Chapter 7. Printer Configuration
This chapter provides information on configuring, testing, and
modifying a local printer with printconf. For
information on configuring other types of printers, creating printer
aliases, and more, refer to the Official Red Hat Linux Customization Guide or click
on the Help button once you open the
printconf application.
Red Hat Linux comes with two different printing systems: LPRng and CUPS. LPRng is
the default printing system. It is recommended that new users use the
default printing system as described in this chapter. For information on
the CUPS printing system, refer to the Official Red Hat Linux Customization Guide.
To use Printer Configuration Tool, you must have root
privileges. To start Printer Configuration Tool, use one of the
following methods:
In a graphical desktop environment, click => => .
Type the command redhat-config-printer at a shell prompt
(for example, in a command-line terminal window) to start the
graphical version.
You can also run Printer Configuration Tool as a
text-based application if you do not have the X Window System
installed, or if you just prefer the text-based interface. Type the
command redhat-config-printer-tui from a shell
prompt, which will prompt your for the root password before it
continues.
 | Important |
|---|
| | Do not edit the /etc/printcap file. Each time the
printer daemon (lpd) is started or restarted, a new
/etc/printcap file is dynamically created.
|
If you want to add a printer without using the
Printer Configuration Tool, edit the
/etc/printcap.local file. The entries in
/etc/printcap.local are not displayed in the
Printer Configuration Tool but are read by the printer
daemon. If you upgrade your system from a previous version of Red Hat Linux, your
existing configuration file is converted to the new format used by the
Printer Configuration Tool. Each time a new configuration
file is generated by the Printer Configuration Tool, the old
file is saved as /etc/printcap.old.
This chapter explains local printer configuration only, but five types of
print queues can be configured with the Printer Configuration Tool:
— a printer attached
directly to your computer through a parallel or USB port. In the
main printer list as shown in Figure 7-1, the
Queue Type for a local printer is set to
LOCAL.
— a
printer attached to a different UNIX system that can be accessed
over a TCP/IP network (or example, a printer attached to another
Red Hat Linux system on your network). In the main printer list as shown in
Figure 7-1, the Queue Type
for a remote UNIX printer is set to LPD.
— a
printer attached to a different system which is sharing a printer
over a SMB network (for example, a printer attached to a Microsoft
Windows machine). In the main printer list as shown in Figure 7-1, the Queue Type for a
remote Windows printer is set to SMB.
— a
printer attached to a different system which uses Novell's NetWare
network technology. In the main printer list as shown in Figure 7-1, the Queue Type for a
remote Novell printer is set to NCP.
— a printer
connected directly to the network instead of to a computer. In the
main printer list as shown in Figure 7-1, the
Queue Type for a JetDirect printer is set to
JETDIRECT.
See the Official Red Hat Linux Customization Guide or click on the
Printer Configuration Tool Help button for
information on configuring printers other than local.
| Important |
|---|
| | If you add a new print queue or modify an existing one, you need to
restart the printer daemon (lpd) for the changes to
take effect.
|
Clicking the Apply button saves any changes
that you have made and restarts the printer daemon. The changes are not
written to the /etc/printcap configuration file until
the printer daemon (lpd) is restarted. Alternatively,
you can choose => and then choose =>
to save your changes and then
restart the printer daemon.
If a printer appears in the main printer list with the Queue
Type set to INVALID, the printer
configuration is missing options that are required for the printer to
function properly. To remove this printer from the list, select it from
the list and click the Delete button.
Adding a Local Printer
To add a local printer such as one attached to the parallel port or
USB port of your computer, click the New button
in the main Printer Configuration Tool window. The window
shown in Figure 7-2 will appear. Click
Forward to proceed.
You will then see the screen shown in Figure 7-3. Enter a unique name for the printer in the
Queue Name text field. This can be any descriptive
name for your printer. The printer name cannot contain spaces and must
begin with a letter a through z or A through Z. The valid characters are
a through z, A through Z, 0 through 9, -, and _.
Select from the menu, and click Forward.
The Printer Configuration Tool attempts to detect your printer
device and display it as shown in Figure 7-4. If your printer device is not shown,
click Custom Device. Type the name of your
printer device and click OK to add it to the
printer device list. After selecting your printer device, click
Forward.
Next, the Printer Configuration Tool will try to detect which
printer is attached to the printer device you selected as shown in Figure 7-5. If you are configuring a local
printer and the model was autodetected, the recommended driver is
automatically selected and marked with an asterisk (*). If it detects
the wrong printer or does not detect any printer, you can manually
select one. The printers are divided by manufacturers. Click the arrow
beside the manufacturer for your printer. Find your printer from the
expanded list, and click the arrow beside the printer name. A list of
drivers for your printer will appear. Select one. If you do not know
which one to use, select the first one in the list. If you are having
problems using that driver, edit the printer in
printconf and select a different driver.
The last step is to confirm your printer. Click
Apply if this is the printer that you want to
add. Click Back to modify your printer
configuration.
The new printer will appear in the printer list in the main window.
Click the Apply button in the main window to save
your changes to the /etc/printcap configuration
file and restart the printer daemon (lpd). After
applying the changes, print a test page to ensure the configuration is
correct. Refer to the Section called Printing a Test Page for details.
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 test from the printer list,
and choose => , , or from the pulldown menu. If your printer does not
support PostScript printing, choose to print the ASCII test page.
