Command-Line Printing in Linux
haw to print in linux |
CUPS provides both the System V (lp(1)) and Berkeley (lpr(1)) printing commands for printing files. In addition, it supported a large number of standard and printer-specific options that allow you to control how and where files are printed.
This guide is taken from the Common Unix Printing System (CUPS) documentation. It is available on any system running CUPS (e.g. EECS Ubuntu Linux Desktops) at http://localhost:631/help/options.html. You can also find CUPS documentation at www.cups.org.
Printing Files
CUPS understands many different types of files directly, including text, PostScript, PDF, and image files. This allows you to print from inside your applications or at the command-line, whichever is most convenient! Type either of the following commands to print a file to the default (or only) printer on the system:lp filename
lpr filename
Choosing a Printer
Many systems will have more than one printer available to the user. These printers can be attached to the local system via a parallel, serial, or USB port, or available over the network. Use the lpstat(1) command to see a list of available printers:lpstat -p -d
The option specifies that you want to see a list of printers, and the -d
option reports the current default printer or class.Use the
-d
option with the lp command to print to a specific printer:lp -d printer filename
or the -P
option with the lpr command:lpr -P printer filename
Setting the Default Printer
If you normally use a particular printer, you can tell CUPS to use it by default using the lpoptions(1) command:lpoptions -d printer
Printing the Output of a Program
Both the lp and lpr commands support printing from the standard input:program | lp
program | lp -d printer
program | lpr
program | lpr -P printer
If the program does not provide any output, then nothing will be queued for printing.Specifying Printer Options
For many types of files, the default printer options may be sufficient for your needs. However, there may be times when you need to change the options for a particular file you are printing.The lp and lpr commands allow you to pass printer options using the
-o
option:lp -o landscape -o scaling=75 -o media=A4 filename.jpg
lpr -o landscape -o scaling=75 -o media=A4 filename.jpg
The available printer options vary depending on the printer. The standard options are described in the Standard Printing Options section below. Printer-specific options are also available and can be listed using the lpoptions command:lpoptions -p printer -l
Creating Saved Options
Saved options are supported in CUPS through printer instances. Printer instances are, as their name implies, copies of a printer that have certain options associated with them. Use the lpoptions command to create a printer instance:lpoptions -p printer/instance -o name=value ...
The -p printer/instance
option provides
the name of the instance, which is always the printer name, a slash, and
the instance name which can contain any printable characters except
space and slash. The remaining options are then associated with the
instance instead of the main queue. For example, the following command
creates a duplex instance of the LaserJet queue:lpoptions -p LaserJet/duplex -o sides=two-sided-long-edge
Instances do not inherit lpoptions from the main queue.Printing Multiple Copies
Both the lp and lpr commands have options for printing more than one copy of a file:lp -n num-copies filename
lpr -#num-copies filename
Copies are normally not collated for you. Use the ”-o Collate=True” option to get collated copies:lp -n num-copies -o Collate=True filename
lpr -#num-copies -o Collate=True filename
Canceling a Print Job
The cancel(1) and lprm(1) commands cancel a print job:cancel job-id
lprm job-id
The job-id is the number that was reported to you by the lp command. You can also get the job ID using the lpq(1) or lpstat commands:lpq
lpstat
Moving a Print Job
The lpmove(8) command moves a print job to a new printer or class:lpmove job-id destination
The job-id is the number that was reported to you by the lp or lpstat commands. Destination is the name of a printer or class that you want to actually print the job.Note: The lpmove command is located in the system command directory (typically /usr/sbin or /usr/local/sbin), and so may not be in your command path. Specify the full path to the command if you get a "command not found" error, for example:
/usr/sbin/lpmove foo-123 bar
Standard Printing Options
The following options apply when printing all types of files.Selecting the Media Size, Type, and Source
The-o media=xyz
option sets the media size, type, and/or source:lp -o media=Letter filename
lp -o media=Letter,MultiPurpose filename
lpr -o media=Letter,Transparency filename
lpr -o media=Letter,MultiPurpose,Transparency filename
The available media sizes, types, and sources depend on the printer,
but most support the following options (case is not significant):- “Letter” - US Letter (8.5×11 inches, or 216x279mm)
- “Legal” - US Legal (8.5×14 inches, or 216x356mm)
- “A4” - ISO A4 (8.27×11.69 inches, or 210x297mm)
- “COM10” - US #10 Envelope (9.5×4.125 inches, or 241x105mm)
- “DL” - ISO DL Envelope (8.66×4.33 inches, or 220x110mm)
- “Transparency” - Transparency media type or source
- “Upper” - Upper paper tray
- “Lower” - Lower paper tray
- “MultiPurpose” - Multi-purpose paper tray
- “LargeCapacity” - Large capacity paper tray
lpoptions -p printer -l
When “Custom” is listed for the “PageSize” option, you can specify custom media sizes using one of the following forms:lp -o media=Custom.WIDTHxLENGTH filename lp -o media=Custom.WIDTHxLENGTHin filename lp -o media=Custom.WIDTHxLENGTHcm filename lp -o media=Custom.WIDTHxLENGTHmm filenamewhere “WIDTH” and “LENGTH” are the width and length of the media in points, inches, centimeters, or millimeters, respectively.
