[EdLUG] Printer Advice (cups print servers)

[Edinburgh Linux Users Group]

Hi Edlug,

Looking for some Linux advice.

At work we have a number of Ricoh Aficio MP C2051 printers (no postscript
module installed and none available for them) and Mac OS X Yosemite clients
that have to print to those printers.
The Mac clients communicate to a Windows Print Server in order to print.

The Mac clients have to have three bits of software installed (pxlmono,
foomatic, ghostscript) and a script run to allow their local cups print
service running on their Macs from being "sandboxed" and allow it to
communicate to the printing subsystem (different file system tree from the
cups file system tree) as set-up by the three bits of software. This set-up
in order to print is somewhat flakey.  I can set-up printing from the Mac
clients through a generic PCL driver but the prints are greyscale and
people want colour.

In order to improve things I am thinking of setting up a Central Cups Print
Server (CentOS 7 virtualised), run the three bits of software and
de-sandboxing script as required on the Central Cups Print Server and then
have all the Mac clients communicate via just raw print data to the Central
Cups Print Server. Then the Central Cups Print Server can translate the raw
print data from the clients into colour PXL data (because the central cups
server has the three bits of software installed) which the Ricohs like and
all will be well. Lots of nice colour printing, very little hassle for the
Mac OS X clients (no need to run a script to get around sandboxing) and no
need to go through a Windows Print Server which might be better all round
(I'm thinking that cups to cups print communication might be more robust
and stable).

I don't know that much about cups print servers but I think that
technically the above might work. I know this is sort of a Linux/Mac cups
type question but is the above solution technically possible?
And is there a better solution than the one I am thinking about doing?

Thanking you all in advance,
Tahir
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