path: root/chapter_08.xml

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<!DOCTYPE chapter PUBLIC "-//OASIS//DTD DocBook XML V4.5//EN"
  "/usr/share/xml/docbook/xml-dtd-4.5/docbookx.dtd">

<chapter id="ch_print">
<title>Printing</title>

<section id="print_choosing-printer">
<title>Choosing A Printer</title>

<para>
Linux hasn't always had a great history with printers. For many years,
printing was a black art to many Linux users, and very few printers
worked reliably. Today, most printers will work well with Linux, but
some still do not. If you're purchasing a new printer, be aware that
many of the cheap inkjet models aren't as well supported in Linux as
more expensive laser printers. If you're unsure about a printer, you
can check online to see if others have had success with it.
</para>

<para>
All these warnings are perhaps a bit overkill though, as the large
majority of printers work with Linux after only a brief and simple
setup. The progress in this direction is largely due to the efforts of
the Common UNIX Printing System, (CUPS). CUPS is a printing system used
by Slackware and most other Linux distributions today. It primarily uses
a graphical setup procedure accessed via a web browser. In order to
setup a printer with CUPS, you'll need to open a web browser such as
firefox, konqueror, or links and go to 
<ulink url="http://localhost:631">http://localhost:631</ulink>.
</para>

<imagedata fileref="img/cups-01.png" format="PNG" />

<para>
  You might find that a quick click-through of CUPS configures your
  printer nearly automatically. Or, you may find that further
  configuration is required. To learn more about how printing works or
  how to get a stubborn printer configured, read on.
</para>

</section> <!-- closing intro -->

<section id="print_drivers">
  <title>Getting the driver</title>

<indexterm>
  <primary>printers</primary>
  <secondary>drivers</secondary>
</indexterm>

  <para>
    There are, essentially, three types of printer drivers:
  </para>

  <orderedlist>
    <listitem>
      <para>
	Postscript printers use the unversal-ish language of
	Postscript to communicate with computers.  A driver for
	postscript printers is usually not needed, since a
	postscript-compatible subsystem called
	<application>Ghostscript</application> is already installed.
      </para>
    </listitem>

    <listitem>
      <para>
	Gutenprint are drivers engineered by GNU Linux developers. It
	provides support for roughly 700 printers.
      </para>
    </listitem>

    <listitem>
      <para>
	Manufacturers may provide Linux drivers for their
	printers. Find out by going to the manufacturer's driver and
	support website and searching for your model.
      </para>
    </listitem>
  </orderedlist>

  <para>
    Since <application>gutenprint</application> is already installed
    on Slackware, from this set of three categories, we have two methods of
    installing drivers:
  </para>

  <orderedlist>
    <listitem>
      <para>
	For the manufacturer&#39;s drivers, installation is usually
	the same as any other software on your system; use
	<application>installpkg</application> or
	<application>rpm2tgz</application> to install the driver
	package. Be sure to read the documentation bundled with the
	drivers.
      </para>
    </listitem>

    <listitem>
      <para>
	For Postscript printers, there is no &#34;installation&#34; as
	such; simply download the appropriate <filename>PPD</filename>
	file and keep it in a sensible location on your hard drive.
      </para>
    </listitem>
  </orderedlist>

  <para>
    Once you've located and installed or downloaded the necessary
    components, you're ready to run <application>CUPS</application>.
  </para>
</section> <!-- close DRIVERS -->

<section>
<title>Setting Up a Printer in CUPS</title>

<indexterm>
  <primary>printers</primary>
  <secondary>CUPS</secondary>
</indexterm>

<para>
  From this point onward, setting up a printer is just a series of
  following the step-by-step instructions with CUPS, but understanding
  how the printing configuration actually works might help clarify
  what CUPS does is doing.
</para>

<para>
  The file <filename>&#47;etc&#47;cups&#47;printers.conf</filename>
  consists of definitions which detail the printing devices your
  computer will be able to access, with one marked as the default
  device.  If you wish to edit this file manually (and you probably
  don't), you must stop the <application>cupsd</application>
  <application>CUPS</application> daemon.
</para>

<para>
  A typical entry would look something like this:
</para>

<programlisting>
  &#60;Printer r1060&#62;
  Info Ricoh 1060
  Location Downstairs
  MakeModel Ricoh Aficio 1060 - CUPS+Gutenprint v5.2.6
  DeviceURI lpd:&#47;&#47;192.168.4.8
  State Idle
  StateTime 1316011347
  Type 12308
  Filter application&#47;vnd.cups-raw 0 -
  Filter application&#47;vnd.cups-raster 100 rastertogutenprint.5.2
  &#35; standard-ish stuff below here
  Accepting Yes
  Shared No
  JobSheets none none
  QuotaPeriod 0
  PageLimit 0
  KLimit 0
  OpPolicy default
  ErrorPolicy stop-printer
  &#60;/Printer&#62;
</programlisting>      

<para>
  In this example, we have given the printer the name
  <userinput>r1060</userinput>, a human-readable identifier
  <userinput>Ricoh 1060</userinput>.
</para>

<para>
  The <userinput>MakeModel</userinput> attribute is gained from
  <application>lpinfo</application>, which lists all available
  printer drivers on your system.  So, if you know that you have a
  Ricoh 1060 that you want to print to, then you would issue this
  command as root:
</para>
    
<screen>
  <prompt>darkstar:~&#35; </prompt><command>lpinfo -m | grep 1060</command>
</screen>

