README - CUPS v1.1.14 - 02/13/2002
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Looking for compile instructions? Read the file "INSTALL.txt"
instead...
INTRODUCTION
CUPS provides a portable printing layer for UNIX(r)-based
operating systems. It has been developed by Easy Software
Products to promote a standard printing solution for all UNIX
vendors and users. CUPS provides the System V and Berkeley
command-line interfaces.
CUPS uses the Internet Printing Protocol ("IPP") as the basis
for managing print jobs and queues. The Line Printer Daemon
("LPD") Server Message Block ("SMB"), and AppSocket (a.k.a.
JetDirect) protocols are also supported with reduced
functionality. CUPS adds network printer browsing and
PostScript Printer Description ("PPD") based printing options to
support real-world printing under UNIX.
CUPS also includes a customized version of GNU Ghostscript
(currently based off GNU Ghostscript 5.50) and an image file RIP
that are used to support non-PostScript printers. Sample
drivers for HP and EPSON printers are included that use these
filters.
Drivers for thousands of printers are provided with our ESP
Print Pro software, available at:
http://www.easysw.com/printpro
CUPS is licensed under the GNU General Public License and GNU
Library General Public License. Please contact Easy Software
Products for commercial support and "binary distribution"
rights.
SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS
Binary distributions require a minimum of 10MB of free disk
space. We do not recommend using CUPS on a workstation with less
than 32MB of RAM or a PC with less than 16MB of RAM.
If you are installing from source you'll need ANSI-compliant C
and C++ compilers and optionally one or more image file support
libraries. Complete source installation instructions can be
found in the file "INSTALL.txt".
SOFTWARE REQUIREMENTS
The following operating system software is required to install
one of the binary distributions from Easy Software Products:
- AIX 4.3 or higher
- Compaq Tru64 UNIX (aka OSF1 aka Digital UNIX) 4.0 or higher
- HP-UX 10.20 or higher
- IRIX 5.3 or higher
- Linux 2.0 with glibc2 or higher
- Solaris 2.5 or higher (SPARC or Intel)
INSTALLING "PORTABLE" CUPS DISTRIBUTIONS
We are currently distributing "portable" CUPS binary
distributions in TAR format with installation and removal
scripts generated by our ESP Package Manager (EPM) software,
which is available from:
http://www.easysw.com/epm
WARNING: Installing CUPS will overwrite your existing printing
system. Backup files are made by the installation script and
restored by the removal script, so if you experience problems
you should be able to remove the CUPS software to restore your
previous configuration. However, Easy Software Products makes
no warranty for this and will not be liable for any lost
revenues, etc.
To install the CUPS software you will need to be logged in as
root (doing an "su" is good enough). Once you are the root
user, run the installation script with:
./cups.install ENTER
After asking you a few yes/no questions the CUPS software will
be installed and the scheduler will be started automatically.
INSTALLING HOST-SPECIFIC (RPM, DEBIAN, ETC.) DISTRIBUTIONS
The host-specific distributions use the operating system
software installation tools. To install a host-specific
distribution please consult the CUPS Software Administrators
Manual or your operating system documentation.
READING THE DOCUMENTATION
Once you have installed the software you can access the
documentation (and a bunch of other stuff) on-line at:
http://localhost:631
If you're having trouble getting that far, the documentation is
located in the "/usr/share/doc/cups" directory in the binary
distributions, and under the "doc" directory in the source
archives.
Please read the documentation before asking questions.
GETTING SUPPORT AND OTHER RESOURCES
If you have problems, READ THE DOCUMENTATION FIRST!
You can subscribe to the CUPS mailing list by sending a message
containing "subscribe cups" to majordomo@cups.org. This list is
provided to discuss problems, questions, and improvements to the
CUPS software. New releases of CUPS are announced to this list
as well.
Commercial support (with a guaranteed response time) is
available from Easy Software Products. For more information
see:
http://www.easysw.com/cups
See the CUPS web site at "http://www.cups.org" for other site
links.
SETTING UP PRINTER QUEUES USING YOUR WEB BROWSER
CUPS 1.1 includes a new web-based administration tool that
allows you to manage printers, classes, and jobs on your
server. To access the printer administration tools open the
following URL in your browser:
http://localhost:631/admin
You will be asked for the administration password (root or any
other user in the sys/system/root group on your system) and then
shown a menu of available functions.
