8    Administering the Print Services

This chapter describes how to set up and administer the files and utilities that make up the print services. You can set up and administer the print services immediately after a new installation or an upgrade to a new version of the operating system, or you can wait until later. For example, you can wait until you have installed a printer and have gathered the information about its characteristics that you need to set it up.

During initial configuration of your system after a full installation, you will see a checklist titled System Setup. On this menu is an option for Printer Configuration, which runs the printconfig graphical user interface. Refer to Section 8.2.2 for information.

The following topics are discussed in this chapter:

• Section 8.1 provides an overview of the administrative tasks, describes the different configuration methods and the set up utilities that you can use. It provides pointers to other documentation that you may need to read. Also listed here are the various system files that are used by print operations and any utilities that are related to print operations.

• Section 8.2 describes how to use different utilities to set up local, remote, and networked printers. It describes the printconfig and lprsetup utilities. Also included is information on Advanced Server for UNIX (ASU) print facilities that support client PCs and the Advanced Printing Software.

• Section 8.3 describes routine print system maintenance, such as adding and removing printers or controlling print jobs.

• Section 8.4 provides reference information on advanced topics such as the structure of system files, spooling, daemons, error reporting, and and print filters.

• Section 8.5 describes current restrictions on the use of certain print filters.

• Section 8.6 provides information that enables you to test printers and resolve problems.

8.1    Print Administrative Tasks

To set up the print system, you perform the following tasks:

• Physically connect a printer to the system or ensure that you have access to it through a network

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

• Create the required device files and spooling directories

• Start the print (lpd) daemon

• Manage printer accounting

• Verify printer installation and perform a test printing

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

The tools that you use to perform these operations are described in Section 8.1.5.

8.1.1    Advanced Printing Software

The Advanced Printing Software is an optional subset on the Associated Products CD-ROM. For information about this software, see the Advanced Printing Software Installation Guide and refer to the Advanced Printing Software System Administration and Operation Guide and the User Guide. Note that when the Advanced Printing Services software is installed, you must configure a gateway, as described in Section 8.2.2. to run Advanced Printing Services and the print daemon lpdon the same system. You can run Advanced Printing Services with lpd disabled, in which case it will receive all inbound remote print requests (on socket 515) instead of LPD. However, with this configuration, local lpd commands such as lpr will not work.

8.1.2    Printer Configuration Methods

Depending on your local system configuration, you have several options for installing and configuring printers, For example:

• Direct - Local installation of a single printer is the simplest installation. At the rear of the system are serial or parallel hardware ports to which you connect a printer with a cable. (The printer documentation describes the hardware installation.) This printer can be used by a single user, if connected directly to a single-user workstation, or it can be configured to be shared with other users if it is connected to a multiuser system or server. Note that connections using USB ports are not yet supported.

• Remote - Connection to a printer that is directly connected to another system on the network. The remote option requires that your system can access and use services on the system to which the printer is connected.

• Network - Connection to shared a network printer across a local area network (LAN) or a local area transport (LAT) connection or via TCP/IP. For example, a desktop workstation may be able to print to several different network printers.

• PC Network -- Connection to Personal Computer (PC) print queues when using the Advanced Server for UNIX (ASU). This application is used to manage mixed IBM-compatible PC and UNIX printer environments. When ASU is installed, you have additional options to configure PC print queues and share printers between PC clients.

There are also several different ways to perform printer administration tasks, each of which provides certain advantages:

• The printconfig graphical user interface, which is recommended for first-time users and for quick setup.

  The printconfig utility is part of the standard set of system administrative tools. Refer to Chapter 1 for general information on these tools. When ASU is installed, printconfig also enables you to manage PC printers. The operating system supplies drivers and configuration files a number of third-party printers. When you use printconfig, it will automatically display a list of all the supported printers and enable you to configure them quickly.

  Note

  There are restrictions on using printconfig with older /etc/printcap files. Refer to the printcap(4) reference page for information.

• The lprsetup utility. This utility provides backwards compatability with previous releases.

  The lprsetup utility is a command-line utility that you run from a terminal. It performs the same tasks as printconfig, but does not support PC printers even if ASU is installed. Note that if you select the command-line option when invoking printconfig, the lprsetup utility will be invoked.

  Note

  Currently, lprsetup is the command-line utility for print configuration. However, printconfig is the preferred method for administering printers. The lprsetup utility does not support the management of PC printers under Advanced Server for UNIX (ASU), although ASU itself offers features for PC queue management.

• Manual edits to system files

  Experienced system administrators may want to manage printers by editing the system files. For example, if you are working on printer driver development, it may be necessary to create test entries in the printer configuration file /etc/lprsetup.dat. Alternatively, you may want to clone a particular printer configuration across a number of systems by editing the /etc/printcap file to include several configured printers, and copying that file to the destination systems. The reference information in this chapter will assist you in performing such tasks or in writing shell scripts. However, note that In this release, the /var/spool/lpd file is a special link to support clusters. You must take care not to break this link when manually editing a file. See the section on CDSLs in Chapter 6.

8.1.3    Related Documentation

The following documentation contains information on using printer configuration tools.

• Books:

  • Consult the printer documentation for information on installing the printer and for required software settings such as data communication (baud) rates. This is particularly important if you are attempting to configure a printer that is not in the list of supported devices. The printer documentation will provide information that you may need to provide to the configuration utility to use any special capabilities of the printer, such as tray selection.

    Usually, you will see your printer included in the list of supported devices when you use an installation utility (or if you look in /etc/lprsetup.dat). If it is not listed there, and the manufacturer does not provide information for using the printer under UNIX, you may be able to use it with generic settings provided in the configuration tools. However, you will probably not be able to use any special capabilities of the printer, and will most likely be limited to basic features.

  • The Network Administration guide provides information on configuring or connecting to networked printers.

  • The Writing Software for the International Market guide provides information on internationalization support for printers that offer local-language capabilities, such as support for Asian languages.

  • The Common Desktop Environment: User's Guide and Common Desktop Environment: Advanced User's and System Administrator's Guide provide information on setting up printer services in the Common Desktop Environment.

  • The Installation and Administration Guide describes ASU features for managing PC print queues.

• Reference pages:

  • ports(7) - Contains information about the printer ports that you use to connect printers to a system, and how they map to printer device special file names in /dev.

  • printconfig(8), lprsetup(8) - Contain information about the configuration tools and their command line options.

  • printcap(4), lprsetup.dat(4) - Contain information about the system files in which printer configuration information is located.

