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11    Administering the Print Services

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11.1    Administrative Tasks

• Physically connecting a printer to the system or ensuring that you have access to it through a network

• Adding information about a printer in the /etc/printcap file

• Creating the required device files and spooling directories

• Starting the lpd daemon

• Verifying printer installation and testing printing

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11.2    Interfaces to Print Services

• If you have a CDE Desktop graphics interface, you can use the Print Configuration application to administer print services. This interface is the recommended interface to the print services.

• If you do not have a CDE Desktop graphics interface, or if you wish to continue to use current methods of print service administration, you can use the lprsetup utility to administer print services. The lprsetup utility will be retired in a future release of the operating system.

• You can perform these tasks manually by creating and modifying the required files with a text editor.

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11.3    Print Services Commands

• The lprsetup command to add, modify, and remove printers

• The lpc command to monitor and control printer operations

• The lpr command to send files to the printer

• The lprm command to remove print jobs from the queue

• The lpq command to check a print queue

• The lpstat command to check a print queue (similar to lpq)

Refer to the lprsetup(8), lpc(1), lpr(1), lprm(1), lpq(1), and lpstat(1) reference pages for more information about these commands.

After a printer is set up and running on your system, you need to:

• Manage the system and take care of routine changes such as adding new printers or changing the characteristics of existing printers

• Administer the print queues and files as your system needs change

• Control the daily operations and throughput of print jobs

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11.4    Using lprsetup to Set Up the Print System

To use the lprsetup utility, you must have the Printer Support Environment subset installed. To see if you have this subset installed, enter:

# setld -i | grep OSFPRINT

OSFPRINT400     installed       Local Printer Support (Printing Environment)

If the OSFPRINT subset is not installed, see the Installation Guide for information on adding this, or any, subset with the setld utility.

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11.4.1    Gathering Information

If your system is part of a network, you may need to consult your local network administrator about the correct procedure for adding a printer.

The following is a list of the information you need:

• Name of the printer (print queue)

• Printer type

• Printer device name

• Printer synonyms (alternative names)

• Printer accounting

• Spooler directory

• Error log file

• Connection type (LAT device)

• Baud rate (hard-wired ports only)

The following sections describe how you obtain the required information.

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11.4.1.1    Printer Name

# lpr -Pprintername

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11.4.1.2    Printer Type

The supported printer types are defined in Table 11-1.

You can set up other printers by using 'unknown' and then responding to the prompts, using values similar to those for supported printers.

Responding with 'remote' allows you to designate a remote system for printing. In this case, only four printcap file entries are required:

• rm (name of the remote system)

• rp (name of the printer on the remote system)

• sd (pathname of the spooling directory on this system)

• lp (the local line printer device, which is always null)

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11.4.1.3    Printer Synonyms

$ lpr -Pdraft files

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11.4.1.4    Device Special File

lp=/dev/lp

The default device special file is /dev/lp, which specifies a parallel printer.

For remote printers, you should specify a null argument with the lp symbol. For example:

lp=

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11.4.1.5    Printer Accounting

The af parameter is not applicable for remote printer entries because the accounting policy for remote printers is employed at their (remote) systems.

Accounting is accomplished through programs called print filters. The lprsetup script does prompt you for the line print filter information. You must specify this information when you are prompted at the end of the lprsetup display for symbols to modify. Two print filter symbols, if and of, are needed for accounting. You modify them at this point. For example:

if=/usr/lbin/ln03rof
of=/usr/lbin/ln03rof

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11.4.1.6    Spooler Directory

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11.4.1.7    Error Log File

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11.4.1.8    Connection Type

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11.4.1.9    Baud Rate

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11.4.2    Using lprsetup to Install a Printer

Digital recommends that you accept the default values for an initial printer installation.

The printer described in the following example is an LN03R.

You can run the lprsetup program three ways:

• Select the Applications menu from a Motif window and choose System Setup from the menu

• Enter the /usr/sbin/setup command at the prompt and choose Printers from the menu

• Enter the /usr/sbin/lprsetup command at the prompt

# /usr/sbin/lprsetup
Digital UNIX Printer Setup Program

Command < add modify delete exit view quit help >:

The lprsetup command options are described in Table 11-2.

