Printer Client

1 Introduction
2 Perquisites
- 2.1 Security Best Practices
3 How to Install as service on windows?
4 B. Install as a service

Introduction

OpenSpecimen creates print command files that must be transferred to the machine on which printer software is installed, e.g. Bartender, NiceLabel, etc. This poses networking challenges when OpenSpecimen is hosted on a different network than the printer software.

This program uses the REST APIs to download the files from OpenSpecimen every X seconds.

Perquisites

Java 17 installation

A. Windows: Deployment steps | Deploymentsteps Java17changes(Windows)

B. Linux: Deployment steps | Deploymentsteps Java17changes(LinuxandUbuntu)

Configure the printer.properties file

Attribute	Explanation

Attribute	Explanation
url	Server url from which you are trying to download the print labels. (e.g. https://test.openspecimen.org)
username	Username to login with the “Manage Print Jobs” option enabled on the user profile page. It is recommended to create a dedicated user who has no role assigned but only has “Manage Print Jobs” enabled.
password	Password of the user.
data_directory	Data directory path to store program data. Default: “./"
download_directory	Absolute path of the directory where the command files should be created on the printer VM. Default: ./print_labels
directory_per_design	Values: true/false Default: false Setting indicating whether a different directory should be created for each label type or all files should be placed in the same directory.
printers	Comma-separated list of printer names. This is useful if you have multiple locations from where you print. Using this you can download files for specific printers.
polling_interval	Polling interval in seconds to specify how often the server should be checked for the new command files. Default: 60
batch_file_download	Either true/false. To download multiple labels into a single file.
batch_file_format	csv,txt..n. The format of the file.
batch_file_label_delimiter	This will output ***** between key-value pairs of every label.

e.g. printer.properties file.

url=<SERVER_URL>
username=<USERNAME>
password=<PASSWORD>
data_dir=./  
download_directory=./print-labels
directory_per_design=true
printers=printer1,printer2,printer3,printer4,printer5
polling_interval=60
batch_file_download=true              
batch_file_format=csv                 
batch_file_label_delimiter=*****\n

Downloading jar file: (Email to support@krishagni.com for downloading the jar file)

Security Best Practices

Ensure the 'Print User' in OpenSpecimen does not have the 'Superadmin' role. Ideally, this user should be a 'Regular' user with no roles assigned.
In the user profile for the 'Print User,' set the 'Manage Print Jobs' permission to "Yes."
Restrict the allowed IP addresses to those originating from within your organization (IP ranges are acceptable).
Configure the email notifications to be sent to a valid and monitored mailbox. We suggest using an email alias to ensure that critical notifications like password expiry, resets, or errors are not overlooked.

How to run the program?

Navigate to os-print-client directory.
Configure the printer.properties file.
Command to run the program: java -Dconf=printer.properties -jar os-printer-client-1.1.0.jar

How to Install as service on windows?

A. Create a batch file:

@echo off
cd <PATH-TO-OS-PRINTER-CLIENT-DIR>
java -Dconf=printer.properties -jar os-printer-client-1.1.0.jar >> <PATH-TO-LOG-FILE> 2>&1

B. Install as a service

Open command prompt, and run the below command to install it as a service.

sc create "OSPrinterClient" binPath= "<BATCH-FILE-PATH>\start_os_printer_client.bat"