Differences between current version and predecessor to the previous major change of HowToPrintingUsageHOWTO.
Other diffs: Previous Revision, Previous Author, or view the Annotated Edit History
| Newer page: | version 4 | Last edited on Monday, November 1, 2004 11:39:54 pm | by AristotlePagaltzis | |
| Older page: | version 3 | Last edited on Monday, July 28, 2003 5:30:46 pm | by JohnMcPherson | Revert |
@@ -1,1125 +1 @@
-
-Part of CategoryPrinting
-----
-
-The Linux Printing Usage HOWTO
-
-
-
-----
-
-!!!The Linux Printing Usage HOWTO
-
-!!by Mark Komarinski <markk@auratek.com>v1.2.2, 6 February 1998
-
-
-
-
-!!1. Introduction
-
-
-*1.1 Linux Printing HOWTO History
-
-*1.2 Version History
-
-*1.3 Copyrights and Trademarks
-
-*1.4 Downloading the Linux Printing HOWTOs
-
-*1.5 Feedback
-
-*1.6 Acknowledgments
-
-
-
-
-
-!!2. Printing Under Linux
-
-
-*2.1 History of Linux Printing
-
-*2.2 Printing a File Using ''lpr''
-
-*2.3 Viewing the Print Queue with ''lpq''
-
-*2.4 Canceling a Print Job Using ''lprm''
-
-*2.5 Controlling the lpd program with ''lpc''
-
-*2.6 The !RedHat printtool
-
-
-
-
-
-!!3. Printing files
-
-
-*3.1 Printing graphics files
-
-*3.2 Printing !PostScript files
-
-*3.3 Printing PDF files
-
-*3.4 Printing TeX files
-
-*3.5 Printing troff formatted files
-
-*3.6 Printing man pages
-
-
-
-
-
-!!4. Miscellaneous Items
-
-
-*4.1 Formatting Before Printing
-
-*4.2 The PRINTER Environment Variables
-
-
-
-
-
-!!5. Answers to Frequently Asked Questions
-
-
-
-
-!!6. Troubleshooting
-
-
-
-
-!!7. References
-----
-
-!!1. Introduction
-
-
-
-
-
-This document describes how to use the line printer spooling system provided
-with the Linux operating system. This HOWTO is the supplementary document
-to the Linux Printing Setup HOWTO, which discusses the installation and
-setup of the Linux printing system. The material presented in this HOWTO
-should be equally relevent for all flavors of the BSD operating system in
-addition to the Linux operating system.
-
-
-
-
-!!1.1 Linux Printing HOWTO History
-
-
-
-Note from Mark Komarinski <markk@auratek.com>:
-
-
-I'd like to thank Matt Foster for doing a lot of work in the re-write
-of this HOWTO. I'm keeping his style, and adding when necessary to keep
-everything updated.
-
-
-Note from Matt Foster <mwf@engr.uark.edu>:
-
-
-This version of the Linux Printing HOWTO is a complete rewrite of the one
-originally written by Grant Taylor <grant@god.tufts.edu> and Brian
-!McCauley <B.A.!McCauley@bham.ac.uk>. I have tried to keep with the
-coverage of material presented by Grant and Brian's HOWTO, but I have
-drastically modified the style of presentation and the depth of material
-covered. I feel that this makes the HOWTO more complete and easier to
-read. I can only hope that you agree.
-
-
-
-
-!!1.2 Version History
-
-
-
-v1.2.2
-
-
-*Re-indexed, other changes to fit in the new !RedHat docs. Thanks Ed!
-*
-
-v1.2.1
-
-
-*updates, some changes for Dr. Linux publication
-*
-
-v1.2
-
-
-*Windows Printers
-*
-
-*Changing max size of print files
-*
-
-v1.11
-
-
-*new maintainter!
-*
-
-*Added lpc info
-*
-
-*Added some info for troubleshooting
-*
-
-*A start on printing graphics files!
