HELIOS TCP/IP Printing

HELIOS TCP/IP Printing
HELIOS TCP/IP printing offers some great advantages over printing via AppleTalk:
In this chapter we describe how to set up and configure a HELIOS TCP printer.
Server configuration
Start EtherShare Admin and log in as user "root" (or as member of the groups "SysAdm" or "QueueAdm").
Open Lists > Printers and then File > New
The Printers configuration window opens and lets you create a new printer on the host (Fig. 1).
Fig. 1: Printers configuration window

Note: How a printer is created and configured is described in the chapter "EtherShare Admin" in the EtherShare manual. Here we describe the steps for setting up a TCP printer.

Activate the TCP Printer checkbox and specify the name that the TCP printer should appear under in the TCP Name: field. Then click Save to store the new settings on the server.
Secure printer connection
You may want to access the printer remotely through routers. To establish a TCP connection to the printer through e.g. routers, the TCP printer needs a unique port number. Add this number to the printer name in the TCP Name: field:
Example:
lw8500:12345
Of course, this port number must also be added to the client desktop printer name (see Access via IP number or host name in "Mac OS 9 client configuration"). By default, the TCP/IP port 2007 is being used by all printers.
After you have saved the new printer queue, a window appears asking you to select an appropriate PPD.
Now the TCP printer server configuration is done.
Mac OS 9 client configuration
Installing the printing plug-ins
Mount the "HELIOS Applications" volume onto your desktop, open the folder MacOS > EtherShare Tools > HELIOS TCP Printer and copy the plug-ins into the System Folder > Extensions > Printing Plug-ins folder (Fig. 2).
Fig. 2: The "Printing Plug-ins" folder

Note: Make sure that the "Desktop Printer Spooler" and "Desktop Print Monitor" extensions be active (System Folder > Extensions). Otherwise it is not possible to create a Desktop printer.

Creating a printer
On your client's harddisk open the "Desktop Printer Utility" program (Applications (Mac OS 9) > Utilities) and select the HELIOS TCP Printer entry. Then click OK (Fig. 3).

Note: If you cannot start the "Desktop Printer Utility" program and receive a -199 error from your Macintosh system instead, open the Macintosh system preferences and delete the file "DTP Utility Preferences".
Fig. 3: Apple "Desktop Printer Utility"

Now a PPD must be selected (use the same PPD as selected in "Server configuration" - compare Fig. 2) by clicking the Change- button (Fig. 4).
Fig. 4: Select PPD - select queue

There are three ways of selecting the TCP printer queue:
Select the TCP printer queue (TCP/IP SLP Printer Selection from the Local Services list (Fig. 5) and click Choose.
Fig. 5: Select printer

Access via IP number or host name
If the printer queue cannot be chosen because it is not visible in the list, e.g. due to a remote TCP/IP network, you may also specify the host 's IP number or the host name in the URL: field.
Example:
182.16.0.37:lw8500 or
helios.de:lw8500
You may want to access the printer remotely through routers or firewalls. In this case add a unique port number to the printer name in the URL: field (see also Secure printer connection in "Server configuration").
Example:
182.16.0.37:lw8500:12345
Then click Create- (Fig. 5) and save the desktop printer.
Printing via HELIOS TCP/IP
In the Print dialog, when you are printing for the first time via the HELIOS TCP/IP printer, select the Background Printing item from the pop-up menu and switch the checkbox setting from Background to Foreground (no spool file) (Fig. 6). Then click the Save Settings button.
Fig. 6: Print dialog

Mac OS X client configuration
Installing the printing plug-ins
Mount the "HELIOS Applications" volume, open the folder MacOS > EtherShare Tools > HELIOS TCP Printer > OS X and double-click the "HELIOSTCPPrinter.dmg" disk image.
The "HELIOS_TCP_Installer" drive appears on the desktop which contains the "HELIOS_TCP_Installer.pkg" package (Fig. 7).
Fig. 7: Content of the "HELIOS_TCP_Installer" image

Double-click the "HELIOS_TCP_Installer.pkg" icon.
Accomplish the authentication, click OK and follow the instructions until the Mac OS X Installer has successfully installed the software.

Note: Make sure that the Apple Print Center application is not running during the installation. Otherwise the new HELIOS TCP/IP printing device will not be available.

Creating a printer
Go to Applications > Utilities, and open the Apple Print Center application (Fig. 8).
Fig. 8: Apple "Print Center" application

Click Add in the Print Center menu.
The Printer List window appears and provides the HELIOS TCP printer in the pop-up menu (Fig. 9).
Fig. 9: Printer List window

In order to specify a printer queue for the HELIOS TCP printer, click the Choose Printer button and select a queue. Then confirm with Connect.
Back in the Printer List window you can see the selected printer, its status, and the PPD (Fig. 10).
Fig. 10: Printer List window

Click the Add button and the new HELIOS TCP printer will show up in the list (Fig. 11).
Fig. 11: Apple "Print Center" application

Note: When using a Mac OS X client, the PPD file is automatically transferred from the HELIOS server to the Mac OS X client.

Synchronizing PPDs
In case the server PPD is changed at a later date, just remove the printer and create it anew, according to the steps described before.
The changed server PPD will now be used for the queue.
Removing the printing plug-ins
During the installation of the HELIOS TCP/IP printer the following files are created on the client:
File location
Function
/Library/Printers/HELIOSTCP/HELTCPIOM.plugin
Print Center
IO-module
/Library/Printers/HELIOSTCP/HELTCPPBM.plugin
Print Center
Browser module
/usr/libexec/cups/backend/heliostcp
"CUPS" compatible printer driver for communication with "papsrv"

To remove the HELIOS TCP/IP printer just delete the TCP printer queue(s), then the files listed in the table above.
© 2002 HELIOS Software GmbH