== Introduction

Webprint is a painfully simple tool - it's a print server with a web interface. It was originally built to fit the needs of a specific IT organization. Webprint is a simpler, more general version of the original tool with an English UI.


== That's weird. Why use this?

1. Users don't like to deal with printer issues, but they have them constantly. If you have a network of mostly Windows computers your users are almost guaranteed to have problems printing over the network. Webprint makes it easier to set up a shared printer - you just have to do it on one machine, install Webprint on it, and it does the rest.

2. A lot of users make honest mistakes with their printer settings. In a way that will annoy you, cost your company a lot, or, likely, both. Webprint allows you to set up the printer the way you want it to and give your users minimal, benign options when printing. It saves them from having to think and it sidesteps any problems you may need to clean up.

3. If you have users that aren't on your network, but still need to print at your location, Webprint can do this more easily than the alternatives (in fact, such functionality is the reason it was built).

4. Webprint is just a webapp. That means it will work through firewalls and can be extended in countless ways. It can be changed to fit your specific needs with ease.


== Getting started

Currently Webprint supports only Windows machines, but it can easily be extended to any number of operating systems. The steps are basically this:

1. Set up the printer(s) you want to share on a Windows machine and insure it works well locally.

2. Install PrintFile (installer is in prf32-216.zip under tools). This is a tool that allows printing from the command line in Windows.

3. Use PrintFile to set up the printer(s) so that you can print a document from the command line. The UI is fairly simple to use and the instructions are good. Note down the name(s) of the printer(s) - you'll need them.

4. Checkout/download Webprint somewhere on the computer connected to the printer(s) you've set up. You'll need Ruby >= 1.9.2 to do that. Once you have Webprint somewhere, navigate to its root directory and run:

bundle install

This installs Ruby on Rails 3 and all other dependencies. It might take a while.

5. Edit the file WEBPRINT_ROOT/config/printers to contain the names of the printers set up on the computer. These need to be the exact names of the printers as you set them up in PrintFile in step 3.

6. Finally, from WEBPRINT_ROOT run

rails server

Which starts the HTTP server. Webprint is now ready to serve print requests. Hit the print server's IP address with a browser to see the UI. Things should be pretty self-explanatory from then on.

More detailed instructions to come once the project has matured a little.


== Further development

I hack on Webprint as the mood strikes me, but I'd be pretty excited to hear from anyone who wants to use it or is using it. I think the main things going forward would be to add user accounts, optional/configurable validations for print jobs, and support for other operating systems. Drop me a line if you would like something done or you're interested in any other way.


== Contact

The best way to get ahold of me is to email me at:
[email protected]

Good luck! Hope you find Webprint useful!