Administering Printers by Using CUPS Print Manager

This section describes how to administer printers by using CUPS Print Manager.

Configurable Printer Properties

Use the options in the Printer Properties dialog to modify the properties of a configured printer. For instructions, see How to Modify the Properties of a Configured Printer.

The Printer Properties dialog includes the following six sections for configuring new and existing printers:

• Settings

  In the Settings section, you can configure the following properties:

  Description

  Descriptive text about the printer.

  Location

  A description of the physical location of the printer.

  Device URI

  Information about the protocol that is used to access the printer. For example, you could use LPD to specify the RFC-1179 protocol or IPP to specify the Internet Printing Protocol.

  Make and Model

  Information about the make and model of the printer.

  The default setting for the Make and Model option can be changed by clicking the Change button.

  Printer State

  Information about the current status of the printer.

  Tests and Maintenance

  Contains the following options:

  • Print Test Page

  • Print Self-Test Page

  • Clean Print Heads

• Policies

  In the Policies section, you can configure the properties that control how a printer behaves.

  State

  Specifies the following printer states:

  • Enabled

  • Accepting Requests

  • Shared

  Note that more than one state can be specified at the same time.

  Policies

  Specifies how the printer behaves during error conditions.

  Banner

  Specifies whether starting or ending banner pages are printed with each print job.

• Access Control

  The Allow or Deny lists determine which users can print to the printer.

• Printer Options

  In the Printer Options section, you can configure printer-specific options.

  For example, for an HP LaserJet 3015, the following configurable options are displayed:

  • Imaging Options

  • Resolution Options

  • Watermark/Overlay

  The number and types of options are determined by the PPD file that is associated with the specified printer.

• Job Options

  Determines the options that are associated with a print job, for example, the number of copies and page orientation, as well as certain image options. The number and types of options are determined by the PPD file that is associated with the specified printer.

How to Modify the Properties of a Configured Printer

The following procedure describes how to modify the basic configuration of an existing printer. For a complete description of all of the properties that you can modify by using the CUPS Print Manager GUI, see Configurable Printer Properties.

1. Start the CUPS Print Manager GUI by choosing System → Administration → Print Manager from the desktop's main menubar or by typing the following command in a terminal window:

   $ system-config-printer

   The Printer configuration dialog is displayed listing all of the configured printers and any newly detected printers.

2. Right-click the name of the printer for which you want to modify the properties, then choose Properties.

   The Printer Properties dialog appears. The Properties dialog contains five separate sections, each of which contains properties that are grouped by category. By default, the Settings section of the dialog is displayed.

   In the Settings section, you can modify the following settings:

   • Description

   • Location

   • Device URI

   • Make and Model

3. To modify the printer description or location, type the new information in the corresponding text field.
4. To modify the device URI:
   1. Click the Change button next to the setting.
   2. From the list of available devices, select a device, then click Apply.

      For a description of the available devices, see Selecting a Print Device.

   3. When prompted, type the root password.

      You are returned to the Settings section.

5. To modify the printer make and model:
   1. Click the Change button next to the setting.
   2. In the Choose Driver window, select a printer make, then click Forward.

      ---

      Note - By default, CUPS uses the Select Printer From Database option and selects the appropriate printer-make for you. Alternatively, you can provide your own PPD file. For instructions, see Step 3 of How to Set Up a New Local Printer.

      ---

   3. From the left pane of the next Choose Driver window, select a printer model. From the right pane, select a printer driver, then click Forward.
   4. In the Existing Settings dialog, choose from the following options, then click Apply.

      • Use the new PPD as is.

      • Try to copy the option settings over from the old PPD.

   5. If prompted, type the root password.

      You are returned to the Settings section of the Printer Properties dialog.

6. Click OK.

How to Rename a Printer

1. Start the CUPS Print Manager GUI by choosing System → Administration → Print Manager from the desktop's main menubar or by typing the following command in a terminal window:

   $ system-config-printer

   The Printer configuration dialog appears, listing all of the configured printers and any newly detected printers.

2. Right-click the name of the printer that you want to rename.
3. Choose the Rename option.
4. Type a new name for the printer.
5. Type the root password when prompted.
6. Click OK to save the changes.

How to Copy a Printer Configuration

1. Start the CUPS Print Manager GUI by choosing System → Administration → Print Manager from the desktop's main menubar or by typing the following command in a terminal window:

   $ system-config-printer

   The Printer configuration dialog appears, listing all of the configured printers and any newly detected printers.

2. Right-click the name of the printer that you want to copy the configuration.
3. Choose the Copy option.
4. In the Copy Printer window, type a name for the printer, then click OK.
5. Type the root password when prompted.
6. Click OK.

How to Delete a Printer

1. Start the CUPS Print Manager GUI by choosing System → Administration → Print Manager from the desktop's main menubar or by typing the following command in a terminal window:

   $ system-config-printer

   The Printer configuration dialog appears, listing all of the configured printers and any newly detected printers.

2. Right-click the name of the printer that you want to delete, then choose Delete.
3. Click OK in the Confirm Deletion dialog.

How to Unshare or Share a Printer

By default, new printers are configured with the Share option enabled, which means they are published on the local network. This procedure describes how to unshare a printer or enable an unshared printer.

1. Start the CUPS Print Manager GUI by choosing System → Administration → Print Manager from the desktop's main menubar or by typing the following command in a terminal window:

   $ system-config-printer

   The Printer configuration dialog appears, listing all of the configured printers and any newly detected printers.

2. Right-click the printer name that you want to unshare, or share.
3. Select Share or Unshare option according to your requirement.
4. Type the root password when prompted.
5. Click OK.

How to Disable or Enable a Printer

When you configure a new printer by using CUPS Print Manager, the printer is enabled by default. This procedure describes how to disable or enable a printer.

1. Start the CUPS Print Manager GUI by choosing System → Administration → Print Manager from the desktop's main menubar or by typing the following command in a terminal window:

   $ system-config-printer

   The Printer configuration dialog appears, listing all of the configured printers and any newly detected printers.

2. Right-click the name of the printer that you want to disable, or enable.
3. Select Enable or Disable option according to your requirement.
4. Type the root password when prompted.
5. Click OK.

How to Manage Print Jobs for a Specified Printer

1. Start the CUPS Print Manager GUI by choosing System → Administration → Print Manager from the desktop's main menubar or by typing the following command in a terminal window:

   $ system-config-printer

   The Printer configuration dialog appears, listing all of the configured printers and any newly detected printers.

2. Right-click the name of the printer for which you want to manage print jobs, then choose View Print Queue.

   The Document Print Status (printer-name) window appears, listing all of the print jobs for the specified printer.

   In this window, you can view the following information:

   • Job

   • User

   • Document

   • Printer size

   • Time submitted

   • Status

3. To view information about completed jobs or printer status, select the appropriate option from the View menu.
4. To perform a specific action on a print job, select the print job, then select an action from the available choices on the menubar.

   Alternatively, you can right-click the name of a print job, and from the list of available options, select an action.

   You can view the following actions:

   • Cancel

   • Hold

   • Release

   • Reprint

5. (Optional) To refresh the View Print Queue window, choose View → Refresh.