Print Server Problem

R

rboklewski

Registered
Okay here is the dillema. Right now we have an NT print server on our network along with a windows 2003 print server. Now the NT is the main print server and only a couple of windows machines are utilizing the windows 2003 print server. Now, i want to get rid of the NT print server completely and have the macs in the office here print to the new print server. When i started this project i thought i wouldn't have any problems. But here is the issue im having.

From the direction i have from microsoft i have found online it said i had to open up add a printer, choose add appletalk port, when i clicked on this, the box for appletalk printer devices came up and searched for available devices. Low and behold it only showed me the printers that were on the old NT printer server. I went on the old NT print server and i could only see the appletalk printers from the 2003 box and none that were installed on itself. So, how can i add an appletalk device if it isn't in the list?
 
The printers don't have to be AppleTalk. They can be Windows-printing (SMB) or LPR (IP-printing). The latter is the recommended protocol for MacOS X.
 
Okay is there a service for smb on windows 2003 server that i have to start? Do i have to install the printer on the server using tcp/ip? Thanks, Bob.
 
If you install the printer, you can access it from the Mac. Use whichever protocol you are most comfortable with.
 
Well i have 13 editors that will be connecting to this print server, the problem is the windows NT print server prints the quark, microsoft programs, eps images fine. But, on the 2003 server it prints a bunch of jibborish when printing quark files and sometimes even microsoft documents. These are older laserjet 5si printers they use by the way and when i try and set up from my mac to print to the ip address of the printer it worked initially, then i sent a couple jobs to the same printer again and the printer sat there for like 15 minutes with the data activity light blinking like it is receiving it, but then all of a sudden it stopped and didn't print my document. Appletalk is outdated, but if i can get that to work ill use it. Ill use anything that works right now, cause i need to get off that NT print server. If anyone knows how to correctly add printers to the 2003 server and the settings for the macs on 10.39, whether it be appletalk or some other protocol. I have both printer services for mac and unix installed already.
 
I would recommend Windows printing over LPR printing. I've found LPR printing to be very slow.

Your macs should see the Windows printers as long as they are on the same network...

Try a test print with a pdf once printing is set up and see if the gibberish returns to normal. If it does you know you have a postscript printing issue. Could be a corrupted font on the user side.
 
ill check this tomorrow, but i think i already tried windows printing and it did the same thing. Ill keep you updated on how this goes.
 
Alright, i tried windows printing, i can print anything on the web okay, i went to apple and it printed the main page fine. I went and tried printing a quark document and the printer's data light blinks and it says processing job and then it all of a sudden stops blinking and goes from processing job to ready like it just drops it for some reason. Anyone got any suggestions?
 
I think since appletalk is on the network already i should try and use it, since it works flawlessly on the NT print server. The problem is when i go and add a appletalk port it wants me to choose a device and it lists the printers that are on the old NT print server. The share names are exact as it is on the NT print server. If i try to add a appletalk port on the NT printer server i get the printers in the zone named exactly as those on the 2003 server. I hope you understand what im saying here. If im on the 2003 server i can see the NT installed printers in the Appletalk zone when i try to add a appletalk printer port and vice versa when im on the NT print server. Is this right? If im on the windows 2003 server and i capture the appletalk device that it wants me to choose will it mess up the NT print server?
 
Can you describe what's in the quark document? Any placed illustrator files with placed images inside them?

Export a pdf from quark and try to print that. If it works, then I'd assume you have something that isn't ripping correctly from quark. Make sure the pdf you rip is a pdf/x-1a doc (might need to create a .ps file first and then use Distiller to rip a pdf/x-1a file) because this file type won't be created if there's an error in it.

I don't think you can edit your NT server by choosing a printer through appletalk...I also think appletalk is going to be way too slow to rip large quark files.
 
FINALLY I FIGURED THIS OUT! here goes.....

I printed a config page of one of the printers, one that is setup for appletalk. I think you have to manually go in and configure it on the actual printer, but it looks like it is all done. You don't need a print server. When you look on the NT print server you will see a printer named ArtDept, which is one that my editors use a lot for printing. Now, when i looked closer i saw that the port it was using was Hp Laserjet 5SI1, I couldn't for the life of me figure out where the hell that port came from. Guess what, i printed the config page on that ArtDept printer and sure enough it said APPLETALK NAME: HP LASERJET 5SI1, which is the port it is using on the server. I went ahead and instead of installing the ArtDept printer, i installed the printer that said HP LASERJET 5SI1 and sure enough it printed right to the ArtDept printer. YESSS!! Now i just have to see if HP LASERJET 5SI1 is still there when i take down the NT print server, which in theory should work.
 
One problem, the new print server i will be using can't be accessed by a few of the windows users. I can see the print server, but it won't expand for me to select the printers. Must be a rights issue, any help would be much appreciated.
 
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