<para>
  This lists the drivers that you have installed, grepping for the
  string 1060:
</para>

<programlisting>
  gutenprint.5.2:&#47;&#47;brother-hl-1060/expert Brother HL-1060 - CUPS+Gutenprint v5.2.6
  gutenprint.5.2:&#47;&#47;ricoh-afc_1060/expert Ricoh Aficio 1060 - CUPS+Gutenprint v5.2.6
</programlisting>

<para>
  The <userinput>MakeModel</userinput> is the last half of the
  appropriate result; in this case <userinput>Ricoh Aficio 1060 -
  CUPS+Gutenprint v5.2.6</userinput>
</para>

<para>
  The final vital entry is the device URI, or where on the network
  &#40;or physical location, such as the USB port&#41;, the printer
  can be found.  In this example, we use <userinput>DeviceURI
  lpd:&#47;&#47;192.168.4.8</userinput> because we are using the
  <application>lpd</application> &#40;line printer daemon&#41;
  protocol to send data to the printer.
</para> 

<para>
  Now you understand what is being configured, and you can use the
  more common &#40;and easier&#41; method of doing this from the
  configuration tool that runs inside of a web browser.
</para>

<para>
  In the CUPS interface, choose the <guimenu>Administration</guimenu>
  tab, and choose to <guibutton>Add Printer</guibutton>.  You should
  be asked to enter administrative authorization here; enter
  <userinput>root</userinput> as the admin and your <userinput>root
  password</userinput>.
</para>

<para>
  You will be presented with a list of printer interfaces and
  protocols that you can use for a printer.  In many cases, you will
  want to add the printer via the
  <application>LPD&#47;LPR</application> protocol (unless you've
  managed to find a printer that requires some other protocol).
</para>

<para>
  Note that if the printer is plugged directly into your computer, and
  is on, you should see it listed as a Local Printer.
</para>

<para>
  Assuming the printer is networked, the next screen will ask for the
  location of the printer.  Using lpd:&#47;&#47; as the protocol,
  enter the IP address of the printer.  To find the IP address of the
  printer, you will probably need to look at the printer&#39;s
  settings, or you may be able to determine it from your router.
</para>

<para>
  Whether your printer is connected via USB or network, the following
  screen will ask for human-readable details about the printer; this
  is for your reference only, so enter a name for the printer that
  makes sense to you and your users &#40;the model number
  usually&#41;, a description &#40;something that is distinctive about
  the printer if you have more than one of the same printers&#41;, and
  the location &#40;describing where it is in the building&#41;.
</para>

<para>
  On the next screen, point CUPS to the printer driver.  If the
  printer is a postscript printer &#40;as most laserprinters are&#41;
  then you may need only the <filename>PPD</filename> for that
  printer. If your printer is not postscript or has special features
  that require additional drivers, then define the make
  &#40;manufacturer&#41; and you will then be presented with a list of
  available drivers.  Select the appropriate driver.
</para>

<para>
  The printer is now installed and will be the default printer for all
  of your applications.
</para>

</section> <!-- closing CUPS -->

<section id="printing_lpr">
  <title>Printing from the Command Line</title>

  <para>
    Now that you have successfully installed and configured your
    printer, you may also use <application>lpr</application> to print
    from the command line.
  </para>

  <para>
    <application>lpr</application> sends documents to a printer but
    before using it, you might want to define a default printer by
    using <application>lpadmin</application> as root:
  </para>

  <screen>
    <prompt>&#35; </prompt><command>lpadmin -d r1060</command>
  </screen>

  <para>
    In this example, <userinput>r1060</userinput> is the human
    readable name given to the printer in either
    <filename>&#47;etc&#47;cups&#47;printers.conf</filename> or in
    the <application>CUPS</application> configuration.
  </para>

<note>
  <para>
    If you do not have root privileges on the workstation you are
    using, you can also set the <userinput>PRINTER</userinput>
    environment variable:
  </para>

  <screen>
    <prompt>&#36; </prompt><command>PRINTER=r1060</command>
    <prompt>&#36; </prompt><command>export PRINTER</command>
  </screen>
</note>

  <para>
    Once the printer has been set, then you may print:
  </para>

  <screen>
    <prompt>&#36; </prompt><command>lpr foo.txt</command>
  </screen>

  <section id="print_lpr_pr">
    <title>Formatting for Print</title>

    <para>
      <application>lpr</application>, like so many other UNIX
      applications, does one thig: sends files to a printer. It
      doesn't much care if the file looks good or even fits on a
      page. When printing large text files that have not been
      formatted for print, use <application>pr</application>&#40;1&#41;.
    </para>

    <para>
      <application>pr</application> is a simple text formatter that
      takes any text document and makes sure that it contains line
      breaks and page breaks, with an optional header and footer, page
      numbering, and much more. It has many options, but the defaults
      are usually good enough. <application>pr</application> outputs
      the results of the formatting to standard out, meaning it simply
      takes the text document, formats it, and displays the results in
      the terminal.  This, of course, means that it can be redirected
      to <application>lpr</application>:
  </para>

  <screen>
    <prompt>darkstar:~&#36; </prompt><command>pr foo.txt | lpr</command>
  </screen>

  <para>
    This will format <filename>foo.txt</filename> and send the
    formatted output to the default printer.
  </para>

  <para>
    As usual, see the <application>pr</application> man page for a
    list of the customizations you can make to the default formatting.
  </para>

</section> <!-- closing pr -->
</section> <!-- closing lpr -->

</chapter>