Printing (Topic 1.107)
Objective 2: Manage Printers and Print Queues
Printers are assigned to queues, which are managed by lpd, the print daemon. lpd listens for inbound print requests, forking a copy of itself for each active print queue.
lpr submits jobs to print queues.
lpq queries and displays queue status.
lprm allows jobs to be removed from print queues.
lpc allows root to administer queues; it has both interactive and command-line forms.
Filters translate data formats into a printer definition language.
Spool directories hold spooled job data.
Objective 3: Print Files
Files are printed with the lpr command:
#
lpr /etc/lilo.conf
#man -t 5 myfile.txt | lpr -Pqueue2
Objective 4: Install and Configure Local and Remote Printers
/etc/printcap
New printer definitions are added to /etc/printcap:
lp|ljet:\ :sd=/var/spool/lpd/lp:\ :mx#0:\ :sh:\ :lp=/dev/lp0:\ :if=/var/spool/lpd/lp/filter: :lf=/var/spool/lpd/lp/log:
The lines in this example are defined as follows:
-
lp|ljet:\
This parameter defines two alternate names for the printer, lp or ljet.
-
sd=
spool_directory
This parameter specifies the spool directory, under /var/spool/lpd.
-
mx=
max_size
The maximum size of a print job in blocks. Setting this to
#0
indicates no limit.-
sh
Suppress header pages. Placing this attribute in printcap sets it, eliminating the headers.
-
lp=
printer_device
The local printer device, such as a parallel port.
-
if=
input_filter
The input filter to be used. See "Filters" in Chapter 15 for additional information. ...
-
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