Note

Some of the symbols displayed in the lprsetup script are not supported by the Digital UNIX operating system. Refer to Table 11-4 and to the printcap(4) reference page for information on the supported symbols.

The following example shows how to use the lprsetup command to set up an LN03R printer to be used by the local system:

# /usr/sbin/lprsetup 
Digital UNIX Printer Setup Program


Command  < add modify delete exit view quit help >: add

Adding printer entry, type '?' for help.


Enter printer name to add [0] : [Return]

For more information on the specific printer types
enter `printer?'

Enter the FULL name of one of the following printer types:

la50   la70   la75   la324  la424  lg02   lg06   lg12
lg31   lj250  ln03   ln03s  ln05   ln06   ln07   ln08
lf01r  ln03r  ln05r  ln06r  ln07r  ln08r  ibmpro nec290
fx80   fx1050 hpIIP  hpIIIP hpIIID hpIV   hp4m   remote
unknown

or press RETURN for [unknown] : ln03r

Enter printer synonym: tomf

Enter printer synonym: [Return]

Set device pathname 'lp' [] ? /dev/tty01

Do you want to capture print job accounting data ([y]|n)? y

Set accounting file 'af' [/usr/adm/lpacct]?[Return]

Set spooler directory 'sd' [/usr/spool/lpd] ? [Return]

Set printer error log file 'lf' [/usr/adm/lperr] ? [Return]

Set printer connection type 'ct' [dev] ? [Return]

Set printer baud rate 'br' [4800] ? 9600

After you respond to each of the prompts, lprsetup prompts you to determine if you want to change any of the values assigned to the various symbols in your /etc/printcap file or if you want to specify any additional symbols. For example, you can set a specific page length or width. If you want to make any changes or add information, enter the appropriate symbol name. Refer to the printcap(4) reference page or Table 11-4 for more information on the various symbols.

Enter the name of the printcap symbol you wish to modify.  Other
valid entries are:
        'q'     to quit (no more changes)
        'p'     to print the symbols you have specified so far
        'l'     to list all of the possible symbols and defaults
The names of the printcap symbols are:

 af  br  cf  ct  df  dn  du  fc  ff  fo  fs  gf  ic  if  lf  lo
 lp  mc  mx  nc  nf  of  op  os  pl  pp  ps  pw  px  py  rf  rm
 rp  rs  rw  sb  sc  sd  sf  sh  st  tf  tr  ts  uv  vf  xc  xf
 xs  fo  ic  nc  ps  Da  Dl  It  Lf  Lu  Ml  Nu  Or  Ot  Ps Sd
 Si  Ss  Ul  Xf


Enter symbol name: q

        Printer #0
        ----------
Symbol  type  value
------  ----  -----
  af    STR    /usr/adm/lpacct
  br    INT    9600
  ct    STR    dev
  fc    INT    0177777
  fs    INT    03
  if    STR    /usr/lbin/ln03rof
  lf    STR    /usr/adm/lperr
  lp    STR    /dev/tty01
  mc    INT    20
  mx    INT    0
  of    STR    /usr/lbin/ln03rof
  pl    INT    66
  pw    INT    80
  rw    BOOL   on
  sd    STR    /usr/spool/lpd
  xc    INT    0177777
  xf    STR    /usr/lbin/xf
  xs    INT    044000

Are these the final values for printer 0 ? [y] y

Next, the lprsetup script prompts you to add comments to the /etc/printcap file. Enter n at the prompt if you do not want to add comments. Enter y at the prompt if you want to add comments. At the pound sign (#) prompt, enter your comment. Press Return at the pound sign (#) prompt to exit. The comments will be insert directly above the printcap entry in the /etc/printcap file.

Adding comments to printcap file for new printer, type '?' for help.

Do you want to add comments to the printcap file [n] ? : y

# Use this printer for draft-only

# [Return]

Set up activity is complete for this printer.
Verify that the printer works properly by using
the lpr(1) command to send files to the printer.