DO NOT use the hostname for your machine - it will not work with
the default CUPS configuration. To enable administration access
on other addresses, consult the CUPS Software Administrators
Manual.
SETTING UP PRINTER QUEUES FROM THE COMMAND-LINE
CUPS works best with PPD (PostScript Printer Description)
files. In a pinch you can also use System V style printer
interface scripts.
Six sample PPD files are provided with this distribution that
utilize the PostScript and image file RIPs and the sample EPSON
and HP printer drivers. To add the sample DeskJet driver to the
system for a printer connected to the parallel port, use one of
the following commands:
Digital UNIX:
/usr/lib/lpadmin -p DeskJet -m deskjet.ppd -v parallel:/dev/lp0 -E
HP-UX:
/usr/lib/lpadmin -p DeskJet -m deskjet.ppd -v parallel:/dev/c2t0d0_lp -E
IRIX:
/usr/lib/lpadmin -p DeskJet -m deskjet.ppd -v parallel:/dev/plp -E
Linux:
/usr/lib/lpadmin -p DeskJet -m deskjet.ppd -v parallel:/dev/lp0 -E
/usr/lib/lpadmin -p DeskJet -m deskjet.ppd -v parallel:/dev/lp1 -E
/usr/lib/lpadmin -p DeskJet -m deskjet.ppd -v parallel:/dev/lp2 -E
Solaris:
/usr/lib/lpadmin -p DeskJet -m deskjet.ppd -v parallel:/dev/bpp0 -E
/usr/lib/lpadmin -p DeskJet -m deskjet.ppd -v parallel:/dev/ecpp0 -E
Similarly, for the other sample drivers you can use:
Driver PPD File
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Dymo Label Printers dymo.ppd
EPSON Stylus Color Series stcolor.ppd
EPSON Stylus Photo Series stphoto.ppd
EPSON Stylus New Color Series stcolor2.ppd
EPSON Stylus New Photo Series stphoto2.ppd
EPSON 9-pin Series epson9.ppd
EPSON 24-pin Series epson24.ppd
HP DeskJet Series deskjet.ppd
HP New DeskJet Series deskjet2.ppd
HP LaserJet Series laserjet.ppd
OKIDATA 9-Pin Series okidata9.ppd
OKIDATA 24-Pin Series okidat24.ppd
These sample drivers provide basic printing capabilities, but
generally do not exercise the full potential of the printers or
CUPS. For commercial printer drivers check out our ESP Print
Pro software at:
http://www.easysw.com/printpro
PRINTING FILES
CUPS provides both the System V "lp" and Berkeley "lpr" commands
for printing:
lp filename
lpr filename
Both the "lp" and "lpr" commands support printing options for
the driver:
lp -omedia=A4 -oresolution=600dpi filename
lpr -omedia=A4 -oresolution=600dpi filename
CUPS recognizes many types of images files as well as PDF,
PostScript, HP-GL/2, and text files, so you can print those
files directly rather than through an application.
If you have an application that generates output specifically
for your printer then you need to use the "-oraw" or "-l"
options:
lp -oraw filename
lpr -l filename
This will prevent the filters from misinterpreting your print
file.
LEGAL STUFF
CUPS is Copyright 1993-2002 by Easy Software Products. CUPS,
the CUPS logo, and the Common UNIX Printing System are the
trademark property of Easy Software Products.
The MD5 Digest code is Copyright 1999 Aladdin Enterprises.
The PostScript RIP software (pstoraster) is based on the GNU
Ghostscript 5.50 core, Copyright 1986-1998 by Aladdin
Enterprises.
The PDF filter (pdftops) is based on the Xpdf 0.92 software,
Copyright 1996-2002 by Derek B. Noonburg.
This software is based in part on the work of the Independent
JPEG Group.
CUPS is provided under the terms of the GNU General Public
License and GNU Library General Public License. This program is
distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but WITHOUT ANY
WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY
or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the "LICENSE.html",
"LICENSE.txt", or "cups.license" files for more information.
For commercial licensing information, please contact:
Attn: CUPS Licensing Information
Easy Software Products
44141 Airport View Drive, Suite 204
Hollywood, Maryland 20636-3111 USA
Voice: +1.301.373.9600
Email: cups-info@cups.org
WWW: http://www.cups.org
Note that commercial licensors may also require a license from
Artifex Software Inc. which handles commercial licensing of the
Ghostscript software, and from Derek B. Noonburg who developed
the Xpdf software used to print PDF files.