  • wwpsof(8), pcfof(8) - Contain information about generic print filters. The wwpsof(8) reference page describes a generic internationalized print filter for PostScript printers that enables you to support local-language PostScript printing. The pcfof(8) reference page describes a generic print filter for ANSI, PCL and PostScript printers.

  • lpd(8) - Contains information about the print daemon.

  • latcp(8) - Contains information about the local area transport (LAT) control utility. This utility is used for adding services, such as print services, to a host and is only of interest if you are using networked printers.

  • lpr(1), pr(1), lprm(1), lpq(1), and lpstat(1) - Describe the commands used to print files. See the Command and Shell User's Guide for information on using these commands.

  • lptest(8) - Describes the printer test pattern utility.

  • services(4) - Describes the format of the /etc/services file where services defined for TCP/IP printing are defined.

• Online Help - The printconfig graphical user interface has an online help volume that explains how to use the interface and the lprsetup utility has command-line help.

8.1.4    System Files

The following system files contain printer configuration information. Note that some files, such as /usr/spool, are defaults or UNIX conventions. You can use your own preferred file names and locations.

• The /etc/printcap file contains the data on configured printers.

• The /etc/lprsetup.dat file contains the configuration data for all supported (known) printers. This information is transferred to the /etc/printcap file when a printer is installed and configured for use.

• The /usr/lbin directory contains the print filters for each known printer device. These filters are specified during printer installation, for example /usr/lbin/ln09of is the filter for the DEClaser 5100. Filter file names contain the following data:

  • The printer identifier (ID) string

  • The /etc/printcap code of

  • A string to determine any variant information, such as _isolatin1

• The /usr/spool directory is the default directory where print jobs are stored temporarily during printing. The spool queue is identified by the sd entry for a device in the /etc/printcap

• The /usr/spool/lpd directory is the CDSL in which lpd.lock is stored for each member of a cluster. On a cluster, spool directories must be shared, and are always located under /usr/spool.

• The /usr/adm/lpd*err files is the default directory where error log files for each installed printer. These are only created if error logging is enabled.

• The /var/adm directory contains printer accounting files when accounting is enabled. These files have a file name format of /var/adm/<printer>acct_sum, where <printer> is the name that you assign to the printer during installation.

• The /usr/lbin/lpd file is the line printer daemon. Configuration files are located in the /usr/spool/* (or /var/spool/*) directory.

• The /dev directory contains the local UNIX socket /dev/printer. This socket is created by the lpd daemon and exists for as long as the parent lpd is running.

8.1.5    Related Utilities

The following utilities are also available for use in your printer environment:

• The lpc line printer control utility enables you to manage print queues and control access to printers. See the lpc(8) reference page for information.

• The pac utility formats the data from printer accounting log files and displays it or stores it in a text file. See the pac(8) reference page. See also the acct(8) reference page for information on accounting.

• CDE Application Manager -- Desktop Apps contains the Print Manager graphical user interface, which enables you to perform the following tasks. Refer to the online help for information on how to use these graphical interfaces.

  • Manage print queues

  • Control access to printers

  • Customize your view of printer data

  These features are similar to features offered by the lpc utility and the lpq or lpstat commands, which you can run from the command line in a terminal.

  The Print Screen utility is also located in the Desktop Apps, if this utility has been installed.

• The printer icon on the CDE front panel allows you to select printers and manage print queues locally. You can also run printconfig from CDE Application Manager - Configuration, in addition to invoking it from SysMan Menu or the SysMan Station. The latter user environments you to use graphical tools remotely or from a different workstation such as a PC or another UNIX system. Consult the CDE documentation for information on setting environment variables such as LPDEST to assign system default printers in CDE environments.

8.2    Configuring Printers

The following sections describe the information you need in order to use the printconfig utility to connect a printer to your computer. Before proceeding, verify that the printer is physically connected to your system, accessible on the network (for remote printing), and has been tested as described in the owner's manual. A good strategy for avoiding installation problems is to accept the default data presented by the configuration utility. Once you have the printer working, you can read about the advanced options and use the same utility to tune your configuration as required.

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

# setld -i | grep OSFPRINT

If the OSFPRINT subset is installed, the following information is displayed:

OSFPRINT500     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.

8.2.1    Gathering Information

Before adding a printer, you need to gather the information about the printer that you will need to enter when using the lprsetup or printconfig utilities. The information required will depend on whether the printer is remote, a direct connection, or a network connection via LAT or TCP/IP:

If your system is part of a network, you may need to consult your local network administrator or consult the Network Administration guide for information required when adding or accessing a network printer.

8.2.1.1    Direct and Network Printers

The following list identifies the information you need when installing a direct connection, or a network connection via LAT or TCP/IP.

• Available Printer Types (supported printers) -- This can be determined from the lprsetup.dat(8) reference page or by viewing the /etc/lprsetup.dat file if you have added third party printers. Usually, the name embossed on the printer is similar, such as LN03, however the printer type for the DECLaser 5100 is ln09. The printconfig utility displays a list of supported devices, including PC printer options if ASU is installed.

• Printer Aliases (alternative names) -- You can assign one or more aliases for the printer. An alias is a name that you can use with printer commands. For example, if your local system is named alfie2, you can assign that as an alias and use that name when printing files as follows:

  # lpr -Palfie2 prt_accounting.txt
  

• Connection type - This will depend on how the printer is connected to your system. It can be:

  • Direct - Connected to a port at the rear of the system box

  • LAT - Connected as a Local Area Transport port or service. (See the Network Administration guide for more information.)

  • TCP - A networked print server device.

• Device Pathname -- This depends on the Connection type:

  • If the connection type is direct, this entry specifies the device file name in the /dev directory. For example, if you connected the printer cable to the 9-pin socket labeled 1 or COMM1, the corresponding device special file is /dev/tty00.

  • If the connection type is LAT, printconfig will supply a default /dev/lat port or service name, LAT server node name, or LAT port name. (See the Network Administration guide for more information.)

  • If the connection type is TCP, you need the TCP address, which can be in one of two formats. The owner's manual of the printer will specify the assigned port number for the printer device (a numerical string, such as 12345). The other part of the address is the host name or TCP/IP address:

    • @node/port -- The printer host (or node) name followed by either the port number such as 2501 for an LN17ps, or the service name defined for this port in the /etc/services file. If no service name is defined, you must use the port number. For example @alfie.nic.ccc.com/ln17port maps to the entry ln17port 2501/tcp in /etc/services. The entry @alfie.nic.ccc.com/2501 directly specifies a port number, and no service entry in /etc/services is required.

    • @tcp_address/port-- The TCP/IP address in nnn.nnn.nnn.nnn format, followed by the port number (such as 2501 for an LN17ps) or the service name defined in /etc/services. For example @123.321.123.321/2501.

