Solaris 10: Specific modifications have been made to incorporate the RIP feature and PPD files into the Solaris print subsystem. Two interface scripts, standard_foomatic, and netstandard_foomatic, are available. These interface scripts provide the generic Solaris interface between the Solaris spooler and the back-end process of the Solaris print server.
The following are examples of the types of printers that are supported:
Lexmark Optra E312
Epson Stylus Photo 1280
Canon BJC-55
QMS magicolor 2+
This section describes the following expanded printer support features:
Raster Image Processor Support
Support for PostScript Printer Description Files
Solaris Print Manager Options
Using the
n Option to the lpadmin Command
Using the lpstat Command to Determine if a PPD File Was Used to Create a Print Queue
The RIP enables you to print to printers that do not have resident PostScript
processing capabilities. The Solaris printing software provides the print
server RIP and supporting technologies. The RIP occurs behind the scenes.
However, to use the appropriate driver you need to configure each printer,
by using either Solaris Print Manager or the lpadmin
n command. For step-by-step instructions on using the lpadmin
n command, see How to Add a New Attached Printer by Using LP Print Service Commands.
The lpadmin and lpstat commands, as well as the Solaris Print Manager printer definition screens, support the use of PPD files.
The following new software packages are associated with this feature:
SUNWa2psr
SUNWa2psu
SUNWespgs
SUNWffiltersr
SUNWffiltersu
SUNWfppd
SUNWgimpprint
SUNWhpijs
SUNWimagick
SUNWpsutils
For more information about supported printers, see Where to Find Information On Supported Printers.
Starting with the Solaris 10 release, the following options are available in Solaris Print Manager:
The Use PPD files option is the default option when creating a new print queue in Solaris Print Manager. You can choose to not use PPD files by removing the checkmark from this option. To switch back to using PPD files, recheck the Use PPD files option.
If Solaris Print Manager cannot locate the ppdcache file
to use, the Use PPD files option in the Print Manager drop-down menu is greyed
out and not available for use.
If you create a new print queue or modify an existing print
queue with PPD files in Solaris Print Manger, you cannot assign the printer
type or file content type printer definitions. However, If you do not use
PPD files when creating a print queue, you can assign these printer definitions
by deselecting the Use PPD files option in the Solaris
Print Manager drop-down menu.
When creating a new print queue or modifying an existing print queue with PPD files, the following Solaris Print Manager screens are available:
New Attached Printer
Modify Printer Properties (for an attached printer)
New Network Printer
Modify Printer Properties (for a network printer)
For these screens, when creating a print queue with PPD files, you are required to provide the following information:
Printer Make
Printer Model
Printer Driver
This table describes the printer definitions that are used by Solaris Print Manager, and their availability, depending on which Solaris software release you are running.
The printer make, model, and driver printer definitions are only
available when you create a print queue with the Use PPD files default option
in the Print Manager drop-down menu selected. This is the default option .
Conversely, the printer type and file content type printer definitions are
only available when you have deselected the Use PPD files option.
Table 1.2. Printer Definitions Used by Solaris Print Manager
|
Printer Definition |
Available in Solaris 9 Release? |
Available Starting With the Solaris 10 Release? |
|---|---|---|
|
|
Available |
Available |
|
|
Available |
Available |
|
|
Applicable |
Applicable |
|
|
Available, for attached printers |
Available, for attached printers |
|
|
Available Not available by default in the Solaris 9 9/04 release. |
Available, by deselecting the |
|
|
Available Not available by default in the Solaris 9 9/04 release |
Available, by deselecting the |
|
|
Not available Yes, available in the Solaris 9 9/04 release |
Available |
|
|
Not available Available in the Solaris 9 9/04 release |
Available |
|
|
Not available Available in the Solaris 9 9/04 release |
Available |
|
|
Available |
Available |
|
|
Available for a network printer |
Available for a network printer |
|
|
Available for a network printer |
Available for a network printer |
|
|
Available |
Available |
|
|
Available |
Available |
|
|
Available |
Available |
|
|
Available (Default option for Solaris 10 release)
Starting with the Solaris Express 3/05 release, these options are located in a pull-down menu within Solaris Print Manager. |
For a detailed description of the printer make, printer model, and printer driver printer definitions, see Setting Printer Definitions.
Using PPD files is a per-queue configuration option, and is not
a requirement. PPD files are not required for printers that already contain
the RIP feature. You can continue to use Solaris Print Manager to configure
these printers the same way that you did for previous Solaris releases. To
do so, you must remove the checkmark from the Use PPD files default
option in the Print Manager drop-down menu in Solaris Print Manager before
adding the new printer.
The
n option to the lpadmin command
enables you to specify the PPD file that you want to use when creating a new
print queue or modify an existing print queue.
For example, to add the print queue, foobar, to a
Lexmark printer, you type the following command:
# lpadmin -p foobar -v device -I postscript -m standard_foomatic \
-n /path/Lexmark-Optra_E312-Postscript.ppd.gz
When using the
n option to the lpadmin command,
specify the full path and file name to the PPD file.
For more information, see the lpadmin ( 1M ) man page.
The location of the PPD files and the ppdcache are private interfaces, as is the contents of the ppdcache file.
The placement of these files and the contents of the ppdcache are
subject to change in future releases. You should not build software that relies
on these files being in their current location or that relies on the data
being in the format that is currently used.
If the file that is required by your printer is not available, you can
add your own PPD file. If you use the lpadmin
n command
to create a new print queue, you can store your own PPD files anywhere that
you choose. However, if you use Solaris Print Manager to create the print
queue, the PPD file must have an entry in the ppdcache file.
Directories of PPD files are located in the /usr/lib/lp/model/ppd/ directory. The output of the ls command lists
all the PPD files for a particular printer manufacturer. The names of the
files reflect the printer model that is supported.
When you use the lpadmin command with the
n option
to specify a PPD file, you are required to provide the full path to the PPD
file. If you choose to use a PPD file that is located in a different directory,
you must specify the full path to that file.
For example, to specify the xyz.ppd file that is
located in the user's home directory, you would type the following command:
# lpadmin -p foo -n /home/user/stuff/xyz.ppd -m \
standard_foomatic -I postscript -v /device
If a PPD file was used to create a print queue, the PPD file that the specified queue is configured to use is now listed in the lpstat command output. If you do not specify a PPD file when creating a new print queue, the lpstat command continues to display the same output as it did previously. For an example of the lpstat command output when using PPD files, see How to Check the Status of Printers.
You can use Solaris Print Manager to modify queues that were created without the use of PPD files. In such cases, Solaris Print Manager uses the previous printer definitions, which do not include the printer make, model, and driver printer definitions.
For tasks that are associated with expanded printer support, see Setting Up Printing (Task Map).