Command  < add modify delete exit view quit help >: view

# Use this printer for draft-only
pearly|lp0|3X27|tomw:\
        :af=/usr/adm/lpacct:\
        :br#9600:\
        :ct=dev:\
        :fc#0177777:\
        :fs#03:\
        :if=/usr/lbin/ln03rof:\
        :lf=/usr/adm/lperr:\
        :lp=/dev/tty01:\
        :mc#20:\
        :mx#0:\
        :of=/usr/lbin/ln03rof:\
        :pl#66:\
        :pw#80:\
        :rw:\
        :sd=/usr/spool/lpd:\
        :xc#0177777:\
        :xf=/usr/lbin/xf:\
        :xs#044000:

Command  < add modify delete exit view quit help >: exit

Refer to the lprsetup(8) reference page for more information on using the program.

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11.4.3    Setting Up Remote Printers

If you are setting up a remote printer from a remote machine, the local machine (the client) must be listed in the .rhosts file of the remote machine (the host).

If your printer will be connected to a remote LAT terminal server, ensure that the LAT subsets are installed as described in the Installation Guide. To see if the LAT subsets are installed, enter:

# setld -i | grep OSFLAT

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11.4.4    Testing Printers

The lptest command writes a traditional ripple test pattern to the standard output, or you can direct the output to a printer. A pattern that contains all 96 printable ASCII characters in each column is printed using 96 lines. In the pattern, each printed character is displaced rightward one character column on each successive line. This test is also useful for ascertaining the number of lines per page and the default page parameters. You can use the ripple test pattern to test printers, terminals, and drive terminal ports during debugging.

The lptest command has the following syntax:

/usr/sbin/lptest[length[count]]

Use the lptest command if you need quick output of random data. For example:

# /usr/sbin/lptest |lpr -P3r44

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11.5    Routine Operations

• Adding new printers to the system

• Modifying characteristics of existing printers

• Removing printers from the system

• Enabling printer accounting

• Controlling printer operations by using the lpc command

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11.5.1    Adding Printers

1. Create a printer spooling directory. Refer to Section 11.6.2.2.

2. Create the /etc/printcap file and edit it to include a description of the printer. Refer to Section 11.6.3.

3. Create an accounting file and a log file and enable printer accounting. Refer to Section 11.5.4.

You should make sure that the /etc/inittab file does not invoke the getty process on serial lines that have printers attached. If you use the lprsetup script, this is done for you.

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11.5.2    Modifying Printers

If you change the name of the spooling directory, the accounting file, or the error log file, lprsetup asks you to verify that the information is correct before it deletes the original information.

To manually modify a printer's configuration, edit the /etc/printcap file and modify the entry that pertains to the printer. Refer to Section 11.6.3 and to the printcap(4) reference page for information about the /etc/printcap file symbols.

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11.5.3    Removing Printers

To remove a printer, run the lprsetup program and choose the delete option from the main menu. The program prompts you for the printer name. Enter the name of the printer you want to remove. You are prompted for confirmation that you want to delete the error log file and the accounting file because these files can be shared by more than one printer. If you do have shared files, do not delete them. Section 11.4.2 describes how to use the lprsetup program.

If you have included comments for the printer in the first line of its /etc/printcap file entry, the lprsetup program does not delete them. You must edit the /etc/printcap file and delete the comments.

To manually remove a printer, edit the /etc/printcap file and delete the entry that pertains to the printer. You must also manually delete the accounting and log file and the spooling directory.

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11.5.4    Enabling Printer Accounting

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11.5.5    Controlling Local Print Jobs and Queues

The lpc command has the following syntax:

/usr/sbin/lpc[argument] [all | printer . . .]

Some of the command arguments allow you to specify all to indicate all the printers or to specify one or more printer variables to indicate a specific printer.

You can specify the argument variables defined in Table 11-3.

The following example shows that the lpd daemon is active on the printer named tester and there is one entry in the queue:

# /usr/sbin/lpc

lpc> status tester
tester:
        printer is on device '/dev/tty02' speed 9600
        queuing is enabled
        printing is enabled
        1 entry in spool area
lpc>

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11.6    Reference Information

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11.6.1    Line Printer Daemon

• Handles printer spooling, which is the mechanism by which a file is placed in a queue until the printer can print the file.

• Uses the listen and accept system calls to control printers and to ensure that the user who requested printing is allowed to use the printer.

• Scans the /etc/printcap file to determine printer characteristics.

