Printing in Linux Chapter 12 Guide to Linux Installation and Administration, 2e 1

Chapter 12

Printing in Linux

Guide to Linux Installation and Administration, 2e 1

Objectives

In this chapter, you will:

• Configure and use the traditional Linux printing architecture

• Understand the Common UNIX Printing System

(CUPS)

• Print files from different applications

• Locate and relieve system bottlenecks

• Manage networked printing resources


Valued Gateway

Client:

Using Traditional Linux Printing

• The traditional Linux printing architecture is called LPRng and is based on the system developed for BSD UNIX

• LPRng printing allows multiple users to print files at the same time to either local or networked printers


Valued Gateway

Client:

The Printing Process

• Printer definitions, or print queues describe the type of printer and the features to be used when something is printed on it

• The file submitted for printing is called a print job

• The print job is processed by a print filter

• After sending the print job through a print filter, the printing utility stores the print job in a print spool directory

• The print server program, lpd, keeps track of all the print jobs in all the print queues on the system


A Single Print Queue Can Refer to

Multiple Physical Printers


Many Print Queues Can Refer to a

Single Physical Printer


Valued Gateway

Client:

Understanding Print Filters and Drivers

• Linux uses special programs called print filters

• A Linux print filter converts documents or images into a format that the printer can use


Valued Gateway

Client:

Printer Languages

• A page description language is a special set of codes that determine the graphics elements, text font, and everything else about what appears on a printed page

• The most widely used page description languages are PostScript and Printer Control

Language (PCL)


Valued Gateway

Client:

The Magic Filter

• Most Linux distributions use a “magic filter” that can convert documents into formats for many different printers

• The “magic filter” doesn’t generally allow Linux to use the specialized features of each printer


Valued Gateway

Client:

Configuring Local Printer Definitions

• A local printer is a printer directly attached to your computer

• Define one or more printers before you can print documents


Valued Gateway

Client:

Reviewing printcap

• Each LPRng printer definition is created as a print queue entry in the /etc/printcap configuration file

• To use a local printer, you must provide the appropriate Linux device name when you configure the printer

• The format of a printcap entry consists of a print queue name, followed by a series of twocharacter option codes that apply to that printer


Valued Gateway

Client:

Configuring printcap Graphically

• Several graphical tools can create basic printcap entries:

– Printer Configuration Tool printconf-gui in Red Hat

Linux

– YAST utility in SuSE Linux

– Webmin in Caldera OpenLinux


Defining the Printer Name and Type in the printconf-gui Utility


Selecting a Printer Driver in printconf-gui


The Main Window of printconf-gui


Selecting the Print System to

Configure within the KDE Control

Center


Selecting a Printer in the KDE Printer

Manager Wizard


Reviewing Printer Driver Settings in KDE


Managing Printers in the KDE Control

Center


Valued Gateway

Client:

Printing Remotely Using lpd

• Define a printer on your system that refers to the remote computer and a print queue on the remote system

• The lpd daemon on your computer communicates with the lpd program on the remote computer, transferring the print job


Printing to a Remote Printer Using lpd


Defining a Remote lpd-based Printer in printconf-gui


Defining a Remote lpd-based

Printer in KDE


Valued Gateway

Client:

Understanding the Common Unix

Printing System

• The Common UNIX Printing System (CUPS) provides a new architecture for Linux and UNIX printing

• CUPS lets users and system administrators browse the network to find and print to networked printers and other devices

• CUPS lets system administrators manage printer definitions and print jobs across the network


Valued Gateway

Client:

Configuring Printers within CUPS

• The cupsd print server daemon uses HTTP protocol and accepts requests and processes print jobs sent over the network

• The cupsd print server daemon manages printers using a Web browser interface

• The CUPS architecture uses network port 631 to communicate between CUPS-enabled print servers


The Main Page of the CUPS Browser-

Based Interface


The Printers Page in the CUPS Web

Interface


Configuring an Existing Printer in CUPS


Valued Gateway

Client:

Setting up CUPS Classes

• CUPS class is a group of printers to which a user can submit a print job

• Whichever printer within the class is first available will be used to print the job


The Classes Page within the CUPS

Configuration


Valued Gateway

Client:

Printing Files

• You can print files

– from a command line

– from a specialized graphical tool

– from any graphical application


Valued Gateway

Client:

Printing from a Command Line

• The basic printing command is lpr

• The lpr command is used for printing to both

LPRng and CUPS-based printers

• Command options for lpr apply to a specific print job, not to all print jobs sent to the printer


Command Options for lpr


lpr Options Supported by CUPS


lpr Options Supported by CUPS


Valued Gateway

Client:

Printing from Graphical Applications

• You typically print from a graphical application by choosing Print from the File menu

• Graphical applications rely on the lpr utility

• You can print to a file

• Gnome and KDE applications build upon a standard dialog box


The Print Dialog Box in Gnumeric


The Print Dialog Box in KWord


The Print Dialog Box in Netscape

Communicator


Valued Gateway

Client:

Managing the Printing Environment

• A system administrator manages printing

• The system administrator takes care about printer supplies and solves printer-related problems


Valued Gateway

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Deciding on Printing Policies

• A printing policy is a brief statement of rules describing how printing resources can be used and how printers will be managed

• A printing policy is a helpful document for any organization with more than two or three users who rely on the same printer


Valued Gateway

Client:

Using the lpc Utility

• The lpc utility is the printer control utility

• The lpc command-line utility lets you control

LPRng or CUPS printing, specifying how print jobs are accepted and processed

• You must be root to use lpc

• You can include an lpc command as a parameter on the command line


lpc Commands


Using lpc to Control the Printing

Process


Valued Gateway

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Tracking Print Jobs

• To view the print jobs in the default print queue, the lpq command is used

• The lprm command deletes a print job from a queue


Valued Gateway

Client:

Using Graphical Print Management

Utilities

• You can use two KDE graphical utilities to manage printing:

– KDE Print Job Viewer

– KLpq program


The KDE Print Job Viewer


The KLpq Printing Manager


Managing CUPS Print Jobs in a

Browser


Summary

• The traditional Linux printing architecture is called

LPRng and is based on the system developed for

BSD UNIX

• Printers are typically connected locally to either a parallel or serial port

• A system administrator creates printer definitions, which act as print queues

• Printer definitions are stored in /etc/printcap and can be created using printconf-gui or other textmode or graphical tools

• Users submit print jobs to a named print queue using either the lpr command or a graphical dialog box


Summary

• The data that a user submits as a print job is processed using a print filter, which converts raw document data into a format a printer can understand, such as PCL or PostScript

• A printing policy informs users of how they can use printing resources and what they can expect from the system administrator who manages the printers

• The Common UNIX Printing System (CUPS) provides a new architecture for Linux and UNIX printing

• Print jobs waiting to be printed on a system using

CUPS can be managed using the CUPS browserbased interface


Printing in Linux Chapter 12 Guide to Linux Installation and Administration, 2e 1

Printing in Linux

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