Linux in a Windows World

Creating a Printer Share

Now that you’ve got printers working on the Samba server using CUPS or some other printing software, it’s time to begin configuring a printer share in Samba itself. Printer shares are very much like file shares, so you can configure printer shares much as you would configure file shares, but with a few key differences. You’ll also need to decide whether to share a non-PostScript printer as a PostScript model (using Ghostscript to convert PostScript into the printer’s native format) or using native drivers on the clients (bypassing Ghostscript on the server).

File Shares Versus Printer Shares

SMB/CIFS printer shares are virtually identical to file shares from a Samba configuration perspective. The difference is what the server does with files sent to the share by clients. In the case of file shares, the files are stored in a local directory and then ignored—at least, until they’re accessed by the same or another client. In the case of printer shares, though, the server stores the file and then passes that file to the local printing system. The printing system typically prints the file and then deletes it. (Samba supports specifying an arbitrary command as the printing system, though, so you can use “printer” shares to perform unusual tasks, such as creating a CD-R.)

Because SMB/CIFS printer shares are so similar to file shares, they’re defined just as you would define a file share, by placing the share name in square brackets, as in [okidata] to create a ...