• Advanced Options -- Most of these options are not required to complete a basic installation and you can accept the defaults. However, the owner's manual for your printer may state requirements for certain settings, such as the communications baud rate. Communications rates can depend on features such as the length and type of printer cable that you chose for the installation.

  The advanced options are set as symbols in the file /etc/printcap and the printcap(4) reference page contains a definitive list of supported symbols and values. When using printconfig, the online help provides a description of the symbols.

  Note that this screen scrolls down to list all available options and also contains default entries, which you can override if required.

  The most commonly used options are:

  • Accounting file name -- If you want to use printer accounting to track print consumables, you should choose the default (or enter your preference).

  • stty baud rate (hard-wired ports only) -- If your printer specifies communication rate requirements you can enter it here. Note that the default rate can sometimes be increased to improve printer throughput.

  • Restrictions on use -- If you want to control the volume and quantity of print jobs, set the restrictions here.

  • Default page layouts -- If you want default vaues for certain page layout characteristics, set the characteristics here. Supported layouts may depend on printer restrictions and capabilities. Consult the owner's manual for the printer.

  • Destination directories and files -- If you want certain directory and file locations for print spooling or for error output, you can specify the locations here.

8.2.1.2    Remote Printers

The following is a list of the information you need when installing a remote printer:

• Printer aliases (alternative names) -You can assign one or more aliases for the printer. An alias is a name that you can use with printer commands. For example, if the remote system is named alfabet, you can assign that name as an alias and use that name when printing files as follows:

  # lpr -Palfabet prt_accounting.txt
  

• Remote machine name - The host name for the remote system, such as alfabet.ccc.nic.com

• Remote printer name - The name of the printer on remote system, such as lp0, or a valid alias.

• Advanced options - These options are not required for a basic installation. Remote printing allows only a small number of advanced options to be configured (or deconfigured, such as error logging) . See the information in Section 8.2.1.1. Note that most advanced options are not passed on to the remote system.

8.2.1.3    Printer Data Worksheet

You can photocopy the following table and use it as a worksheet.

8.2.2    Installing a Local Printer

This section describes how to install a printer using printconfig utility. The example given is a DEClaser 5100 printer installed locally using the graphical interface. It assumes that you have made all the physical connections and gathered the required information. You can also use printconfig to modify a printer configuration or remove a printer. These other tasks are described in Section 8.3.

Note

Do not use printconfig if you are modifying an /etc/printcap file on a system running Version 3.2 or older. There are incompatabilities in older /etc/printcap files that may cause printconfig to corrupt the file. Use lprsetup instead.

A typical installation of a printer (after the hardware is installed) takes about ten to fifteen minutes, including time required to gather the data.

The recommended action is to accept the default values for an initial printer installation so that the basic installation and verification can be accomplished quickly. You can then use printconfig to modify the configuration later if required.

Invoke printconfig from CDE, or from the command line, as described in the printconfig(8) reference page.

You must have superuser privileges to run printconfig utility. Depending on the type of printer you are adding and the information you provide, the utility might do the following:

• Create, or edit the existing /etc/printcap file

• Create a spooling directory

• Create an error log file

• Create an accounting file

• Create the device special files

• Prompt you to modify previously selected symbols

When you run the printconfig utility, the first display is the main window titled Printer Configuration on host name. In this window you select the printer type using the data you have already gathered as described in Section 8.2.1:

• Select ln09

• Choose the Configure option

Because this is not a remote printer, the next window is Printer Config: Local Printer Settings. The next available Printer name will be displayed (lp0 if this is the first printer that you are configuring on this system). In this window you enter:

• The printer alias names, such as the name of the local host or perhaps something to help users to identify the printer type, such as local_DL5100.

• The connection type. Because you have connected the cable to a local serial port such as COMM1, you will choose the Direct option.

• Finally, you need to specify the Device pathname, which will be the special device file that maps to the serial port. The device file /dev/tty00 maps to the COMM1 port.

• Choose Commit to write the options to the /etc/printcap file.

For a basic printer configuration, that is all you need to do. If you decide to use advanced options, such as setting print job limits, choose the Advanced option to display the "Printer Config: Local Printer Settings: Advanced" window. See Section 8.4.

After commiting the configuration, you are returned to the Configuration on host name window, and the printer now appears in the list of configured printers. Use the Test option to print a test page to the printer. If you do not get any output, review the data carefully and refer to the troubleshooting section. See Section 8.6.

The remaining option on the window Configuration on host name is Make Default, which enables you to choose any configured printer as the default printer for this system. This means that any print job that has no specified print queue will default to this printer. Generally, you would choose a high-speed low-cost draft printer as the default on a multiuser system, in case users choose to print large text files.

Select the required printer and choose Make Default. The current default printer is displayed in the field labeled Default Printer.

Your printer is now ready for use. Test the printer capabilites with appropriate files, such as PostScript or color graphics files. Check the printer utilities described in Section 8.1.5 to ensure that you can verify printer and queue status.

8.2.3    Setting Up Remote Printers

A remote printer refers to a printer that is already directly connected to a remote host. Remote printers may also be directly connected to the network, but their network cards emulate the remote lpd protocol, so they appear as remote hosts with a printer attached.

You configure your local print queue so that print jobs are sent to the remote host via the network. These jobs are then printed on the remote host. If you are setting up a remote printer from a remote machine, the local machine (the client) must be listed in the hosts.lpd file or hosts.equiv 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

See the Network Administration guide for information on how to enable remote LAT terminal server printing.

Refer to section Section 8.2.1 for information on the data that you need to gather before performing this task, then invoke printconfig as described in Section 8.2.2 (the remote queue is the same queue as the example created in that section). The following example describes how to use printconfig to create some remote print configurations:

• Select remote

• Choose the Configure option

Because this is a remote printer, the next window is Printer Config: Remote Printer Settings. The next available printer name will be displayed (lp0 if this is the first printer that you are configuring on this system). Enter the following:

• The printer alias names, such as the name of the remote host and printer type, such as alphie_ln09.

• The remote machine name. For example, in Section 8.2.2 a queue was created on the system named alphie.ccc.nic.com.

• The remote printer name. For example in Section 8.2.2, a printer lp0 was added to the system.

• Choose Commit to write the options to the /etc/printcap file.

For a basic printer configuration, that is all you need to do. If you decide to use advanced options, such as setting print job limits, choose the Advanced option to display the "Printer Config: Local Printer Settings: Advanced" window. Because the printer is remotely configured, you can only specify a small number of advanced options that affect local processing, such as the local error log file and spooling directory.

