An introduction to printing
My CUPS Runneth Over
Using the Common Unix Printing System, you can configure and manage your printer from the command line.
Printing in Linux has changed out of all recognition from the early days. Today, you no longer need a PostScript printer or to set the options for print laboriously by hand. Thanks to OpenPrinting’s database, you can immediately find whether a given printer will work on Linux, and, thanks to CUPS (originally, the Common Unix Printing System), you can easily configure a printer with a GUI. As with most of the inner workings of a Linux system, however, working at the command line remains the easiest way to see what is actually going on when you print.
Before you dive into the subject of printing, a very brief reminder of the basics might be useful. Today, all major distributions install CUPS as a matter of course, as well as a number of printer drivers in the form of PostScript Printer Descriptions (PPDs), which are generally stored in /usr/share/ppd and consist of a series of formatting and operational options. Should you need more PPDs, look in your distribution’s repositories for the HPLIP, Gutenprint, and Foomatic Database drivers, the basic sources for printer support.
Buy this article as PDF
(incl. VAT)
Buy Linux Magazine
US / Canada
UK / Australia
Subscribe to our Linux Newsletters
Find Linux and Open Source Jobs
Subscribe to our ADMIN Newsletters
Support Our Work
Linux Magazine content is made possible with support from readers like you. Please consider contributing when you’ve found an article to be beneficial.
News
-
Gnome’s Dash to Panel Extension Gets a Massive Update
If you're a fan of the Gnome Dash to Panel extension, you'll be thrilled to hear that a new version has been released with a dock mode.
-
Blender App Makes it to the Big Screen
The animated film "Flow" won the Oscar for Best Animated Feature at the 97th Academy Awards held on March 2, 2025 and Blender was a part of it.
-
Linux Mint Retools the Cinnamon App Launcher
The developers of Linux Mint are working on an improved Cinnamon App Launcher with a better, more accessible UI.
-
New Linux Tool for Security Issues
Seal Security is launching a new solution to automate fixing Linux vulnerabilities.
-
Ubuntu 25.04 Coming Soon
Ubuntu 25.04 (Plucky Puffin) has been given an April release date with many notable updates.
-
Gnome Developers Consider Dropping RPM Support
In a move that might shock a lot of users, the Gnome development team has proposed the idea of going straight up Flatpak.
-
openSUSE Tumbleweed Ditches AppArmor for SELinux
If you're an openSUSE Tumbleweed user, you can expect a major change to the distribution.
-
Plasma 6.3 Now Available
Plasma desktop v6.3 has a couple of pretty nifty tricks up its sleeve.
-
LibreOffice 25.2 Has Arrived
If you've been hoping for a release that offers more UI customizations, you're in for a treat.
-
TuxCare Has a Big AlmaLinux 9 Announcement in Store
TuxCare announced it has successfully completed a Security Technical Implementation Guide for AlmaLinux OS 9.