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On this page:
Make Single, Not Multiple Copies
Print Only the Pages You Need
Preview Before You Print
Use LPQ to Check the Print Queue
Know How to Stop Your Print Job
Print PDF files as "Level 2" Postscript

Make Single, Not Multiple Copies

Not only does this save wear and tear on the printers, but it is also a way of being thoughtful of your fellow students. Know where a nearby photocopier is, and use it. There are several MIT CopyTechnology Centers on campus with self-service copiers.

Print Only the Pages You Need

Use the program called "pslpr" that lets you print only selected pages from DSC-compliant PostScript files (the file must adhere to special Document Structuring Conventions; not all applications create PostScript files that do).

For example: to print only pages 3 to 6 of a PostScript file, type:

pslpr -R -s 3-6 file.PS | lpr -Pprinter

where "printer" is the name of your favorite PostScript printer. The -s options are:

N-M print pages N through M -N print beginning to page N M- print page M to the end A,B,C print only pages A, B, and C

Note: you must specify the actual page numbers, not the numbers that print on top of each page. For documents that have a title page, add one to the page numbers you give to pslpr. (In the above example, "3-6" would be "4-7".)

LaTeX or TeX users note: You cannot use pslpr to print a few pages from a PostScript file generated by dvips. You must use dvips.

For example:

To print the first 7 pages of a dvi file, type:

dvips -l 7 -Pprinter file.dvi

To print ages 22 to 31 of a dvi file, type:

dvips -p 22 -l 31 -Pprinter file.dvi

Preview Before You Print

If the program you're using doesn't automatically show what the printed file will look like, see if there is some way to preview it.

Preview PostScript files with "gv" in the sipb locker. To use gv, at the athena% prompt, type the following:

add sipb gv filename &

This program also lets you select specific pages for printing.

Preview LaTeX .dvi files by typing:

xdvi filename.dvi &

Use "LPQ" to Check the Print Queue

If you have already sent a print job or are thinking of sending a print job to printer <printername>, you can check to see how many jobs are already in the queue by typing:

lpq -P<printername>

Know How to Stop Your Print Job

If you decide that that you don't want to print a file after you've sent it to the printer, use:

lpq -P<printername>

to get the job number of your print job, e.g.

Rank Owner Job Files Total Size active mikeuser 524 test.html 240 bytes 1st joeuser 525 myfile.html 2019 bytes

You can then stop your print job using the lprm command. For example, joeuser would use:

lprm -P<printername> 525

Print PDF Files as "Level 2" PostScript

When printing pdf files, such as from "acroread", select the "Level 2 Only" PostScript Option. This will decrease the size of the file sent to the printer and decrease the amount of time it takes to print. Level 1 PostScript is needed by older printers, but all Athena cluster printers can accept Level 2 PostScript.