After commiting the configuration, you are returned to the Configuration on host name window, and the printer now appears in the list of configured printers. Use the Test option to print a test page to the printer. If you do not get any output, review the data carefully and refer to the troubleshooting section.

8.2.4    Setting Up TCP/IP Printing Using printconfig

TCP/IP printing allows you to submit print jobs to a remote printer that is directly connected to the network as a host device. Reference information on TCP/IP printing is located in Section 8.4.11. Gather the information as described in Section 8.2.

Invoke printconfig as described in the preceding sections. The first display is the main window titled Printer Configuration on host name. In this window you use the data you have gathered to select the printer type, for example:

• Select ln17ps

• Choose the Configure option

Because this is not a remote printer, the next window is Printer Config: Local Printer Settings. The next available Printer name will be displayed, such as lp4. Complete the fields as follows:

• The printer alias names, such as the name of the local host or perhaps something to help users to identify the printer type and physical location, such as ln17_office23.

  This value can also be specified as @nodename/servicename, where servicename is defined in /etc/services and associated with the printer's TCP/IP port.

• The connection type, this will be TCP.

• Finally, you need to specify the device pathname as a port number or service, which in this case will be the network address of the printer, such as @alfie.nic.ccc.com/2501 or @123.321.123.321/2501.

• Choose Commit to write the options to the /etc/printcap file.

For a basic TCP/IP printer configuration, that is all you need to do. If you decide to use advanced options, such as setting print job limits, choose the Advanced option to display the "Printer Config: Local Printer Settings: Advanced" window.

After commiting the configuration, you are returned to the Configuration on host name window, and the printer now appears in the list of configured printers. Use the Test option to print a test page to the printer. If you do not get any output, review the data carefully and refer to the troubleshooting section.

The remaining option on the window Configuration on host name is Make Default, which enables you to choose any configured printer as the default printer for this system. This means that any print job that has no specified print queue will default to this printer. Generally, you would choose a high-speed low-cost draft printer as the default on a multiuser system, in case users choose to print large text files.

Select the required printer and choose Make Default. The current default printer is displayed in the field labeled Default Printer.

8.2.5    PC Print Queues Under ASU

If the Advanced Server for UNIX (ASU) is installed and running, you can configure client PC printer queues. ASU also offers features for configuring and managing print queues. Refer to the Installation and Administration Guide for more information on using ASU. You must have at least one printer configured in your /etc/printcap file before you can create a printer share queue for PC clients.

Invoke printconfig from the CDE Application Manager -- Configuration window, or from the command line, as described in the printconfig(8) reference page. When you invoke printconfig under ASU, an available printer type is the Advanced_Server_Shared_Printer_Queue. Choose this option and the next window displayed is titled "Printer Config: Advanced Server Shared Print Queue Setting". There are only three options on this window:

• Advanced Server shared print queue name - Enter a queue name such as psq1

• Printer devices - Enter a comma-separated list of device names such as: lp0,lp2

• Comment - Enter any comments or notes on queue use and restrictions.

Press OK to create the queue and return to the printconfig main window. The new queue will be displayed.

To test the status of the queue, use the following ASU command and check the output for the queue name as shown in the example:

# net share 
.
.
.
Share name  Resource             Remark
----------  ------------------   ------------------------
psq1        lp0, lp2             Spooled

Note that you may need to perform other ASU tasks to make the queue available to PC systems. Consult the ASU doumentation for more information.

8.2.6    Using lprsetup to Install a Printer

This section describes how to install a printer locally (directly connected to your computer) using the lprsetup utility. You can also use lprsetup to modify a printer's configuration or remove a printer. These other tasks are described in Section 8.3.

The recommended action is to accept the default values for an initial printer installation.

The printer described in the following example is an LN03R.

You can run lprsetup by entering /usr/sbin/lprsetup at the command prompt in a terminal window. You must have superuser privileges to run lprsetup. Depending on the type of printer you are adding and the information you provide, you can use lprsetup to:

• Create, or edit the existing /etc/printcap file

• Create a spooling directory

• Create an error log file

• Create an accounting file

• Create the device special files

• Prompt you to modify previously selected symbols

When you run the lprsetup script, the first display is the main menu:

# /usr/sbin/lprsetup
Compaq Tru64 UNIX Printer Setup Program
 
Command < add modify delete exit view quit help >:

The lprsetup command options are described in Table 8-1.

Table 8-1:  lprsetup Options

You can abbreviate any command option with its initial letter.

You can enter information at each prompt or press [Return] to select the default information provided. (In most instances, you can accept the defaults.) You can also enter a question mark (?) to get a description of the information you specify at the prompt.

Note

Some of the symbols displayed in the lprsetup script are not supported by the operating system. Refer 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. Note that some tables have been truncated to shorten the example:

# /usr/sbin/lprsetup 
Compaq Tru64 UNIX Printer Setup Program
 
Command  < add modify delete exit view quit help >: add
 
Adding printer entry, type '?' for help.
 
Enter printer name to add [1] : [Return]
 
For more information on the specific printer types
enter `printer?'
 
Enter the FULL name of one of the following printer types:
 
DEClaser1100 (ln07)   escp_a4_12cpi   hp6l_a4  la400    lg12      ln17_a4
DEClaser1150 (ln07r)  fx1050          hpIIID   la424    lg12plus  ln17ps
DEClaser1152_I18N     fx80            hpIIIP   la50     lg14plus  ln17ps_a4
DEClaser2100 (ln05)   generic_ansi    hpIIP    la600    lg31      ln20
DEClaser2150 (ln05r)  generic_ansi_a4 hpIV     la70     lgl04plus ln20_a4
DEClaser2200 (ln06)   generic_text    ibmpro   la75     lgl05plus ln40
DEClaser2250 (ln06r)  generic_text_a4 la100    la84     lgl08plus ln40_a4
DEClaser2300 (ln05ja) hp1120c         la120    la86     lgl09plus ln82r
DEClaser2400 (ln10ja) hp1120c_a4      la210    la88     lj250     lnc02
DEClaser3200 (ln08)   hp4000tn        la280    la88c    lj252     lnc02_a4
DEClaser3250 (ln08r)  hp4000tn_a4     la30n    la90     ln03      nec290
DEClaser3500 (ln14)   hp4mplus        la30n_a4 lf01r    ln03ja    ps_level1
DEClaser5100 (ln09)   hp4mplus_a4     la30w    lg02     ln03r     ps_level2
DEClaser5100_I18N     hp5simx         la30w_a4 lg04plus ln03s     remote
cp382d                hp5simx_a4      la324    lg05plus ln15      unknown
dl510ka               hp680c          la380    lg06     ln15_a4   wwpsof
ep1050+               hp680c_a4       la380cb  lg08plus ln17      xf
escp_a4_10cpi         hp6l            la380k   lg09plus
 
