3. Configuring the CUPS Print Server

After installation, a few files must be edited in order to configure the CUPS server. First, create or modify, as the case may be, the file /etc/devfs.rules and add the following information to set the proper permissions on all potential printer devices and to associate printers with the cups user group:

[system=10]
add path 'unlpt*' mode 0660 group cups
add path 'ulpt*' mode 0660 group cups
add path 'lpt*' mode 0660 group cups
add path 'usb/X.Y.Z' mode 0660 group cups

Note:

Note that X, Y, and Z should be replaced with the target USB device listed in the /dev/usb directory that corresponds to the printer. To find the correct device, examine the output of dmesg(8), where ugenX.Y lists the printer device, which is a symbolic link to a USB device in /dev/usb.

Next, add two lines to /etc/rc.conf as follows:

cupsd_enable="YES"
devfs_system_ruleset="system"

These two entries will start the CUPS print server on boot and invoke the local devfs rule created above, respectively.

In order to enable CUPS printing under certain Microsoft® Windows® clients, the line below should be uncommented in /usr/local/etc/cups/mime.types and /usr/local/etc/cups/mime.convs:

application/octet-stream

Once these changes have been made, the devfs(8) and CUPS systems must both be restarted, either by rebooting the computer or issuing the following two commands in a root terminal:

# /etc/rc.d/devfs restart
# /usr/local/etc/rc.d/cupsd restart

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