Creating a Print Server
 

I currently work in a situation where there are about 2000 teens. There is a MAJOR waste of paper. I was wondering if anyone has ever Created a Print Server that would manage the usage of printing as well as possibly taking the document that they print and save it on the Server. Currently the teens have a storage space for files and I think I want to use that to authenticate them and use a quota system based on that. If anyone has any info on what I need to create this or has a program I could modify, it would be helpful. Thanks!

Look up CUPS, it has been done.

Thanks for the Info. I was just browsing the website real fast and noticed that it seemed to be really complicated. Have you worked with this software before? As well as if you have would you be willing to help me, or direct me to the right path to gain help? Once again thanks, and you just might have said a couple hundred trees.

Using Samba?

http://www.samba.org/samba/docs/man/...-printing.html

Does anyone know about Windows Printing Services involving Quotas? Or the idea that Microsoft has a Print Service for Handling Quotas?

Don't know much about Quotas since I don't really use them, I know it is possible as I have seen my University (back when I was a student) use quotas on user accounts (pretty much you prepaid for so many pages) and they updated it on their print server when you paid them.

CUPS really is not that complicated though, most linux distributions, in fact about all of them, use cups as a local print service in the base installation, it is a very short hop to making it work as a network wide print server, and intagrate it with SAMBA if you wanted to, or use a raw HTTP print queue.

I have looked a little into CUPS, but in the next few years there is the possibility that we'll be moving onto a Windows Domain and the enviroment that I am able to test in, is a Windows Domain so I want to try and find something for that first. I've looked in the past and have not found much for it. If I can't find anything for a Windows Domain then I will move over to CUPS.

Sorry to dig up an old topic, but here is hoping he is listening for replies via email

Hope you are listening and this helps:

http://papercut.biz/products/quota/

Papercut Print quota and Net Charging. it aint free, but it does the job 100% my company uses it, works like a charm

AND it does list the names of documents printed.. well worth checking out.