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/lpd/lp1acct]?[Return]
Set spooler directory 'sd' [/usr/spool/lpd/lpd1] ? [Return]
Set printer error log file 'lf' [/usr/adm/lpd/lp1err] ? [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 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 #1 
        ----------
Symbol  type  value
------  ----  -----
  af    STR    /usr/adm/lpd/lp1acct
  br    INT    9600
  ct    STR    dev
  fc    INT    0177777
  fs    INT    03
  if    STR    /usr/lbin/ln03rof
  lf    STR    /usr/adm/lpd/lp1err
  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/lpd1
  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 number sign (#) prompt, enter your comment. Press [Return] at the number 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 >: exit

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

8.2.6.1    Print Symbols for Advanced Printing Services

When setting up Advanced Printing Software, you should set the following print symbols:

• rm - Specify @dpa to indicate that jobs submitted to this printer should be directed to the Advanced Printing Software inbound gateway. The inbound gateway submits the job to an Advanced Printing Software spooler.

• rp - Specify the name of the Advanced Printing Software logical printer.

Refer to the Advanced Printing administration documentation for more information.

8.3    Routine Print System Maintenance

The first part of this chapter showed you how to set up the first printer on a system. The following sections describe the routine administrative tasks for a print system that is already set up. You can use the printconfig and the X11-compliant (CDE) or command line tools to perform these tasks. The tasks described in the following sections are:

• Adding additional new printers to the system

• Modifying characteristics of existing printers

• Removing printers from the system

• Enabling printer accounting

• Controlling printer operations by using the CDE tools or the lpc command

Note that if you manually remove printers from the /etc/printcap file, you also have to manually remove spooling, accounting, and error directories and files.

8.3.1    Adding Printers

Once you have one printer set up, you can add other local, remote and networked printers at any time. Gather the information about each printer as described in Section 8.2

You can add printers by running printconfig, or you can add printers manually by performing the following steps:

1. If it does not already exist, create a printer spooling directory. Refer to Section 8.4.2.6.2.

2. Modify the /etc/printcap file and edit it to include a description of the printer using the configuration data from /etc/lprsetup.dat. Refer to Section 8.4.1.

3. Create an accounting file and a log file and enable printer accounting. Refer to Section 8.3.5. Protection and ownership of this file must be set appropriately.

Ensure that the /etc/inittab file does not invoke the getty process on serial lines that have printers attached. If you use printconfig, this is done for you.

8.3.2    Modifying Printers

To modify a printer's configuration, run printconfig and choose the configured printer. Then choose Modify to display the Settings window.

If you change the name of the spooling directory, the accounting file, or the error log file, printconfig prompts 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 printer entry. Refer to Section 8.4.1 and to the printcap(4) reference page for information about the /etc/printcap file symbols.

8.3.3    Removing Printers

To remove a printer, run the printconfig utility and choose the printer that you want to delete, then choose Deconfigure. You are then prompted for confirmation that you want to delete the error log file and the accounting file because these files may be shared by more than one printer. If you do have shared files, do not delete them.

If you have included comments for the printer in the first line of its /etc/printcap file entry, note that the command line lprsetup utility does not delete the comments when you remove a printer. You can edit the /etc/printcap file and delete the comments.

To manually remove a printer, edit the /etc/printcap file and delete the entry that relates to the printer. You must also manually delete the accounting and log file and the spooling directory if no longer required.

You can also use lpc and the CDE print mangement tools to temporarily control access to printers and queues. See Section 8.3.4.

8.3.4    Controlling Local Print Jobs and Queues

To manage the flow of print jobs and the contents of local print queues, you can use the lpc command-line utility.

If CDE is your local user environment, you can also manage print jobs using the Print Manager located in the CDE Application Manager - Desktop Apps folder. Refer to the online help for information on how to use these graphical interfaces and to the Common Desktop Environment: User's Guide and Common Desktop Environment: Advanced User's and System Administrator's Guide.

You can use the lpc command to:

• Enable and disable printers and spooling queues

• Change the order of queued jobs

• Display the status of the printer, queue, and daemon

Some lpc commands, for example, the disable command, require you to be superuser.

Note

You can use the lpc command only to manage print queues that are local to your system. Although a remote printer has both a local queue and a remote queue, the lpc command manages only the local queue.

There are 15 command arguments that you can specify with the lpc command. You can also use the lpc command interactively. If you enter the lpc command without any command arguments, the lpc> prompt is displayed. You can then enter command arguments.

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 8-2.

Table 8-2:  lpc Command Arguments

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>

Refer to the lpc(8) reference page for more information.

8.3.5    Enabling Printer Accounting

Printer accounting allows you to charge users for printing services and to determine the amount of printer usage.

There are two types of printer accounting: printer user accounting and printer summary accounting. Printer user accounting provides information about printer use according to the machine and user name that issues the print request. Printer summary accounting provides information about the amount of media (number of printed pages or number of feet of roll paper or film) the printer produces. Specify the pac command with the -s option to produce printer summary accounting information.

The printer accounting files default to the /var/adm directory. If you use lprsetup to add a printer, it creates the accounting file you specify. The /usr/adm/lpd/lpacct file is the default accounting file.

The printconfig utility provides default accounting files in the Advanced Options. If you do not require accounting, you can remove these entries during printer configuration or at any later date using the Modify option. If you add a printer manually, you must create the accounting file.

Note

The /var/adm/lpd directory should be owned by user adm and belong to group adm. The printer accounting files should have protection mode 644, be owned by user adm, and belong to group system.

In the printer's /etc/printcap entry, the af parameter specifies the name of the accounting file used to keep track of the number of pages printed by each user for each printer. The name of the accounting file should be unique for each printer on your system. Use the pac utility to summarize information stored in the printer accounting files. This file must be owned by user daemon and group daemon, which it will be if you use the printconfig utility to specify the printer accounting file.

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 printconfig utility will suggest a default print filter. Two print filter symbols, if and of, are needed for accounting. For example:

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

If you want to use separate accounting files for each printer on your system, the file names must be unique. However, an unlimited number of printers can share an accounting file. You cannot specify an accounting file for remote printers.

Accounting files must be owned by the print daemon. If you specify an accounting file, intermediate directories are automatically created as needed.

Note

Printer accounting does not work for PostScript files.

8.4    Reference Information

The following sections contain information about the data required for printer configuration, line printer daemon, lpd, and the system files that are required for print system operations. These files are created automatically if you use printconfig, as described in Section 8.2.2, or you can create and modify the files manually. Note that if you create files manually, you will also need to manually change the /etc/printcap file so the changes can take effect.