Setting the Orientation
The ”-o landscape” option will rotate the page 90 degrees to print in landscape orientation:lp -o landscape filename lpr -o landscape filenameThe ”-o orientation-requested=N” option rotates the page depending on the value of N:
- -o orientation-requested=3
portrait orientation (no rotation) - -o orientation-requested=4
landscape orientation (90 degrees) - -o orientation-requested=5
reverse landscape or seascape orientation (270 degrees) - -o orientation-requested=6
reverse portrait or upside-down orientation (180 degrees)
Printing On Both Sides of the Paper
The-o sides=two-sided-short-edge
and -o sides=two-sided-long-edge
options will enable two-sided printing on the printer if the printer supports it. The -o sides=two-sided-short-edge
option is suitable for landscape pages, while the -o sides=two-sided-long-edge
option is suitable for portrait pages:lp -o sides=two-sided-short-edge filename lp -o sides=two-sided-long-edge filename lpr -o sides=two-sided-long-edge filenameThe default is to print single-sided:
lp -o sides=one-sided filename lpr -o sides=one-sided filename
Selecting the Banner Page(s)
The-o jobsheets=start,end
option sets the banner page(s) to use for a job:lp -o job-sheets=none filename lp -o job-sheets=standard filename lpr -o job-sheets=classified,classified filenameIf only one banner file is specified, it will be printed before the files in the job. If a second banner file is specified, it is printed after the files in the job.
The available banner pages depend on the local system configuration; CUPS includes the following banner files:
- “none” - Do not produce a banner page.
- “classified” - A banner page with a “classified” label at the top and bottom.
- “confidential” - A banner page with a “confidential” label at the top and bottom.
- “secret” - A banner page with a “secret” label at the top and bottom.
- “standard” - A banner page with no label at the top and bottom.
- “topsecret” - A banner page with a “top secret” label at the top and bottom.
- “unclassified” - A banner page with an “unclassified” label at the top and bottom./li>
Holding Jobs for Later Printing
The-o job-hold-until=when
option tells CUPS to delay printing until the when
time, which can be one of the following:- -o job-hold-until=indefinite
print only after released by the user or an administrator - -o job-hold-until=day-time
print from 6am to 6pm local time - -o job-hold-until=night
print from 6pm to 6am local time - -o job-hold-until=second-shift
print from 4pm to 12am local time - -o job-hold-until=third-shift
print from 12am to 8am local time - -o job-hold-until=weekend
print on Saturday or Sunday - -o job-hold-until=HH:MM
print at the specified UTC time
Releasing Held Jobs
Aside from the web interface, you can use the lp command to release a held job:lp -i job-id -H resumewhere “job-id” is the job ID reported by the lpstat command.
Setting the Job Priority
The-o job-priority=NNN
option tells CUPS
to assign a priority to your job from 1 (lowest) to 100 (highest),
which influences where the job appears in the print queue. Higher
priority jobs are printed before lower priority jobs, however submitting
a new job with a high priority will not interrupt anSpecifying the Output Order
The-o outputorder=normal
and -o outputorder=reverse
options
specify the order of the pages. Normal order prints page 1 first, page 2
second, and so forth. Reverse order prints page 1 last.Selecting a Range of Pages
The-o page-ranges=pages
option selects a range of pages for printing:lp -o page-ranges=1 filename lp -o page-ranges=1-4 filename lp -o page-ranges=1-4,7,9-12 filename lpr -o page-ranges=1-4,7,9-12 filenameAs shown above, the “pages” value can be a single page, a range of pages, or a collection of page numbers and ranges separated by commas. The pages will always be printed in ascending order, regardless of the order of the pages in the “page-ranges” option.
The default is to print all pages.
Selecting Even or Odd Pages
Use the-o page-set=set
option to select the even or odd pages:lp -o page-set=odd filename lp -o page-set=even filename lpr -o page-set=even filenameThe default is to print all pages.
N-Up Printing
The-o number-up=value
option selects
N-Up printing. N-Up printing places multiple document pages on a single
printed page. CUPS supports 1, 2, 4, 6, 9, and 16-Up formats; the
default format is 1-Up:lp -o number-up=1 filename lp -o number-up=2 filename lp -o number-up=4 filename lpr -o number-up=16 filenameThe
-o page-border=value
option chooses the border to draw around each page:- -o page-border=double
draw two hairline borders around each page - -o page-border=double-thick
draw two 1pt borders around each page - -o page-border=none
do not draw a border (default) - -o page-border=single
draw one hairline border around each page - -o page-border=single-thick
draw one 1pt border around each page
-o number-up-layout=value
option chooses the layout of the pages on each output page:- -o number-up-layout=btlr
Bottom to top, left to right - -o number-up-layout=btrl
Bottom to top, right to left - -o number-up-layout=lrbt
Left to right, bottom to top - -o number-up-layout=lrtb
Left to right, top to bottom (default) - -o number-up-layout=rlbt
Right to left, bottom to top - -o number-up-layout=rltb
Right to left, top to bottom - -o number-up-layout=tblr
Top to bottom, left to right - -o number-up-layout=tbrl
Top to bottom, right to left
Scaling to Fit
The-o fitplot
option specifies that the document should be scaled to fit on the page:lp -o fitplot filename lpr -o fitplot filenameThe default is to use the size specified in the file.
Note:This feature depends upon an accurate size in the print file. If no size is given in the file, the page may be scaled incorrectly!
Printing in Reverse Order
The-o outputorder=reverse
option will print the pages in reverse order:lp -o outputorder=reverse filename lpr -o outputorder=reverse filenameSimilarly, the
-o outputorder=normal
option will print starting with page 1:lp -o outputorder=normal filename lpr -o outputorder=normal filenameThe default is
-o outputorder=normal
for printers that print face down and -o outputorder=reverse
for printers that print face up.Printing Mirrored Pages
The-o mirror option
flips each page along the vertical access to produce a mirrored image:lp -o mirror filename lpr -o mirror filenameThis is typically used when printing on T-shirt transfer media or sometimes on transparencies.