-*
-
-
-
-v1.1
-
-
-*revised some of the wording
-*
-
-*developed section on !PostScript printing
-*
-
-*attempted to clarify some of the examples 8-)
-*
-
-*fleshed the discussion of the basic Linux printing utilities
-*
-
-
-
-v1.
-
-
-*initial public release of the Printing Usage HOWTO
-*
-
-
-
-
-
-!!1.3 Copyrights and Trademarks
-
-
-
-Some names mentioned in this HOWTO are claimed as copyrights and/or
-trademarks of certain persons and/or companies. These names appear
-in full or initial caps in this HOWTO.
-
-
-''(c) 1995 Matt Foster (mwf@engr.uark.edu)''
-''(c) 1996-1997 Mark F. Komarinski (markk@auratek.com)''
-
-
-All translations, derivative works, or aggregate works incorporating
-any Linux HOWTO documents must be covered under this copyright notice.
-
-
-That is, you may not produce a derivative work from a HOWTO and impose
-additional restrictions on its distribution. Exceptions to these rules
-may be granted under certain conditions; please contact the Linux HOWTO
-coordinator at the address given below.
-
-
-In short, we wish to promote dissemination of this information through as
-many channels as possible. However, we do wish to retain copyright on the
-HOWTO documents, and would like to be notified of any plans to redistribute
-the HOWTOs.
-
-
-
-
-
-If you have questions, please contact Tim Bynum, the Linux HOWTO
-coordinator, at <linux-howto@sunsite.unc.edu>. You may finger this address
-for phone number and additional contact information.
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-!!1.4 Downloading the Linux Printing HOWTOs
-
-
-
-
-
-I recommend that if you want to print a copy of this HOWTO that you
-download the !PostScript version. It is formatted in a fashion that is
-aesthetically appealing and easier to read. You can get the !PostScript
-version from one of the many Linux distribution sites (such as SunSITE
-ftp://sunsite.unc.edu/pub/Linux/docs/HOWTO/).
-
-
-
-
-!!1.5 Feedback
-
-
-
-Questions, comments, or corrections for this HOWTO may be directed to
-<markk@auratek.com>.
-
-
-
-
-!!1.6 Acknowledgments
-
-
-
-Thanks go out to all of the people who took the time to read the alpha
-version of this HOWTO and respond with many helpful comments and
-suggestions---some of you may see your comments reflected in the version.
-
-
-I'd also like to thank Matt Foster who did the original re-write.
-
-
-
-----
-
-!!2. Printing Under Linux
-
-
-This section discusses how to print files, examine the print queue, remove
-jobs from the print queue, format files before printing them, and configure
-your printing environment.
-
-
-
-
-!!2.1 History of Linux Printing
-
-
-
-
-
-The Linux printing system---the ''lp'' system---is a port of the source
-code written by the Regents of the University of California for the Berkeley
-Software Distribution version of the UNIX operating system.
-
-
-
-
-!!2.2 Printing a File Using ''lpr''
-
-
-
-
-
-
-By far, the most simplistic way to print in the Linux operating system is
-to send the file to be printed directly to the printing device. One way
-to do this is to use the ''cat'' command. As the root user,
-one could do something like
-
-
-
-
-
-# cat thesis.txt > /dev/lp
-
-
-
-
-In this case, /dev/lp is a symbolic link to the actual printing
-device---be it a dot-matrix, laser printer, typesetter, or plotter. (See
-''ln''(1) for more information on symbolic links.)
-
-
-For the purpose of security, only the root user and users in the
-same group as the print daemon are able to write directly to the printer.
-This is why commands such as ''lpr'', ''lprm'', and ''lpq''
-have to be used to access the printer.
-
-
-Because of this, users have to use ''lpr'' to print a file. The
-''lpr'' command takes care of all the initial work needed to print
-the file, and then it hands control over to another program, ''lpd'',
-the line printing daemon. The line printing daemon then tells the printer
-how to print the file.
-
-
-When ''lpr'' is executed, it first copies the specified file to a
-certain directory (the spool directory) where the file remains until
-''lpd'' prints it. Once ''lpd'' is told that there is a file to
-print, it will spawn a copy of itself (what we programmers call forking).