• Uses specific print filters for print requests. Print filters translate an input format into a printer-specific output format.

• After a system reboot, prints any files that were not printed when the system stopped operating.

# ps agx |grep /usr/sbin/lpd

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11.6.2    Spooling Directories

If you are using lprsetup, the program supplies the default value /usr/spool/lpdn. The n variable specifies the printer number. For example, the default name of the spooling directory for a second line printer could be /usr/spool/lpd2. The default spooling directory for any printer is /usr/spool/lpd.

Each printer entry in the /etc/printcap file should specify a spooling directory even if the printer is connected to another machine or is on another network. You specify a spooling directory with the sd symbol. For example:

sd=/usr/spool/lpd/purple

Spooling directories must have the same parent directory name, which is normally /usr/spool.

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11.6.2.1    Spooling Directory Files

When the lpd daemon is activated as a result of a print request, it looks in the printer spooling directory for a lock file. If a lock file is not found, the lpd daemon creates one and writes the identification number and the control file name on two successive lines in the file. The lpd daemon then scans the printer spooling directory for command files whose names begin with cf. Command files specify the names of user files to be printed and contain printing instructions for the files. Each line in a command file begins with a key character that indicates what to do with the remainder of the line. The key characters and their meanings are described in detail in the lpd(8) reference page.

Data files, whose names begin with df, are also located in the spooling directory. Data files contain text formated for printing. These files are identified by their print request identification numbers only.

After a file is printed, the lpd daemon removes the control and data files from the printer spooling queue, updates the status file, and sets up the next file in the spooling queue for printing.

For example, if a printer named milhaus has jobs currently waiting to be printed, the following command lists the files that are stored in the spooling directory:

# ls -l /var/spool/lpd/milhaus
-rw-rw----   1    root      75  Jan 17  09:57  cfA0220mothra
-rw-rw----   1    root      96  Jan 17  10:03  cfA143harald
-rw-rw----   1    root  199719  Jan 17  09:57  dfA0220mothra
-rw-rw----   1    root    9489  Jan 17  10:03  dfA143harald
-rw-r--r--   1    root      20  Jan 17  10:06  lock
-rw-rw-rw-   1  daemon     113  Jan 17  10:00  status

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11.6.2.2    Creating a Spooling Directory

# cd  /var/spool/lpd

# mkdir lp1

# chmod 775 lp1

# chgrp daemon lp1

# chown daemon lp1

# ls -l lp1
drwxr-xr-x  2  daemon  daemon  24  Jan 12  1994  lp1

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11.6.3    The /etc/printcap File

#
#
lp|lp0|0|dotmatrix|mary:\
      :af=/usr/adm/printer/lp.acct:\
      :br#9600:\
      :ct=dev:\
      :fc#0177777:\
      :fs#023:\
      :if=/usr/lbin/la75of:\
      :lf=/usr/adm/lperr:\    [1]
      :lp=/dev/tty01:\
      :mx#0:\
      :of=/usr/lbin/la75of:\
      :pl#66:\
      :pw#80:\
      :sb:\     [2]
      :sd=/usr/spool/lpd:\
      :xc#0177777:\     [3]
      :xf=/usr/lbin/xf:\
      :xs#044000:\
#
#
sqirrl|3r3|ln03r3|postscript3|In office 2T20:\
      :lp=:rm=uptown:rp=lp:sd=/var/spool/printer/ln03r3:mx#0:\ [4]
#

1. --> Specifies a symbol with alphabetic characters.

2. --> Specifies a symbol that represents a Boolean expression.

3. --> Specifies a symbol with a numeric value.

4. --> Specifies an entry for a remote printer. The lp, rm, rp, and sd symbols are required for remote printers for which you are a client.

The first line of a printer entry contains the fields that specify the printer primary reference name and printer name synonyms. This first line and these fields are required for every printer, both local and remote.

The printer reference name is the name that you subsequently use in order to specify printing to this printer. You can give each printer as many alternative reference names as you want, but each field on the first line must be separated with a vertical bar (|). The first line must end with a colon (:).

Note

A local printer entry in the /etc/printcap file should have the default printer reference name lp0 so that print jobs can have a destination when printer reference names are not specified in print commands.

Table 11-4 lists the printcap symbol names, the type of values they take, default values, and descriptions.

