Printing at the institute

The maths institute’s print server cupsserv.mathematik.hu-berlin.de hosts about 60 printers – usually one per office, plus multi-function and copy devices in the corridors and two pool printers. This page shows how to set up a printer on Linux, macOS and Windows 11.

1. Submit the job

   From your application’s print dialog (browser, editor, office, …) pick the configured printer and submit.

2. Pick up

   Walk to the corresponding room and pick up your printout.

Pool machines

On pool machines the printers are ready to go – pick them from any print dialog or use the commands listed below.

Your own Linux

CUPS must be installed (already the case on most distributions). Then drop one line into ~/.cups/client.conf – afterwards every CUPS command and print dialog behaves as if all institute printers were local:

$ mkdir -p ~/.cups
$ echo 'ServerName cupsserv.mathematik.hu-berlin.de' > ~/.cups/client.conf

CUPS commands

The examples below use d2207 as a placeholder – replace it with your printer’s queue name (see the CUPS web interface).

1. Open printer settings

   System Settings → Printers & Scanners → +.

2. Switch to the “IP” tab

   In the dialog, pick the third tab with the globe icon.

3. Enter connection details

   Field	Value
   Address	cupsserv.mathematik.hu-berlin.de
   Protocol	Line Printer Daemon – LPD
   Queue	your queue name with a leading slash, e. g. /d2207
   Name	free choice, e.g. Math-Drucker 2.207
   Use	Generic PostScript Printer

4. Add

   Click Add – done.

Step 1 — Enable LPR Port Monitor (one-time)

Settings → System → Optional features → View features → search for LPD/LPR, install LPD Print Service and LPR Port Monitor. Then sign out and back in once.

Alternatively, in an admin PowerShell:

PS> Enable-WindowsOptionalFeature -Online -FeatureName Printing-LPDPrintService -All
PS> Enable-WindowsOptionalFeature -Online -FeatureName Printing-LPRPortMonitor -All

Step 2 — Add the printer

1. Open printer settings

   Settings → Bluetooth & devices → Printers & scanners → Add device.

2. Add manually

   Click Add manually (appears after a short search). Then choose Add a printer using an IP address or hostname.

3. Enter connection details

   Field	Value
   Device type	Custom
   Hostname/IP	cupsserv.mathematik.hu-berlin.de
   Port name	free choice, e.g. LPR_d2207 (appending the queue name helps tell multiple printers apart)

4. Configure the port

   When Windows asks for “Additional port information”, pick Custom → Settings:

   Protocol	LPR
   Queue name	your queue name without a slash, e. g. d2207
   LPR byte counting	enable

5. Pick a driver

   Generic → MS Publisher Color Printer or Generic / Text Only. For best quality: HP Universal Print Driver for PostScript (hp.com).

6. Print test page

   In the final step, print a test page to verify the configuration.

• Default printer: mark the printer as default in your system settings so every print dialog opens with it preselected.
• Duplex & multi-page: use Layout or Two-sided in the print dialog; 2 pages per sheet saves paper.
• Test: print a short PDF (e.g. lecture notes) and walk over to the printer to check the result.
• Off-campus? First connect via VPN, then submit the print job.

• Printer not responding (own device): usually VPN is off or you’re not on campus Wi-Fi. Check the status, then resend the job.
• Job disappears without printout: wrong queue name. macOS expects the leading slash (/d2207); Linux and Windows expect it without (d2207).
• Output is blank or garbled: wrong driver. Remove the printer and re-add with Generic PostScript Printer or HP Universal PS.
• Paper jam: open the cover, gently pull paper in printing direction. If unsure, let us know.
• Toner low / streaks on print: short email to help.math@hu-berlin.de with the printer number.
• Stuck jobs (Linux): lprm -P d2207 - cancels all your own jobs on d2207.