-This copy will print our file while the original copy waits for more
-requests. This allows for multiple jobs to be queued at once.
-
-
-The syntax of ''lpr''(1) is a very familiar one,
-
-
-
-
-
-$ lpr
[[ options
] [[ filename ... ]
-
-
-
-
-If filename is not specified, ''lpr'' expects input to come
-from standard input (usually the keyboard, or another program's output).
-This enables the user to redirect a command's output to the print spooler.
-As such,
-
-
-
-
-
-$ cat thesis.txt | lpr
-
-
-
-
-or,
-
-
-
-
-
-$ pr -l60 thesis.txt | lpr
-
-
-
-
-The ''lpr'' command accepts several command-line arguments that allow a
-user to control how it works. Some of the most widely used arguments are:
--__P__printer specifies the printer to use, -__h__ suppresses printing of
-the burst page, -__s__ creates a symbolic link instead of copying the file
-to the spool directory (useful for large files), and -__#__num
-specifies the number of copies to print. An example interaction with
-''lpr'' might be something like
-
-
-
-
-
-$ lpr -#2 -sP dj thesis.txt
-
-
-
-
-This command will create a symbolic link to the file thesis.txt in
-the spool directory for the printer named ''dj'', where it would be
-processed by ''lpd''. It would then print a second copy of
-thesis.txt.
-
-
-For a listing of all the options that ''lpr'' will recognize, see
-''lpr''(1).
-
-
-
-
-!!2.3 Viewing the Print Queue with ''lpq''
-
-
-
-
-
-
-To view the contents of the print queue, use the ''lpq'' command.
-Issued without arguments, it returns the contents of the default printer's
-queue.
-
-
-The returned output of ''lpq'' can be useful for many purposes.
-
-
-
-
-
-$ lpq
-lp is ready and printing
-Rank Owner Job Files Total Size
-active mwf 31 thesis.txt 682048 bytes
-
-
-
-
-
-
-!!2.4 Canceling a Print Job Using ''lprm''
-
-
-
-
-
-
-Another useful feature of any printing system is the ability to cancel a job
-that has been previously queued. To do this, use ''lprm''.
-
-
-
-
-
-$ lprm -
-
-
-
-
-The above command cancels all of the print jobs that are owned by the user
-who issued the command. A single print job can be canceled by first getting
-the job number as reported by ''lpq'' and then giving that number to
-''lprm''. For example,
-
-
-
-
-
-$ lprm 31
-
-
-
-
-would cancel job 31 (thesis.txt) on the default printer.
-
-
-
-
-!!2.5 Controlling the lpd program with ''lpc''
-
-
-
-
-
-
-The ''lpc''(8) program is used to control the printers that lpd serves.
-you can enable or disable a printer or its queues, rearrange entries within
-a queue, and get a status report on the printers and their queues.
-Lpc is mostly used in a setup where there are multiple printers hanging off
-one machine.
-
-
-
-
-
-$ lpc
-
-
-
-
-The above will start the lpc program. By default, this enters you into
-an interactive mode, and you can begin issuing commands. The other option
-is to issue an lpc command on the command line.
-
-
-
-
-
-$ lpc status all
-
-
-
-
-A list of the available commands are in the ''lpd'' man page, but
here
-are a few of the major commands you'll want to know about. Any commands
-marked with ''option'' can either be a printer name (lp, print, etc) or
-the keyword all, which means all printers.
-
-
-
-
-
-* disable ''option'' - prevents any new printer job from being entered
-*
-
-* down ''option'' - disables all printing on the printer
-*
-
-* enable ''option'' - allow new jobs to enter the print queue
-*
-
-* quit (or exit) - leave lpc
-*
-
-* restart ''option'' - restarts lpd for that printer
-*
-
-* status ''option'' - print status of printer
-*
-
-* up ''option'' - enable everything and start a new lpd
-*
-
-
-
-
-
-!!2.6 The !RedHat printtool
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-Just a quick note here on !RedHat's amazing printtool program. It seems
-to do everything that a magicfilter would do. !RedHat already installs many
-of the programs to do the filtering. Here's how I have my printer set up
-under RH 4.0 with an HP LJ 4L connected to my parallel port (should be
-the same for other versions of RH as well).