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11.6.4    Line Printer Daemon Filter Directory

You can specify an accounting filter with the if symbols and an output filter with the of symbol. Output filters filter text data to the printer device if accounting is not enabled or if text data must be passed through a filter. For example:

if=/usr/lbin/ln03rof
of=/usr/lbin/ln03rof

Refer to the lpd(8) reference page for more information on using filter capabilities.

Table 11-6 lists the available print filters located in the /usr/lbin directory.

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11.6.5    Flag Bits

Delays are specific times used to slow the transmission of the next group of characters to the input buffer. Delays give the printer mechanism time to perform operations such as a carriage return, newline, tab, and form feed.

Flag bits are cleared with the fc symbol and set with the fs symbol. All printers do not use all the flag bits, but you must either set the bits or clear them. You should consult your printer manual for specific information about flag bits.

The flag bits are specified as octal numbers in a 16-bit word. Octal values are preceded with the number zero (0). To clear all the bits, specify the value 0177777 with the fc symbol. To set all the bits, specify the value 0177777 with the fs symbol. All bits should be cleared (using fc#0177777) before calling the fs symbol. To set or clear any groups of bits, specify the octal sum of the combined bits for the number of flag bits.

The following is an example of flag bit specifications:

fc#0177777
fs#0141

Table 11-8 lists each flag bit name, its octal value, and its description.

Refer to the tty(7) reference page for detailed information on flag bits.

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11.6.6    Mode Bits

Refer to the tty(7) reference page for a detailed description of the status bits.

The following is an example of mode bits specifications:

xc#0177777
xs#044000

Table 11-9 lists a description of each mode bit.

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11.6.7    Remote Printer Characteristics

On the local machine attached to the printer you must specify the rs symbol, which specifies a Boolean value that takes only a true (yes) or false (no) value, along with the other printer configuration symbols. If you define the value as true, remote users must have an account on the local machine that is attached to the printer. If you define the value as false, remote users can access the local printer if the local printer is listed in the .hosts file. Refer to Section 11.6.3 for an example of an /etc/printcap file.

On the remote machine that will use the printer, you must specify the rm, rp, lp, and sd symbols.

The rm symbol specifies the name of the machine attached to the printer. For example:

rm=deccom

The rp symbol specifies the printer spool name on the remote system. For example:

rp=ln03lab

For remote printers, you should specify the lp symbol without a value:

lp=

sd=/usr/spool/lpd

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11.6.8    Pagination and Imaging Parameters

For line printers, the pl and pw parameters specify the page length in number of lines (default is 66) and the column width in number of constant-width characters (default is 132), respectively. For example:

pl#55
pw#70

You should not specify a width of more than 80 characters for a letter-quality printer that uses 8 1/2-inch by 11-inch paper. If you specify a width that is greater than 80 characters on a printer, the page prints in landscape mode.

For high-resolution laser-type printers, the line length and page width parameters are py and px, which specify the number of pixels along the y- and x-coordinate planes of the printer output image area. Some printers can operate in either constant-width or imaging modes, so you must specify both sets of parameters. For example:

px#60
py#80

Refer to your printer's manual for its output characteristics.

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11.7    Troubleshooting

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11.7.1    Installation and Routine Operations

• Verify that the printer hardware is correctly installed and operating as expected. Most printers have internal test and print test options.

• Ensure that the correct settings are recorded in the /etc/printcap file. Refer to Section 11.6.3.

• Ensure that the printer daemon is present by using the following command:

  # ps agx |grep /usr/sbin/lpd

  If the daemon is not running, restart it by using the following commands:

  # rm -f /dev/printer /var/spool/lpd.lock
  
  # /usr/lbin/lpd -l

  The first command removes the /dev/printer and /var/spool/lpd.lock files. In the second command, the -l option causes the daemon to log requests from the network. This flag is useful for debugging problems with remote printers.

• Use the lpc command to check on the status of the printer. If queues are stalled, try resetting the queues (refer to Section 11.5.5).

• Ensure that the appropriate spooling or device files have been created and that ownership and access are correct (refer to Section 11.6.2).

