changing printer defaults (terminal)

Open the System Preferences and click on the Print & Fax icon. At the bottom, choose the printer and paper size you want to use as the defaults.

Now open any app (this browser page will do) and press Command+P. If you get the uselessly over-simplified dialogue as show next ...

... then click on the arrow next to the printer name so it looks something like this:

Set the scale to 100%. Where it says "Safari", go through the other settings under that drop down menu making any changes you want to be the defaults for that printer. When you're done, click on the menu below the printer name (unlike where mine says "7500 Plain paper - 1 side", it will likely say "Standard").

When you click on that drop down menu, you will have a choice of "Save As...". Give your settings a name. Anytime you use that printer, if your settings don't come up by default, just click the menu and choose the setting you saved.

hotwheels 22 wrote:

someone helped me awhile back change the DEFAULT printer settings actions and for some reason i cannot find this documentation.

I think it was me who gave you instruction on how to use CUPS to set the defaults.

Here is a brief overview of those steps.

1. Open the CUPS web page, select the Printers tab and then select the printer you want to modify. Then from the Administration drop menu, change to "Set Default Options".
2. This will show a new page with four menu headings (links); Options Installed, General, Banners and Policies. Select General.
3. Scroll down the list until you find the option you want to set as default.
4. With the option select you then need to scroll down the list to the bottom of the page where you will see the ‘Set Default Options’ button.
5. When you click the 'Set Default Options' button you will then be presented with an authentication window. Enter the account name and password that has been set as the admin for this Mac. And then press the Log In button. You will then see another page stating that the information change is completed.
6. You can now exit the CUPS admin page and check that the change is set.

hotwheels 22 wrote:

anyway, can you help me a little more with what CUPS is exactly but also why i get this prompt when i try the url? is this indicating that i need to do something on my laptop where i am trying to access it? (i am running Lion on the Mac Pro and Mountain Lion on the laptop). THANK YOU

Web Interface is Disabled

The web interface is currently disabled. Run "cupsctl WebInterface=yes" to enable it.

As the page shows, you need to open Terminal and type in sudo cupsctl WebInterface=yes. You will then need to enter your password and press Return. Note that you don't see any characters as you type in your password.

Once you have done this in Terminal you can refresh the page view in your web browser to see the CUPS admin page. For your reference, CUPS is the core printing system used on OS X and in some distros of Linux and some versions of UNIX. It utilities a web interface to add, delete and modify the print queues and it provides the user with the ability to change settings more than the Print & Scan preference pane does.