-
-
-*Become root and fire up printtool (if you su'ed, you remembered to
-SETENV DISPLAY :.0 and xhost +, right?)
-*
-
-*Click "Add", and hit "OK" for a local printer.
-*
-
-*Fill in the printer device (/dev/lp1 for me)
-*
-
-*Fill in the input filter - Select a printer type, resolution, and paper
-size (ljet4, 300x300, and letter)
-*
-
-*Hit "OK" all the way back, and restart the lpd.
-*
-
-Just like rolling an /etc/printcap file by hand, you can have multiple
-printer definitions for each physical printer. One for different paper
-sizes, resolutions, etc.
-
-
-
-----
-
-!!3. Printing files
-
-
-
-
-This section covers printing the kinda of files that you'll run across in a
-Linux setup.
-
-
-
-
-!!3.1 Printing graphics files
-
-
-
-
-
-Printing graphics files through a printer usually depends on the kind of
-graphics you're converting, and the kind of printer you want to send to. Dot
-matrix is usually out of the question due to differences in the way
-dot-matrix handles graphics. Your best bet in this situation is to see if
-your printer is compatable with an Epson or an IBM !ProPrinter, then convert
-the graphics file to !PostScript, then use Ghostscript (see next section) to
-print the graphics.
-
-
-If you have a laser printer, things are a bit easier since many are
-compatable with PCL. This now gives you a few options. Some programs may
-output directly in PCL. If not, programs like ''NetPBM'' can convert
-into PCL. Last option is to use ghostscript (see next section).
-
-
-Your absolutely best option is to install packages like NetPBM and Ghostscript
-then installing a magic filter to process the graphics files automagically.
-
-
-
-
-!!3.2 Printing !PostScript files
-
-
-
-
-
-
-Printing !PostScript files on a printer that has a !PostScript interpreter
-is simple; just use ''lpr'', and the printer will take care of all
-of the details for you. For those of us that don't have printers with
-!PostScript capabilities, we have to resort to other means. Luckily, there
-are programs available that can make sense of !PostScript, and translate
-it into a language that most printers will understand. Probably the most
-well known of these programs is Ghostscript.
-
-
-Ghostscript's responsibility is to convert all of the descriptions in a
-!PostScript file to commands that the printer will understand. To print
-a !PostScript file using Ghostscript, you might do something like
-
-
-
-
-
-$ gs -dSAFER -dNOPAUSE -sDEVICE=deskjet -sOutputFile=\|lpr thesis.ps
-
-
-
-
-Notice in the above example that we are actually piping the output of
-Ghostscript to the ''lpr'' command by using the -__sOutputFile__
-option.
-
-
-Ghostview is an interface to Ghostscript for the X Window System. It allows
-you to preview a !PostScript file before you print it. Ghostview and
-Ghostscript can both be swiped from
-ftp://prep.ai.mit.edu/pub/gnu/.
-
-
-
-
-!!3.3 Printing PDF files
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-Adobe has released an Acrobat reader for Linux, and it's available on the
-Adobe home page
-http://www.adobe.com. Its predecessor, xpdf, is
-also available. Both should print to a postscript device.
-
-
-
-
-!!3.4 Printing TeX files
-
-
-
-
-
-
-One of the easiest ways to print TeX files is to convert them to !PostScript
-and then print them using Ghostscript. To do this, you first need to
-convert them from TeX to a format known as DVI (which stands for
-device-independent). You can do this with the ''tex''(1) command. Then
-you need to convert the DVI file to a !PostScript file using ''dvips''.
-All of this would look like the following when typed in.
-
-
-
-
-
-$ tex thesis.tex
-$ dvips thesis.dvi
-
-
-
-
-Now you are ready to print the resulting !PostScript file as described above.