8.4.1    The /etc/printcap File

The lpd daemon uses the /etc/printcap printer database file to print requests. Each entry in the file describes a printer. Printer characteristics are specified by two-letter abbreviations called print symbols. The print symbols are described in this section and in the printcap(4) reference page. The lprsetup utility modifies the /etc/printcap file.

The following example shows an /etc/printcap entry for both a local printer and a remote printer. The callouts describe the symbol entries:

#
#
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. [Return to example]

2. Specifies a symbol that represents a Boolean expression. [Return to example]

3. Specifies a symbol with a numeric value. [Return to example]

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. [Return to example]

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.

The remaining lines of each printer entry contain the descriptive symbols and values that define the printer's configuration. Symbols are two-character mnemonics and can be specified with an equal sign (=) and alphabetic characters or with a number sign (#) and a numeric value. Some symbol names have Boolean equivalents, which do not use parameters. You can specify the symbols on one line or on individual lines, but you must separate them with colons (:).

To make the /etc/printcap file easy to read, you can place a colon (:) at the beginning of a line and a backslash (/\) at the end of a line to separate the symbols.

The printcap(4) reference page lists the printcap symbol names, the type of values they accept, default values, and descriptions of the symbols.

8.4.2    Data in /etc/printcap

The following information is typically required for a printer entry in the /etc/printcap file.

8.4.2.1    Printer Name

The printer name is the name by which you want to identify the printer through the lpr command. For example:

# lpr -Pprintername

The lprsetup utility uses an internal numbering scheme from 0 to 99. The next available number is the default name. You can choose the default by pressing the [Return] key or by entering any other alphanumeric name that is appropriate. The lprsetup utility always assigns at least two printer synonyms. The default number N is one synonym. The string lp plus the default number (lpN) is the other system-assigned synonym. If the default number is 1, the two assigned names will be 1 and lp1. Jobs would then be queued to this printer using either of the the following commands:

# lpr -P1
# lpr -Plp1

You can also assign your own synonyms and use them to direct jobs to printers.

If you have only one printer or are entering the first of many printer names, the first name will have a printer number of 0. This is recognized as your system's default printer and will have an additional name of lp. This means if you use the lpr command without specifying a specific printer this is the printer that will always be used.

If this is the first printer connected to your system or a new printer added to an existing print system, create names that do not conflict with existing printer names. Ask your network administrator for the names of the remote printers on the network.

8.4.2.2    Printer Type

The printer type corresponds to the product name of the printer, such as the LN03 laser printer. If you are using the lprsetup utility, printers are listed by type and only those supported by Compaq are listed. These printers have some default values already included in the setup utility.

The supported printer types are defined in /etc/lprsetup.dat and described in the lprsetup.dat(4) reference page.

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

When specifying the printer type, you must use full command names and printer names. The default printer type is unknown.

To install third-party printers, consult the documentation that came with the printer.

8.4.2.3    Printer Synonyms

The printer synonym is an alternate name for the printer. Some examples include draft, letter, and LA-75 Companion Printer. You can enter as many alternate names for a printer as you like, but the total length of the line containing all the names must be less than 80 characters. When entering printer synonyms that can consist of many names, the entry process is terminated when you either enter a blank line or enter a line containing only white space.

In command-line mode, after entering a synonym, you are prompted again. If you do not want to enter any more synonyms, press [Return] to continue.

Each synonym (including the printer number) identifies the printer to the print system. For example, if you chose the synonym draft for a printer, the following command prints files on this printer:

$ lpr -Pdraft files

8.4.2.4    Device Special File

The device special file provides access to the port on the computer to which the printer is connected. The device special file is used if the printer is directly connected to a local serial or parallel port. In this case, you must equate a printer device logical name to the printer's device special file name by using the lp symbol in the /etc/printcap file. For example:

lp=/dev/lp

The installation procedure creates some device special files for the hardware that is connected to your computer. Usually, the device special files for parallel printers are named /dev/lpn (for example: lp1, lp2, lp3), and the device special files for serial line printers are named /dev/ttynn (for example: tty00, tty01, tty02). The n and nn variables specify the number of the printer. On most systems, the device names map to default physical ports (connectors) as shown in Table 8-3.

Table 8-3:  Communication Ports and Printer Device Special Files

Note that if only one 9-pin serial connector is provided on a system, it may not be labeled as such. Some systems also use graphical icons instead of labels. Refer to the owners manual for the system for more information.

When you use lprsetup, the utility defaults to the next consecutive number when it sets up this file. For example, the default device pathname for the third serial line printer is /dev/tty03.

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

For remote printers, specify a null argument with the lp symbol, or a node and port for TCP/IP, as in the following examples:

lp=
lp=@<node/port>
 
 

Note

If the port is used for logins, the lprsetup script turns off the terminal line established by the getty process so the terminal line can be used for a printer.

8.4.2.5    Connection Type

The ct parameter specifies the type of connection to the printer. You can connect a printer directly to your computer from a port or terminal line. You can access networked printers that are connected to a LAT (Local Area Transport) terminal server or to a remote host. If you are using lprsetup, the choices for the connection type are:

• dev for local devices

• lat for LAT devices (must be specified in lowercase)

• tcp for TCP/IP devices (must be specified in lowercase)

8.4.2.6    Spooling Directories

In /etc/printcap, the sd parameter specifies the spooling directory where files are queued before they are printed. Each spooling directory should be unique. All printcap file entries must specify a spooling directory, both local and remote. When the spooling directory is created with printconfig, intermediate directories are created as necessary.

Each printer must have its own spooling directory located under the /usr/spool directory. The spooling directory acts as a printer's spooling queue; it contains the files that are queued for printing on that printer. A printer spooling directory should have the same name as the printer reference name and must be located on the machine attached to the printer. The printer reference name is the name that you specify to print on a particular printer.

If you are using lprsetup, the utility 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/.

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/lpd2/purple
 

Spooling directories must have the same parent directory name, which is normally /usr/spool/lpd. You can specify alternative locations if required when configuring printers.

8.4.2.6.1    Spooling Directory Files

A spooling directory contains a status file and a lock file that are created by the lpd daemon when a file is queued for printing. The /var/spool/lpd/lpd.lock file contains the process identifier of the parent lpd process that listens for print jobs request on the local /dev/printer socket and the network socket 515. The processes that actually print the jobs are child daemons forked by the parent. Their process identifiers are stored in the lock file in the spool directory, such as /usr/spool/purple/lock.

