An introduction to printing
My CUPS Runneth Over
Using the Common Unix Printing System, you can configure and manage your printer from the command line.
Printing in Linux has changed out of all recognition from the early days. Today, you no longer need a PostScript printer or to set the options for print laboriously by hand. Thanks to OpenPrinting’s database, you can immediately find whether a given printer will work on Linux, and, thanks to CUPS (originally, the Common Unix Printing System), you can easily configure a printer with a GUI. As with most of the inner workings of a Linux system, however, working at the command line remains the easiest way to see what is actually going on when you print.
Before you dive into the subject of printing, a very brief reminder of the basics might be useful. Today, all major distributions install CUPS as a matter of course, as well as a number of printer drivers in the form of PostScript Printer Descriptions (PPDs), which are generally stored in /usr/share/ppd and consist of a series of formatting and operational options. Should you need more PPDs, look in your distribution’s repositories for the HPLIP, Gutenprint, and Foomatic Database drivers, the basic sources for printer support.
Buy this article as PDF
(incl. VAT)
Buy Linux Magazine
US / Canada
UK / Australia
Subscribe to our Linux Newsletters
Find Linux and Open Source Jobs
Subscribe to our ADMIN Newsletters
Support Our Work
Linux Magazine content is made possible with support from readers like you. Please consider contributing when you’ve found an article to be beneficial.
News
-
There's a New Linux AI Assistant in Town
Newelle is a Linux AI assistant that can work with different LLMs and includes document parsing and profiles.
-
Linux Kernel 6.16 Released with Minor Fixes
The latest Linux kernel doesn't really include any big-ticket features, just a lot of lines of code.
-
EU Sovereign Tech Fund Gains Traction
OpenForum Europe recently released a report regarding a sovereign tech fund with backing from several significant entities.
-
FreeBSD Promises a Full Desktop Installer
FreeBSD has lacked an option to include a full desktop environment during installation.
-
Linux Hits an Important Milestone
If you pay attention to the news in the Linux-sphere, you've probably heard that the open source operating system recently crashed through a ceiling no one thought possible.
-
Plasma Bigscreen Returns
A developer discovered that the Plasma Bigscreen feature had been sitting untouched, so he decided to do something about it.
-
CachyOS Now Lets Users Choose Their Shell
Imagine getting the opportunity to select which shell you want during the installation of your favorite Linux distribution. That's now a thing.
-
Wayland 1.24 Released with Fixes and New Features
Wayland continues to move forward, while X11 slowly vanishes into the shadows, and the latest release includes plenty of improvements.
-
Bugs Found in sudo
Two critical flaws allow users to gain access to root privileges.
-
Fedora Continues 32-Bit Support
In a move that should come as a relief to some portions of the Linux community, Fedora will continue supporting 32-bit architecture.