Using PPD Files To Set Up Printers
Support for setting up and administering printers with PPD files has been incorporated
into the Solaris print subsystem. Two interface scripts, standard_foomatic, and netstandard_foomatic, are available.
These interface scripts provide the generic Solaris interface between the Solaris spooler and
the back-end process of the Solaris print server.
The following are examples of the types of printers that are supported:
Lexmark Optra E312
Epson Stylus Photo 1280
Canon BJC-55
QMS magicolor 2+
Raster Image Processor Support
The raster image support in the Solaris OS (RIP) enables you to
print to printers that do not have resident PostScript processing capabilities. The Solaris
printing software provides the print server RIP and supporting technologies. The RIP occurs
behind the scenes. However, to use the appropriate driver you need to configure
each printer by using either Solaris Print Manager or the lpadmin -n command.
For step-by-step instructions on using the lpadmin -n command, see How to Add a New Directly Attached Printer by Using LP Print Service Commands.
Support for PostScript Printer Description Files
The lpadmin and lpstat commands, as well as the Solaris Print Manager printer
definition screens, support the use of PPD files.
The following new software packages are associated with this feature:
SUNWa2psr
SUNWa2psu
SUNWespgs
SUNWffiltersr
SUNWffiltersu
SUNWfppd
SUNWgimpprint
SUNWhpijs
SUNWimagick
SUNWpsutils
For more information about supported printers, see Where to Find Information About Supported Printers and Available PPD Files.
Where to Find Information About Supported Printers and Available PPD Files
Caution - The location where the PPD files and the ppdcache file is stored
are private, as is the contents of the ppdcache file. The placement
of these files and the contents of the ppdcache are subject to change.
Do not build software that relies on these files being in their current
location or that relies on the data being in the format that is
currently used.
If the file required by your printer is not available, you can
add your own PPD file. If you use the lpadmin -n command to create
a new print queue, you can store your own PPD files anywhere
that you choose. If you are running the Solaris 10 OS, and you
use Solaris Print Manager to create the print queue, the PPD file must
have an entry in the ppdcache file.
If you are running at least the Solaris Express Developer Edition 5/07 release,
PPD files are located in any of following four repositories on the system:
- /usr/share/ppd
Specifies the system repository.
- /usr/local/share/ppd
Specifies the admin repository.
- /opt/share/ppd
Specifies the vendor repository.
- /var/lp/ppd
Specifies the user repository.
Copies of PPD files that are specified by using the lpadmin command with
the -n option, or by using the -a option with the ppdmgr command
are stored in the user repository under the same PPD file name.
If you use the ppdmgr utility with the -a and the -R options,
a copy of the specified PPD file can be stored in the admin
repository.
If you create a print queue with Solaris Print Manager, and no
entry exists for the PPD file in the ppdcache file, you can use the
ppdmgr utility to add the file to the system. The cache of PPD
file information that Solaris Print Manager uses is then updated to reflect any
changes you make by using either of these two methods.
If you are not running at least the Solaris Express Developer Edition 5/07
release, PPD files are located in the /usr/lib/lp/model/ppd/system directory or any alternate
directory that you specify.
The output of the ls command lists all the PPD files for
a particular printer manufacturer.
For additional task-related information, see Administering Printers That Are Associated With PPD Files (Task Map).