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11.7.2    Printer Error Logging

The error log file is specified with the lf symbol in the /etc/printcap file. For example:

lf=/var/adm/lpderrs

Error log files are usually located in the /var/adm directory. An error log file can be shared by all local printers, but you should specify the file in each /etc/printcap file printer entry.

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11.8    TCP/IP (telnet) Printing

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11.8.1    Setting up TCP/IP Printing

1. Set up the printer. Assign a TCP/IP address and node name to each printer with a network card. Also, determine the TCP/IP socket number on which the printer will listen for connection requests. You will need the socket number in Step 2b when you edit the /etc/services file. Table 11-10 lists the socket numbers for three printers made by Digital and one made by Hewlett Packard.

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   Table 11-10: TCP/IP Socket Numbers

   Printer	Socket Number
   DEClaser 3500 (LN14)	10001
   DEClaser 5100 (LN09)	10001
   HP Laserjet 4m+	9100
   LN17	2501

   ---

   To obtain the socket number for other printers, see your printer documentation. Some printers may allow you to specify this number yourself.

2. Configure the local host This step describes the utilities that you need to run and the files that you need to modify on the local host in order to configure TCP/IP printing. You must have superuser privileges to perform the following tasks:

   1. Configure the printer using lprsetup Execute the /usr/bin/lprsetup command and answer the questions to create an entry in the /etc/printcap file for your printer. When it prompts you to enter values for printcap control variables, assign the following values to the ct and lp variables:

      ct=tcp
      
      lp=@nodename
      /servicename

      Replace nodename with the name of the printer's node as registered for use on your network and replace servicename with the name you will choose to enter in the /etc/services database in the next step. If you want to modify an existing /etc/printcap printer entry to use TCP/IP printing, edit the /etc/printcap file using a text editor, such as vi, and modify the values for the ct and lp variables. You can also remove the values for the xs, xc, fs, and fc control variables which establish settings that are relevant to the serial port driver. These are ignored by the network socket driver.

   2. Configure the services database. You must register a service name and tcp port number (socket number) in the /etc/services database file. Enter the socket number that you determined when you configured the printer in step 1 and associate it with a service name of your choice. For example, to configure the services database for a DEClaser 3500, you would add the following line to the /etc/services file:

      declaser3500    10001/tcp

      Note that the user-defined declaser3500 string represents the service; it is the same string that you would have entered as the servicename in the /etc/printcap file in step 2a. After saving the changes to the /etc/services file, restart the inetd daemon to reload the /etc/services file with the printer information you just added. To do this, type the following command:

      # rcinet restart

      This stops and restarts the Internet network services on your system.

   3. Configure the remote hosts database. The nodename value that you specified as part of the lp variable value in the /etc/printcap file must be known by your local host's network management services; therefore, you must enter the nodename and its network address in the /etc/hosts database file. If you are running a BIND server for remote host names, you do not necessarily need to add the printer's node name to the /etc/hosts file, though if there is ever a problem with the BIND server, an entry in /etc/hosts would be a useful fallback.

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11.8.2    Using TCP/IP Printing

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11.8.3    Known Restrictions on the Use of TCP/IP Printing

In addition, printing non-PostScript files with some PostScript and non-PostScript filters may yield unexpected results. Table 11-11 lists the filters with which you could experience these problems.

To provide expected behavior with older printers, these non-PostScript filters maintain a dependence on the serial port driver to automatically supply carriage returns after line feeds when you specify the (octal) 020 bit to the fs control variable in the /etc/printcap file.

Because this control bit is not interpreted by the network socket driver, the formatting behavior that would be supplied by the serial port driver is absent. Therefore, non-PostScript files that are not preformatted for the printer may not print out as they would in serial-port-connected configurations. In particular, this may affect ASCII text files that do not contain embedded carriage-returns.

Most printers using the lpf, la75of, la324of, and lqf non-PostScript filters do not provide network interface card support. However, the printing problems may still be an issue for users who use serial-and-parallel-port to network-port converters, like the Digital RapidPrint network interface box, which allow these printers to act like TCP/IP printers with built-in network support.

The hplaser4psof PostScript filter works for PostScript files and for preformatted non-Postscript files (like PCL files), but it will likely produce unexpected results for files that have not been preformatted (such as ASCII text without embedded carriage-returns).