To obtain a list of available printers and their names, select the printerchooser option from the RCS Applications menu. This utility allows you to see the list of available printers, as well as to set a particular printer as the default for a single session, or as the permanent default for all your printing jobs. A list of printers is also available on-line. To access it, click on the Academic Computing Services link from the main RPInfo homepage, then click on the Printing and CIS Public Printers links from the subsequent resulting pages. (This on-line RCS printing page also contains lots of other printing-related information.) You may also print plain text or PostScript files by issuing the lpr command from an RCS UNIX window, which you open by left-clicking on the UNIX: Start a UNIX Window option in the RCS Applications menu. (Please note that you should enter all commands described in this section from a UNIX window.)
For example, to print a file called mypaper, you would enter the following command:
lpr mypaper
To choose a printer other than the default printer for your location, you can use the printerchooser utility from the RCS Applications menu, as described above, or use the -P option with the lpr command. For example, to print the file called mypaper on the LaserWriter in the VCC print room, enter:
lpr -Pvclw mypaper
If you print something on vclw, the computer operators will file your output in the print racks on the main floor of the VCC, under the first two letters of your Rensselaer userid.
You are entitled to $12.50 of free PostScript printing per semester. (Please note that you cannot carry over unused printing allotments from one semester to another.) Black-and-white, one-sided printing costs six cents per page, plus an additional two cents per job. Other types of printing have different costs.
For additional information about printing, including complete cost information, refer to Quick Study #16, Printing from RCS UNIX Systems. You may find this document on-line in several places; either in the RCS directory /campus/doc/acs.memos, or via RPInfo by clicking on ACS documentation from the ACS homepage.
Printing information is also available on-line via the Academic Computing Services homepage. To access it, click on the Academic Computing Services link from the main RPInfo homepage, click on the Printing link from the resulting ACS page. To see cost information, click on Printing Costs.