via command line.

[user@host
# Create an instance 'jcolor/bw', which prints to 'jcolor', but always in b/w:
$ lpoptions -p jcolor/bw -o ColorModel=Gray

# To use the new instance:
$ lp -d jcolor/bw output.pdf

# Show all printer, incl. instances:
$ lpstat -t

# The local instances are saved under
~/.cups/lpoptions

Printing with Command Line

Description Syntax / Example List all printers lpstat -a Show default printer lpstat -d Set default printer lpoptions -d
Ex: lpoptions -d k Print lp [-d ]
Ex: lp -d h52 paper.pdf Print several copies (see notes) lp -n [-d ]
Ex: lp -n 5 paper.pdf Print several copies (see notes) in the order 1,2,3... lp -o Collate=True -n
Ex: lp -o Collate=true -n 5 paper.pdf Print several copies with staples (see notes) lp -d -o RepeatJob= -o StaplePos=1PLU
Ex: lp -d j -o RepeatJob=10 -o StaplePos=1PLU exam.pdf Print 2 pages on one site lp -o number-up=2
Ex: lp -p number-up=2 paper.pdf Printing one sided on a duplex printer lp -o duplex=None
Ex: lp -o duplex=None paper.pdf Printing duplex with turning on short edge lp -o duplex=DuplexTumble
Ex: lp -o duplex=DuplexTumble paper.pdf Printing transparencies lp -o media=Transparency
Ex: lp -o media=Transparency Printing with stapling (see note 1) - only j, jcolor, k, kcolor lp -d jcolor -o StapleType=StapleON -o StaplePos=(1PLU|1PRU|1PLB|1PRB|2PL|2PR|2PU|2PB)
Ex: lp -d jcolor -o Duplex=None -o StapleType=StapleON -o StaplePos=1PLU -o sides=one-sided Printing booklet via jcolor_booklet and kcolor_booklet (see note 3) lp -d -o print-color-mode=Color|Grayscale
Ex: lp -d jcolor_booklet -o print-color-mode=Color -o PageSize=A5 paper.pdf Printing booklet via j-ps and k-ps (see note 3) lp -d -o BindMode=SaddleStitch -o Duplex=None -o Booklet=Left -o print-color-mode=Color
Ex: lp -d jcolor -o PageSize=A5 -o BindMode=SaddleStitch -o Duplex=None -o Booklet=Left -o Finishing=Col -o print-color-mode=Color paper.pdf

Note 1: Pay attention on combining copies and stapling. If you like to print a PDF (e.g. 4 pages) 10 times, do NOT use the -n  parameter. The whole printjob, 4 pages * 10 copies, will be stapled together (only one)!

Solution: Use the 'Repeat Job' option in the advanced tab of the print dialog

Note 2: Do not print many copies at once, because it requires a lot of resources of the printer.

Solution: Use the lpRepeat script instead (with the -s parameter to specify a delay):

$ lpRepeat -d h52 -n 30 -s 15 big_file.pdf

Note 3: Booklet printing can be simplified with the lpBooklet script:

# Color print
$ lpBooklet -d jcolor -f booklet.pdf

# Black & white print
$ lpBooklet -d j -f booklet.pdf

Option values

Duplex: one/two sided print

Value Meaning None One sided !DuplexTumble Two sided along long edge !DuplexNoTumble Two sided along short edge

StaplePos: staple position

Value Portrait mode Landscape mode !PosNone No staple No staple 1PLU Upper left Upper right 1PRU Upper right Bottom right 1PLB Bottom left Upper left 1PRB Bottom right Bottom left 2PL Left x2 Upper x2 2PR Right x2 Bottom x2 2PU Upper x2 Right x2 2PB Bottom x2 Left x2 SDL Middle x2 Middle x2

Printing with graphical interface (evince PDF viewer)

Stapling

In the print preview dialog select j, jcolor, k, or kcolor and on the tab 'Advanced'

choose the position of a staple (here upper left corner) specify Repeat Job if you need more than one copy

Note: do not specify Copies on the General tab to print several stapled copies! If you do so, all copies are stapled together!

Booklet

In the print preview dialog select jcolor_booklet or kcolor_booklet - these printers are already configured for booklet printing.

Alternatively, select j, jcolor, k, or kcolor and choose the following options:

Left binding for Booklet Printing on the tab Finishing Saddle Stitch for Staple Position on the tab Advanced

Note: booklet printing requires A4 or A5 format.

Printing exams - lpSequential

If you have a personalized exam, one PDF for all students, and you like to print it and the output should be:

shifted (easy separation), or stapled,

than use the lpSequential script (commandline).

For each exam print, the current page number is shown. You can stop a running print job, by pressing Ctrl-C in the commandline. If you stopped the printing, restart the printjob by specifing the last printed page + 1. : a printer name like k, kcolor, j, or jcolor. : If you have an exam pdf with 200 pages (one big file, 25 students, 8 pages per exam) the whole file will be split in jobs as and such part will be printed. : '1', if you start from scratch, else the last reported printed page + 1. : This is only necessary if you want to be sure that all exams are in exact same order as in the PDF. A reordering might appear inside the printer, if there are multiple print jobs at the same time in the local printer queue. If a delay is specified, this helps to take care that are never more than 2 jobs in the local printer queue at the same time. The amount of delay in seconds depends on the print job size. Start with 5 seconds and stop and increase if it is too short. You can check the local printer queue on the touchscreen at the copier.

# K Floor (k)
$ lpSequential -o Duplex=None -o StaplePos=1PLU -o StapleType=StapleON -o sides=one-sided <file.pdf> k <pages per exam> <start page to print from> <delay in seconds>
# J Floor (jcolor_booklet) - with color
$ lpSequential -o Duplex=None -o StaplePos=1PLU -o StapleType=StapleON -o sides=one-sided -o print-color-mode=Color <file.pdf> jcolor <pages per exam> <start page to print from> <delay in seconds>

Example:

Staple lpSequential -o Duplex=None -o StaplePos=1PLU -o StapleType=StapleON -o sides=one-sided exam.pdf k 16 1 0 printer 'k', 16 pages per exam, starting at 1, no delay Shifting lpSequential -o Duplex=None -o sides=one-sided exam.pdf jcolor 8 33 5 printer 'jcolor', 8 pages per exam, starting at 33, 5 seconds delay

Most exams are single sided, so switch of the default Duplex mode.