Feb 6, 2025

Purdue CS Printer Setup for Ubuntu

Prerequisite: Install SAMBA

sudo apt install samba-client

Method 1: Command-Line Script

sudo lpadmin -p $PRINTER -E -v smb://BOILERAD%5C$USERNAME:$PASSWORD@print.science.purdue.edu/$PRINTER \ -m drv:///sample.drv/generic.ppd -L $PRINTER \ -o Option1=True # Set Duplexer to true: lpoptions -p $PRINTER -l

Set the variables as follows:

The $USERNAME is your Purdue Career account (encoded via URL encoding).
The $PASSWORD is your Purdue Career password (encoded via URL encoding).
The $PRINTER is the printer name (e.g. haas257bw). See here: https://www.purdue.edu/science/scienceit/printers.html (you need to be on campus or through VPN).

Note

Unfortunately the printer password is stored in plaintext in CUPS (you will need root access for the file though).

CUPS encodes the username and the password in the URL of the printer. Therefore, if your password contains special characters, they need to be encoded via URL encoding (e.g. @ needs to be input as %40).

Method 2: Add Printer through Gnome Desktop

Go to Printers > Additional Printer Settings > Add > Network Printer > Windows Printer via SAMBA.
The address is print.science.purdue.edu/PRINTER_NAME. PRINTER_NAME is room + printer type, e.g. haas257bw (there is a sticker on each printer with the name too).
Set authentication:
- Username is BOILERAD\YOUR_USERNAME (note the backslash).
- Password is your Purdue Career password.
You can use a Generic > Postscript driver, or you can take some time to examine the printer and determine the make (haas257bw is a Lexmark M5155 4063-29E, for example).
Start printing.