-
-
-
-
-!!3.5 Printing troff formatted files
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-$ groff -Tascii thesis.tr | lpr
-
-
-
-
-or, if you prefer,
-
-
-
-
-
-$ groff thesis.tr > thesis.ps
-
-
-
-
-and then print the !PostScript file as described above.
-
-
-
-
-!!3.6 Printing man pages
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-$ man man | col -b | lpr
-
-
-
-
-The man pages contain pre-formatted troff data, so we have to strip
-out any highlighting, underlines, etc. The 'col' program does this just
-nicely, and since we're piping data, the man program won`t use
-more.
-----
-
-!!4. Miscellaneous Items
-
-
-This covers topics not in any of the others.
-
-
-
-
-!!4.1 Formatting Before Printing
-
-
-
-
-
-Since most ASCII files are not formatted for printing, it is useful to
-format them in some way before they are actually printed. This may include
-putting a title and page number on each page, setting the margins, double
-spacing, indenting, or printing a file in multiple columns. A common way to
-do this is to use a print preprocessor such as ''pr''.
-
-
-
-
-
-$ pr +4 -d -h"Ph.D. Thesis, 2nd Draft" -l60 thesis.txt | lpr
-
-
-
-
-In the above example, ''pr'' would take the file thesis.txt
-and skip the first three pages (+4), set the page length to sixty lines
-(-l60), double space the output (-d), and add the phrase "Ph.D. Thesis, 2nd
-Draft" to the top of each page (-h). ''Lpr'' would then queue
-''pr'''s output. See its on-line manual page for more information on
-using ''pr''.
-
-
-
-
-!!4.2 The PRINTER Environment Variables
-
-
-
-
-
-
-All of the commands in the Linux printing system accept the -__P__ option.
-This option allows the user to specify which printer to use for output. If
-a user doesn't specify which printer to use, then the default printer will
-be assumed as the output device.
-
-
-Instead of having to specify a printer to use every time that you print, you
-can set the PRINTER environment variable to the name of the printer that you
-want to use. This is accomplished in different ways for each shell. For
-''bash'' you can do this with
-
-
-
-
-
-$ PRINTER="printer_name"; export PRINTER
-
-
-
-
-and ''csh'', you can do it with
-
-
-
-
-
-% setenv PRINTER "printer_name"
-
-
-
-
-These commands can be placed in your login scripts (.profile for ''bash'',
-or .cshrc for ''csh''), or issued on the command-line. (See
-''bash''(1) and ''csh''(1) for more information on environment
-variables.)
-
-
-
-
-
-
-----
-
-!!5. Answers to Frequently Asked Questions
-
-
-
-
-
-Q1. How do I prevent the staircase effect?
-
-
-
-A1. The staircase effect is caused by the way some printers expect lines to
-be terminated. Some printers want lines that end with a
-carriage-return/line-feed sequence (DOS-style) instead of the line-feed
-sequence used for UNIX-type systems. The easiest way to fix this is to see
-if your printer can switch between the two styles somehow---either by
-flipping a DIP switch, or by sending an escape sequence at the start of each
-print job. To do the latter, you need to create a filter (see Q2).
-
-
-A quick fix is to use a filter on the command-line. An example of this
-might be
-
-
-
-
-
-$ cat thesis.txt | todos | lpr
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-Q2. What is a filter?
-
-
-
-A2. A filter is a program that reads from standard input (''stdin''),
-performs some action on this input, and writes to standard output
-(''stdout''). Filters are used for a lot of things, including text
-processing.
-
-
-
-
-
-Q3. What is a ''magic'' filter?
-
-
-
-A3. A magic filter is a filter that performs an action based on a file's
-type. For example, if the file is a plain, text file, it would simply print
-the file using the normal methods. If the file is a !PostScript file, or any
-other format, it would print it using another method (ghostscript). Two
-examples of this is magicfilter and APSfilter. One caveat of these filters
-is that the appropriate programs have to be installed before you install
-the filter.
