Printing with Blue / Linux

This page describes the procedure involved in setting up printing using the Blue / Linux for DOS / Windows installation.

Introduction

Setting up Linux to print can be somewhat tricky to say the least. The reason for this is that printing in the UNIX world has long been synonymous with PostScript. PostScript is a programming language developed by Adobe used to describe printed pages at the level of characters, lines, etc.

So, if your printer understands PostScript, everything is easy - you just send the PostScript directly to the printer. Unfortunately, not many people have PostScript printers attached to their computers at home. This is where the difficulty comes in. Instead of sending the PostScript directly to the printer, it is first sent to a PostScript interpreter program, which executes the PostScript code and generates output for the printer.

The Procedure

Installation

Some programs that are necessary for printing and printer configuration were not installed with the standard installation to save space. The first thing you need to do is install those programs. The RedHat packages you need are: All of these packages are on the Blue / Linux CD-ROM in the directory RedHat/RPMS. If you can access your CD-ROM under Linux (try typing mount /mnt/cdrom ; ls /mnt/cdrom as root to check), then you can install directly from the CD-ROM. Otherwise, you will need to use DOS or MS Windows to copy the files from the CD-ROM to your hard disk somewhere (e.g. c:\blueinst).

If you copy the files using DOS to c:\blueinst then file names will be truncated. Your installation directory will be /mnt/dos/blueinst.

If you can access your CD-ROM using Linux (preferred method), the installation directory is /mnt/cdrom/RedHat/RPMS

To install the packages, first log in as root. Then cd to the installation directory (see above) and type the following command:

rpm -i <filename>

Repeat this command, replacing <filename> with each of the packages listed above. Remember that if you used DOS to copy the files from the CD-ROM then their names will have changed.

Configuration

Now you have all the software you need installed, the next step is to set up your system for your particular printer. To do this, run startx as root. You will get a different configuration to the usual one. In an xterm window, type:
printtool

This will bring up the RedHat printer configuration tool. Click "Add", then choose "local printer" and click "Okay". You shouldn't need to change anything in the following dialog box, just click on the "Select" button next to "Input Filters".

Another dialog box will pop up. In there you should choose the closest match for your printer. There isn't a great range of printers supported, but most printers will at least emulate one of the ones provided.

Once you have chosen your printer, click "Okay", then "Okay" again. In the top window, choose "Restart lpd" from the "lpd" menu.

You should now be able to print PostScript or text files by running:

lpr <filename>

If you have any comments or questions, please contact me.