Print to Notify

This is a Proof of Concept which transforms gov.uk Notify into a print server for letters.

The idea being that in order to mail a letter, you simply need to hit print.

Requirements

• Python 3

Pip3 packages:

• Notify Python SDK
• dotenv
• cuid

External repositories:

• ipp-server

(This also uses ps2pdf which is part of ghostscript - it should be installed by default)

Setup

• Install the required Python packages
• Download ipp-server and place it in this directory (ie. hackney-ipp/ipp-server)
• Create a .env file with NOTIFY_KEY="{your_key_here}" in this directory
• Run ./run.sh (you may need to chmod +x run.sh first if you get a permissions error)
• Add the printer. To do this locally to your machine the connection string you'll need is: ipp://localhost:7777. It will also be available on your network at your IP address.

Notes regarding adding the printer to machines

• This has only been tested on Ubuntu.
• You need to add the printer manually (ie. via whatever method you use to specify the URL). It can be made discoverable but it's beyond scope of this PoC.
• You shouldn't need to install drivers or change settings. It can be added as a PostScript or PDF printer (either works). You can ctrl + p on anything from your PC though.

Screenshots for printer installation

The system-config-printer utility

Specifying the 'printer' address

Choosing the 'Generic' print driver

Either set the printer as PDF or PostScript

Licence

The code (within this repository) is licensed under the MIT license.

Documentation and images are licensed under OGL v3.