Printer setting in Red Hat

Printing Configuration in Red Hat


Printer Configuration Tool allows users to configure a printer. This tool helps maintain the printer configuration file, print spool directories, print filters, and printer classes.
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5 uses the Common Unix Printing System (CUPS). If a system was upgraded from a previous Red Hat Enterprise Linux version that used CUPS, the upgrade process preserves the configured queues.
Using Printer Configuration Tool requires root privileges. To start the application, select System (on the panel) => Administration => Printing, or type the command system-config-printer at a shell prompt.

The following types of print queues can be configured:

• AppSocket/HP JetDirect — a printer connected directly to the network through HP JetDirect or Appsocket interface instead of a computer.
• Internet Printing Protocol (IPP) — a printer that can be accessed over a TCP/IP network via the Internet Printing Protocol (for example, a printer attached to another Red Hat Enterprise Linux system running CUPS on the network).
• LPD/LPR Host or Printer — a printer attached to a different UNIX system that can be accessed over a TCP/IP network (for example, a printer attached to another Red Hat Enterprise Linux system running LPD on the network).
• Networked Windows (SMB) — a printer attached to a different system which is sharing a printer over an SMB network (for example, a printer attached to a Microsoft Windows™ machine).
• Networked JetDirect — a printer connected directly to the network through HP JetDirect instead of a computer.
  
  
  Clicking the Apply button prompts the printer daemon to restart with the changes you have configured.
  Clicking the Revert button discards unapplied changes.
  
  
  

  Adding a Local Printer
  To add a local printer, such as one attached through a parallel port or USB port on your computer, click the New Printer button in the main Printer Configuration Tool window to display the window in Figure.
  
  
  

  

  
  
  Click Forward to proceed.
  Enter a unique name for the printer in the Printer Name field. The printer name can contain letters, numbers, dashes (-), and underscores (_); it must not contain any spaces.
  You can also use the Description and Location fields to further distinguish this printer from others that may be configured on your system. Both of these fields are optional, and may contain spaces.
  Click Forward to open the New Printer dialogue (refer to Fegure) If the printer has been automatically detected, the printer model appears in Select Connection. Select the printer model and click Forward to continue.
  If the device does not automatically appear, select the device to which the printer is connected (such asLPT #1 or Serial Port #1) in Select Connection.
  
  
  

  
  

  Next, select the printer type.

  
  

  OR if you select ipp Printer then do the following process:-

  
  

  Adding an IPP Printer

  
  

  An IPP printer is a printer attached to a different system on the same TCP/IP network. The system this printer is attached to may either be running CUPS or simply configured to use IPP.

  If a firewall is enabled on the printer server, then the firewall should be configured to allow send / receive connections on the incoming UDP port 631. If a firewall is enabled on on the client (the system sending the print request) then the firewall must be allowed to accept and create connections through port 631.

  You can add a networked IPP printer by clicking the New Printer button in the main Printer Configuration Tool window to display the window in Figure. Enter the Printer Name (printer names cannot contain spaces and may contain letters, numbers, dashes (-), and underscores (_)),Description, and Location to distinguish this printer from others that you may configure on your system. Click Forward to proceed.

  In the window shown in Figure, enter the hostname of the IPP printer in the Hostname field as well as a unique name for the printer in the Printername field.

  
  

  

  
  

  Click Forward to continue.

  Next, select the printer type.

  
  

  Selecting the Printer Model and Finishing

  Once you have properly selected a printer queue type, you can choose either option:
  

  • Select a Printer from database - If you select this option, choose the make of your printer from the list of Makes. If your printer make is not listed, choose Generic.
  • Provide PPD file - A PostScript Printer Description (PPD) file may also be provided with your printer. this file is normally provided by the manufacturer. If you are provided with a PPD file, you can choose this option and use the browser bar below the option description to select the PPD file.

  Refer to Figure:
  

  
  

  

  
  

  After choosing an option, click Forward to continue. Figure appears. You now have to choose the corresponding model and driver for the printer.
  The recommended printed driver is automatically selected based on the printer model you chose. The print driver processes the data that you want to print into a format the printer can understand. Since a local printer is attached directly to your computer, you need a printer driver to process the data that is sent to the printer.
  If you have a PPD file for the device (usually provided by the manufacturer), you can select it by choosing Provide PPD file. You can then browse the filesystem for the PPD file by clicking Browse.
  

  Confirming Printer Configuration

  The last step is to confirm your printer configuration. Click Apply to add the print queue if the settings are correct. Click Back to modify the printer configuration.
  After applying the changes, print a test page to ensure the configuration is correct.
  

  
  

  Printing a Test Page

  After you have configured your printer, you should print a test page to make sure the printer is functioning properly. To print a test page, select the printer that you want to try out from the printer list, then click Print Test Page from the printer's Settings tab.
  If you change the print driver or modify the driver options, you should print a test page to test the different configuration.
  

  
  

  Managing Print Jobs

  When you send a print job to the printer daemon, such as printing a text file from Emacs or printing an image from The GIMP, the print job is added to the print spool queue. The print spool queue is a list of print jobs that have been sent to the printer and information about each print request, such as the status of the request, the the job number, and more.
  During the printing process, the Printer Status icon appears in the Notification Area on the panel. To check the status of a print job, double click the Printer Status, which displays a window similar to Figure.
  

  
  

  

  
  

  To cancel a specific print job listed in the GNOME Print Status, select it from the list and select Edit =>Cancel Documents from the pulldown menu.
  To view the list of print jobs in the print spool from a shell prompt, type the command lpq. The last few lines look similar to the following:
  

  Rank   Owner/ID              Class  Job Files       Size Time 
  active user@localhost+902    A      902 sample.txt  2050 01:20:46
  

  Example 1. Example of lpq output

  
  

  If you want to cancel a print job, find the job number of the request with the command lpq and then use the command lprm job number. For example, lprm 902 would cancel the print job in Example 1. You must have proper permissions to cancel a print job. You can not cancel print jobs that were started by other users unless you are logged in as root on the machine to which the printer is attached.
  You can also print a file directly from a shell prompt. For example, the command lpr sample.txt prints the text file sample.txt. The print filter determines what type of file it is and converts it into a format the printer can understand.
  
  
  Important commands, which is used to printing the documents or files in linux.
  
  
  

   Installed Documentation

  • map lpr — The manual page for the lpr command that allows you to print files from the command line.
  • man lprm — The manual page for the command line utility to remove print jobs from the print queue.
  • man mpage — The manual page for the command line utility to print multiple pages on one sheet of paper.
  • man cupsd — The manual page for the CUPS printer daemon.
  • man cupsd.conf — The manual page for the CUPS printer daemon configuration file.
  • man classes.conf — The manual page for the class configuration file for CUPS.