The lock file prevents the lpd daemon from invoking another job on the printer while a file is printing. The lock file contains the process identification number of the daemon that is currently running. The status file contains a line that describes the current printer status. This line is displayed if a user inquires about printer status. If a printer whose status is queried is not active, the status message written to standard output is no entries. Two additional temporary files may appear in the spooling directory:

• The file .no_daemon is created when the queue has entries and no daemon is running and no files in the spooling directory have been removed or changed in the past ten seconds.

• The file .daemon_running is created by a running daemon before it has done its first check for jobs to print. As long as this file exists, the currently running daemon will do at least one more check for queued jobs before deciding there are no more jobs to print.

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 control files whose names begin with cf. Control files specify the names of user files to be printed and contain printing instructions for the files. Each line in a control 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

8.4.2.6.2    Creating a Spooling Directory

If you want to manually add a printer, use the mkdir command to create the spooling directories for each printer. The spooling directory permission mode must be set to 775. The directory's group and ownership must be set to the name daemon. For example:

# 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

8.4.2.7    Baud Rate

The baud rate is the maximum rate at which data can travel between the data source and the printer (for example, 4800 or 9600). The default baud rate for your printer should appear in the printer documentation. If you reset this baud rate yourself during the installation of the printer hardware, the rate that you set on the printer must match the rate that you enter in the /etc/printcap file.

You specify a baud rate only for serial printers that are local (directly connected to your computer). Baud rates are not specified for printers connected to the console port or connected by a parallel port or LAT port.

8.4.3    Line Printer Daemon

Printers are controlled by the line printer daemon, lpd, which is located in the /usr/lbin directory. Printing cannot take place unless the lpd daemon is running. The lpd daemon has many functions:

• Handles printer spooling conjunction with the lpr and lprm commands. Spooling is the mechanism by which a file is placed in a queue until the printer can print the file.

• 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.

When you use the lpr command, it copies files into the spooling directory and activates the lpd daemon. Requests are printed in the order in which they enter the queue. A copy of the file to be printed remains in the queue until the printer is ready to print it; then the lpd daemon removes the file from the spooling queue after it sends the job to the printer.

After you install and boot your system, the lpd daemon is usually started by the /sbin/init.d/lpd utility. You can start and stop the lpd daemon with the following commands:

/usr/lbin/lpd [-l]

/sbin/inetd/lpd [-start]

/sbin/inetd/lpd [-stop]

The -l option causes the lpd daemon to log valid requests from the network. This option is useful for debugging.

To test whether the line printer daemon is running, enter:

# ps agx |grep /usr/sbin/lpd

8.4.4    Error Logging

Errors logged by the lpd daemon are logged to /var/adm/syslog.dated/<date>/lpr.log (or /var/adm/syslog.dated/current/lpr.log, which is a symbolic link to the most recent log file). The directory <date> is named for the date and time that the logs were saved. A typical log file entry is as follows:

Apr 15 16:36:28 cymro lpd[1144]: ERROR -- lpr: cannot open printer description file
Apr 15 16:36:28 cymro lpd[1144]: ERROR -- exiting ...
Apr 15 16:36:46 cymro lpd[1130]: ERROR -- lpq: cannot open printer description file
Apr 15 16:36:46 cymro lpd[1130]: ERROR -- exiting ...
#

Log files should be monitored regularly for errors and should also be regularly deleted to prevent the files from filling up the available disk space. You can establish a regular clean up procedure using the cron utility. You can also control the volume of entries that are posted to lpr.log by specifying only the required priorities in the file /etc/syslog.conf. See the syslogd(8) reference page for instructions.

The lf parameter specifies the log file where most print filter errors are reported. The default log file, if one is not specified, is /dev/console. If you have more than one printer on your system, give each log file a unique name. When the error log file is created using printconfig, intermediate directories in the pathname are created as necessary.

The lpd daemon logs most of its printer errors to the error log file rather than the error file specified by the lf parameter. Therefore, specifying an error log file is optional. If you used lprsetup to install the printer, the utility provides the default value /usr/adm/lpd/lperr. If you do not specify an error log file, errors are logged to /dev/console.

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

lf=/var/adm/lpd/lpderr

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.

8.4.5    Line Printer Daemon Filter Directory

The filters for the lpd daemon translate the data that you want to print into the format appropriate for your printer. You must specify the filter that matches each printer on your system. For example, to print files with the LN03R printer, you would use the ln03rof filter.

Input filters process job data being sent to the printer. Output filters process banner page data generated by the lpd. Many filters may be specified as either input or output filters, and will operate differently depending on whether they are called as input or output filters. These filters are specified in the /etc/printcap file as follows:

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

Input filters are also responsible for printer accounting, which enables you to keep a record of printer usage for text jobs (not for PostScript printing). For information on configuring printer accounting refer to Chapter 10.

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

The lprsetup.dat(4) reference page lists the available print filters located in the /usr/lbin directory. For printers not listed in the reference page, consult the documentation or refer to the printer manufacturer for filter information.

8.4.5.1    General Purpose Print Filter

The pcfof print filter is designed to accommodate many different printers through the use of a printer control file (PCF). PCF files contain printer control strings to set up and select printer-specific features such as paper tray selection, duplexing, and printing orientation. The filter is designed to work with text, ANSI, PCL, and auto-sensing multilanguage PostScript printers, but will not work with PostScript-only printers.

PCF files are text files. You can use any text editor to modify an existing file to customize printing behavior or create a new file for an unsupported printer. Note that PCF files provided in Tru64 UNIX are replaced during an installation update, so you should take care that you preserve any customizations in backups. Using a file name prefix for new or modified PCF files will prevent potential file name conflicts. For example, copy file names before customizing as follows:

# cp ln17.pcf my_ln17.pcf

The print filter is located in /usr/lbin and the PCF printer specific files are in /usr/lbin/pcf. The file template.pcf provides documentation on the PCF file format.

8.4.6    Flag Bits

Flag bits specify characteristics about data transmission from the host to the printer and, if possible, from the printer to the host on a serial line only (LAT and RS232). Data that is passed from the printer to the host may include stop and start status information, which tells the host that the printer input buffer can accept input or that it is about to overflow.

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. 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

In this example, example, fc#0177777 clears all bits and the fs symbol is set to 0141 specifying the OPOST, ONLRET, and OFILL flag bits.

Table 8-4 lists each flag bit name, its octal value, and its description.

Table 8-4:  Flag Bits

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

8.4.7    Mode Bits

Mode bits specify details about the capability of a particular terminal and usually do not affect printer operation. Mode bits are cleared with the xc symbol and set with the xs symbol. Some printers use all of the mode bits, so you must either set them or clear them. The mode bits are specified as octal numbers in a 16-bit word format. You should clear all bits by specifying xc#0177777 before you specify the xs symbol.

