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3. Set your printer AppleTalk name and zoneLast revision July 27, 2004 If your printer supports the AppleTalk network protocol, as almost all do, there is a another step you must complete after registering it on the network. If you plan to print to this printer via AppleTalk (for example, from Macintosh computers or a pangea queue), you must assign a unique AppleTalk name and associate the printer with the correct AppleTalk zone for your location. If you have no plans to ever connect via AppleTalk, then you may turn off AppleTalk support instead, if your printer allows that. But if AppleTalk support is on for any reason, the name and zone must be correctly assigned. The problem here is that printers with AppleTalk support will generally use their model name as a network name by default, and advertise themselves in the default AppleTalk zone. But we generally have many printers of the same model. We can't have five printers all trying to use the name HP LaserJet 1200, for example. Also, there are far too many devices on our network to lump them all in the same AppleTalk zone. This would make individual devices too hard to locate. If you don't name your AppleTalk printer, the network manager will do so. To set the AppleTalk name and zone, first connect the printer to the network jack. Then start the namer or printer utility program that comes with your printer to give the printer a descriptive name. Apple supplies the Apple Printer Utility. Hewlett Packard has the HP LaserJet Utility. These programs typically run on any Macintosh connected to the network. Find your printer on the AppleTalk network. It should show up in the ES-Ethernet zone, which is the default AppleTalk zone on our network, with a default name equal to the printer model type. Once you have selected your new printer in the utility program, first reset the AppleTalk name to the same name you used when you registered it on our network. Then reset the AppleTalk zone for this printer to the one most appropriate to your geographic location. Do not just let your printer show in the default ES-Ethernet zone. That is intended only for school or department-wide systems. If you have problems setting an AppleTalk name and zone for your printer, or don't even know if it supports AppleTalk, please submit a request for help from our desktop support consultant at the HelpSU web site. Once you have set the name and AppleTalk zone (for ethernet), you can access the printer directly from a Macintosh via the Chooser. You may need to install a special printer driver on the Macintosh (supplied by the manufacturer) to get access to all features of the printer.
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