Command-Line Printing in Linux
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| 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
The actual options supported are defined in the printer's PPD file in
the “PageSize”, “InputSlot”, and “MediaType” options. You can list them
using the
lpoptions(1) command:
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 filename
where “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 filename
The ”-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 filename
The 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 filename
If 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 resume
where “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 an
Specifying 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 filename
As 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 filename
The 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 filename
The
-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
The
-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 filename
The 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 filename
Similarly, the
-o outputorder=normal option will print starting with page 1:
lp -o outputorder=normal filename
lpr -o outputorder=normal filename
The 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 filename
This is typically used when printing on T-shirt transfer media or sometimes on transparencies.
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