WYNTK: UNIX System Admininistrator

Check the printer queue to see the status of your print job.

Once you’ve sent something to the printer, you can check if it’s printing by checking the printer queue . On a BSD-based system, check the queue with the lpq command:

Murphy’s law of printing

	The more important or sensitive the memo that you’re trying to print, the more likely it is that you will have trouble printing it. Most of my printing problems have occurred (or so it seems) when I was printing someone’s job review. It was standard that I would have some printing problem at that time. After a few hair-raising situations, my routine became to first check what printer a sensitive memo is going to, check that queue, send the job, and stand by the printer. Even then, I might find a gaggle of coworkers standing by the printer, chatting about font sizes, and would have to find a way to casually whisk my printout away before it had time to cool down.
	--Linda Lamb

% lpq
emu is ready and printing
Rank   Owner Job  Files           Total Size
active bob   420  RELNOTES.ps     138331 bytes
1st    bob   421  standard input  13284 bytes
2nd    lois  422  standard input  1928 bytes

Bob owns the job that is currently printing, as well as the first job on the queue. Lois’s job won’t print until both of Bob’s jobs are finished. By checking the print queue after a few minutes, Lois can wait until her job doesn’t appear on the queue anymore before she makes the trek down to the printer room to pick up her document.

Like the lpr command, lpq uses your default printer (i.e., ...