-
-
-The reason for this is that when the magicfilter gets installed, it queries
-your system for specific programs (such as ghostscript - if it finds it, then
-it knows it can handle !PostScript data), then builds itself based on what it
-finds. To handle all the printer files, you should probably have at least
-the following installed:
-
-
-*!GhostScript
-*
-
-*TeX
-*
-
-*NetPBM
-*
-
-*jpeg utilities
-*
-
-*gzip
-*
-
-
-
-
-
-
-Q4. What about the Windows Printing System? Will Linux work with that?
-
-
-
-A4. Maybe. Printers that accept only the WPS commands will not
-work with Linux. Printers that accept WPS and other commands
-(such as the Canon BJC 610) will work, as long as they're set to
-something other than WPS format. Other printers, such as some HP !DeskJet
-820Cxi/Cse, will *not* work with Linux. That being said, Linux can act
-as a print server (See Samba) for Win95 machines, since Win95 has drivers
-for those printers.
-
-
-
-
-
-Q5. What kinda cheey system is this? I can't print more than 6 pages
-or else I get a "file too large" error.
-
-
-
-A5. One of the options in the /etc/printcap file relates to the maximum
-size of a print file. The default is 1000 disk blocks (about 500k?). For
-!PostScript files and the like, this will give you maybe 6-8 pages with
-graphics and all. Be sure to add the following line in the printer
-definition:
-
-
-mx=
-
-
-The primary reason for this is to keep the spool partition from getting
-filled. There is another way to do it, by making lpr create a soft
-link from the spool directory to your print file. But you have to remember to
-add the -s option to lpr every time.
-
-
-
-----
-
-!!6. Troubleshooting
-
-
-
-
-This section covers some common things that can go wrong with your printing
-system.
-
-
-If your printer doesn't work:
-
-
-*Do other print jobs work? (application problem?)
-*
-
-*Is lpd running? (check it using lpc) (print controller?)
-*
-
-*Can root send something directly to the printer? (print services?)
-*
-
-*Can you print from DOS? (cable/printer problem?)
-*
-
-Answering these questions can help find a solution.
-
-
-Send other suggestions for this section to <markk@auratek.com>.
-
-
-
-----
-
-!!7. References
-
-
-
-
-This is a section of references on the Linux printing system. I have
-tried to keep the references section of this HOWTO as focused as
-possible. If you feel that I have forgotten a significant reference
-work, please do not hesitate to contact me.
-
-
-Before you post your question to a USENET group, consider the following:
-
-
-*Is the printer accepting jobs? (Use ''lpc''(8) to verify.)
-*
-
-*Is the answer to your question covered in this HOWTO or Grant
-Taylor's Printing HOWTO?
-*
-
-
-
-If any of the above are true, you may want to think twice before you post
-your question. And, when you do finally post to a newsgroup, try to include
-pertinent information. Try not to just say something like, "I'm having
-trouble with lpr, please help." These types of posts will most definitely be
-ignored by many. Also try to include the kernel version that you're
-running, how the error occured, and, if any, the specific error message that
-the system returned.
-
-
-
-
-; __On-Line Manual Pages__:
-
-
-
-
-
-*''cat''(1) concatenate and print files
-*
-
-*''dvips''(1) convert a TeX DVI file to !PostScript
-*
-
-*''ghostview''(1) view !PostScript documents using Ghostscript
-*
-
-*''groff''(1) front-end for the groff document formatting system
-*
-
-*''gs''(1) Ghostscript interpreter/viewer
-*
-
-*''lpc''(8) line printer control program
-*
-
-*''lpd''(8) line printer spooler daemon
-*
-
-*''lpq''(1) spool queue examination program
-*
-
-*''lpr''(1) off-line printer
-*
-
-*''lprm''(1) remove jobs from the line printer spooling queue
-*
-
-*''pr''(1) convert text files for printing
-*
-
-*''tex''(1) text formatting and typesetting
-*
-
-
-
-
-; __USENET newsgroups__:
-
-
-
-
-
-*comp.os.linux.* a plethora of information on Linux
-*
-
-*comp.unix
.* discussions relating to the UNIX operating system
-*
-
-
-----
+Describe
[HowToPrintingUsageHOWTO
] here.