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

As shown in the previous example, xc#0177777 clears all bits and the xs symbol is set to 044000 specifying the ECHO and ECHOCTL mode bits.

Table 8-5 lists a description of each mode bit.

Table 8-5:  Mode Bits

8.4.8    Remote Printer Characteristics

If a printer will be used by users on remote machines, /etc/printcap files on the local machine attached to the printer and on remote machines that will use the printer must contain some network configuration information.

On the local machine attached to the printer, security is controlled by the entries in /etc/hosts.lpd or /etc/hosts.equiv.

You can optionally 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 /etc/hosts file. Refer to Section 8.4.1 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, specify the lp symbol without a value:

lp=

The sd symbol specifies the spooling directory. For example:

sd=/usr/spool/lpd
 

8.4.9    Pagination and Imaging Parameters

Printer filters must know the size of an output page to perform proper page framing and line-feed and carriage returns (line folding).

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.

8.4.10    Generic Print Filters

Tru64 UNIX provides print filters for generic and for local-language use.

The pcfof filter is a generic print filter that can be used with text and PostScript files. You can edit a template file /usr/lbin/pcf/template.pcf to customize the filter for use with additional printers. Refer to the pcfof(8) reference page for a list of options.

The wwpsof filter uses settings in a printer customization file (PCF) to find the font glyphs for local language characters and then embeds the font data in the PostScript file. The filter uses PostScript outline fonts, if installed on the local system, or bitmap fonts, which the filter obtains through a font server. This means that print jobs containing characters other than English do not have to be sent to printers where supporting fonts are resident. Refer to the wwpsof(8) reference page for a list of options. See the Writing Software for the International Market and the i18n_printing(8) reference page for additional information on local-language printer support.

8.4.11    TCP/IP Printing

TCP/IP printing allows you to submit print jobs to a remote printer that is directly connected to the network. To use this feature, your printer must contain a network interface card and must be registered with a TCP/IP node name and node address. TCP/IP can also be used to communicate with print server boxes or terminal servers which serve the same purpose as a built-in network interface card, but which make non-networked printer available on the network.

With TCP/IP printing, the local host manages print jobs in the same manner as it would manage print jobs for a local printer. The only difference is that with TCP/IP printing, the local print daemon ( lpd ) communicates with the remote printer over TCP/IP (similar to LAT printing). Each printer listens for connection requests on a socket number that is specified in the printer hardware or that is user-defined through the printer console.

Although multiple hosts can talk to a single printer connected to the network in this way, the hosts are handled on a first-come, first-served basis. Therefore, TCP/IP printing is not the same as remote printing, in which the remote printer manages a print queue on the remote site and listens for network connections on socket 515 (as specified in the entry for printer in /etc/services).

8.4.11.1    Setting Up TCP/IP Printing Manually

The following steps describe how to set up TCP/IP printing on a local host.

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 can either specify a name that is defined in the /etc/services file, or directly specify the port number assigned to the printer. If you opt to create a service name, you will need the socket number in Step 2b when you edit the /etc/services file. Table 8-6 lists the socket numbers for three printers made by Compaq and one made by Hewlett Packard.

   Table 8-6:  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. 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 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. Save the changes to the /etc/services file.

   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.

   Once configured, TCP/IP printing is used like local and remote printing. From the command line, execute the lpr command specifying the node name of the printer, command options, and file names. You can also view the printer status and submit print jobs with the CDE print utilities.

8.5    Known Restrictions on the Use of Filters

The following are current restrictions on the use of print filters:

• TCP/IP printing works when printing within a local subnet; however, printing in complex networks across one or more routers may cause reliability problems. You may need to configure network cards in the printer in order to identify the router. Refer to the printer documentation for information.

• Printing non-PostScript files with some PostScript and non-PostScript filters may yield unexpected results. Table 8-7 lists the filters with which you could experience these problems.

  Table 8-7:  Non-PostScript and PostScript Filters

  Filter Name	Filter Type
  lpf	Non-PostScript
  la75of	Non-PostScript
  la324of	Non-PostScript
  lqf	Non-PostScript
  hplaserof	PostScript

  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 Compaq 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).

• Some filters designed to work with character-set printing (such as ASCII) may not work for TCP/IP printing.

8.6    Testing and Troubleshooting Printers

This section provides a checklist for diagnosing printer problems. Most printer errors are logged in the /var/adm/syslog.dated/current/lpr.log file while some are logged in the /usr/adm/lperr file.

The printconfig window Printer Configuration on host contains an option to send test output to the printer immediately after configuration is complete. If the output is not printed, follow the troubleshooting steps described in this section.

You can also test a printer by using the lpr command to print a few pages of text. You should test any special printer features that you intend to use regularly on this printer, for example, PostScript or double-sided print. Refer to the lpr(1) reference page for more information on how to invoke these features.

The lptest command writes a 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

Refer to the lptest(8) reference page for more information.

If a problem occurs on an existing printer or when adding a printer to a system, diagnose the problem as follows:

• Refer to the error log files specified in Section 8.4.4.

• Check the physical connections and if possible, swap the cable. Check all part numbers to ensure that cables and connectors are appropriate and suitable for the configuration. Note that cable length can affect the available baud rate or communications method. Most printers have internal test and print test options. Use these test options to verify the hardware.

• Review the printer configuration, ensuring that the data entered is appropriate for the device. If the entries appear correct, try a generic or pass through filter to print a simple ASCII text file. Review the manufacturer's documentation to check the settings. Ensure that the correct settings are recorded in the /etc/printcap file. Refer to Section 8.4.1.

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

  # ps agx | grep /usr/sbin/lpd
  

  Sometimes, the parent lpd process becomes hung, or a child process does. If the daemon is not running, it may have to be completely killed and restarted using the kill -9 command on each process, or using the stop and start commands described in Section 8.4.3.

  Using the -l option with /usr/lbin/lpd causes the daemon to log requests from the network. This flag is useful for debugging problems with remote printers. consult the lpd(8) reference page for information.

• Check the queue status and printer status using the CDE graphical tools or the lpc command line utility to ensure that printer and queue are enabled and available. If queues are stalled, try resetting the queues (refer to Section 8.3.4). If print jobs are being created and queued, try configuring a different local or remote printer.

• Ensure that the appropriate spooling or device files have been created and that ownership and access are correct (refer to Section 8.4.2.6.1).

Note that for networked and remote printers, you also have to ensure that the systems are properly connected and authorized to transfer print jobs. Consult the Network Administration guide for information on network troubleshooting.