Set Up a Printer on MITnet

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Set Up Instructions

Note: These instructions are for configuring a printer (hardware) on the MIT network. It will not help you configure printing on your personal computer. For information on setting up your personal computer to access printers on MITnet, see Printing at MIT.

Before you can set up a printer on MITnet, you need to do the following:

1. Verify that the printer supports postscript and allows a network connection. This includes the recommended Dell printers with an "n" in the model name as well as HP printers with JetDirect cards. We will make a best effort attempt to support other models that satisfy these criteria, but cannot offer full support for printers other than the Dell and HP printers.
2. Select a unique hostname for the printer, and request an IP address.
   • If you plan to use this printer to print from SAP, the hostname must be no more than four characters. For a duplex printer, a three-character name is allowed, but a four-character name is preferred.
   • If your existing printer name is longer than four characters and you want to configure it for SAP, pick out a new four letter printer name. Contact the IS&T Help Desk and request that they add the new name as an alias to your existing host record. Be sure to include the old name as well as the new one in your request.
   • If you are replacing a printer, provide the hostname and IP address that the previous printer had. If you don't know it, Contact the IS&T Help Desk for assistance.
   • When selecting a new hostname, plan for the hostname to outlast your room number and the model of the printer. We recommend that you keep it shorter than 12 characters.
3. Figure out the printer's hardware address (also known as "mac address" or "LAN hardware address") by printing a self-test or configuration page from the printer (see instructions below).
4. Complete the Set Up a Printer on MITnet request form. You'll need to provide the name of the person to contact and the make and model of the the printer. The turnaround time for setting up a printer is approximately one week.

Determine Your Printer's Mac/Hardware Address

In order to configure your printer for use on MITnet, you need to determine the Mac/Hardware Address of your printer. This information is usually listed on the printer's self-test or configuration page.

Select your printer model from the choices below, and follow the instructions to obtain a copy of the printer's Self-Test or Configuration page. The printer's hardware address is on this page. It will be twelve hex digits (0-9 and a-f), often written as six pairs.

Dell Color Laser 5110cn

1. Press the printer's menu button.
2. Use the -> button to select Report List then Printer Setting
3. Press the checkmark key at Printer Setting.
   Result: The printing configuration page will print.
4. On the configuration page, under "Wired Network" look for "MAC Address."

Dell Laser Printer W5300

1. Press the printer's menu button.
2. Select UTILITIES MENU, then Print Net Setup
   Result: The printing configuration page will print.
3. On the configuration page under "Standard Network Card" look for "UAA (MSB, Canonical):" the second number is the printer's hardware address.

HP LaserJet 8000 and 8100 family printers

1. Press the printer's Menu button repeatedly until "INFORMATION MENU" appears.
2. Press the Item button repeatedly until "PRINT CONFIGURATION" appears.
3. Press the Select button to print the configuration page.
   Result: The display will read "PRINTING CONFIGURATION" and the configuration page will print.

HP LaserJet 5000 family printers

1. Press the printer's Menu button until "INFORMATION MENU" appears.
2. Press the Item button until "PRINT CONFIGURATION" appears.
3. Press the Select button to print the configuration page.
   Result: The display will read "PRINTING CONFIGURATION" and the configuration page will print.

HP 4 or 5 Printer

1. Press the Online toggle button to turn the printer Off-line.
2. Press the Menu button until you see "Test Menu".
3. Press the Item button until you see either "Self-Test" or "PCL Configuration Page", then press Enter/Select.
   Result: The Self Test page prints.

HP 4000 Printer

1. Press the Menu until you see "Information Menu".
2. Press the Item button until you see "Print Configuration".
3. Press Select
   Result: The Self Test page prints.

Technical Details for System Administrators

We provide DHCP/BOOTP configuration (so that the printer will find its IP address automatically when it boots) an LPD print queue on one of our print servers, a hesiod pointer allowing some workstations to look up where the print queue is. For SAP printers, we also propagate the printcap information to the SAP servers, so that printing directly from SAP is possible.

Related Links

• Printing at MIT
• Set Up a Printer on MITnet Request Form
• Network Printing Best Practices
• MIT Network Landing Page