README.txt

   1 README - CUPS v1.2.0 - 12/26/2001
   2 ---------------------------------
   3
   4 Looking for compile instructions?  Read the file "INSTALL.txt"
   5 instead...
   6
   7
   8 INTRODUCTION
   9
  10 CUPS provides a portable printing layer for UNIX(r)-based
  11 operating systems.  It has been developed by Easy Software
  12 Products to promote a standard printing solution for all UNIX
  13 vendors and users.  CUPS provides the System V and Berkeley
  14 command-line interfaces.
  15
  16 CUPS uses the Internet Printing Protocol ("IPP") as the basis
  17 for managing print jobs and queues.  The Line Printer Daemon
  18 ("LPD") Server Message Block ("SMB"), and AppSocket (a.k.a.
  19 JetDirect) protocols are also supported with reduced
  20 functionality.  CUPS adds network printer browsing and
  21 PostScript Printer Description ("PPD") based printing options to
  22 support real-world printing under UNIX.
  23
  24 CUPS also includes a customized version of GNU Ghostscript
  25 (currently based off GNU Ghostscript 5.50) and an image file RIP
  26 that are used to support non-PostScript printers.  Sample
  27 drivers for HP and EPSON printers are included that use these
  28 filters.
  29
  30 Drivers for thousands of printers are provided with our ESP
  31 Print Pro software, available at:
  32
  33         http://www.easysw.com/printpro
  34
  35 CUPS is licensed under the GNU General Public License and GNU
  36 Library General Public License.  Please contact Easy Software
  37 Products for commercial support and "binary distribution"
  38 rights.
  39
  40
  41 SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS
  42
  43 Binary distributions require a minimum of 10MB of free disk
  44 space. We do not recommend using CUPS on a workstation with less
  45 than 32MB of RAM or a PC with less than 16MB of RAM.
  46
  47 If you are installing from source you'll need ANSI-compliant C
  48 and C++ compilers and optionally one or more image file support
  49 libraries.  Complete source installation instructions can be
  50 found in the file "INSTALL.txt".
  51
  52
  53 SOFTWARE REQUIREMENTS
  54
  55 The following operating system software is required to install
  56 one of the binary distributions from Easy Software Products:
  57
  58     - AIX 4.3 or higher
  59     - Compaq Tru64 UNIX (aka OSF1 aka Digital UNIX) 4.0 or higher
  60     - HP-UX 10.20 or higher
  61     - IRIX 5.3 or higher
  62     - Linux 2.0 with glibc2 or higher
  63     - Solaris 2.5 or higher (SPARC or Intel)
  64
  65
  66 INSTALLING "PORTABLE" CUPS DISTRIBUTIONS
  67
  68 We are currently distributing "portable" CUPS binary
  69 distributions in TAR format with installation and removal
  70 scripts generated by our ESP Package Manager (EPM) software,
  71 which is available from:
  72
  73     http://www.easysw.com/epm
  74
  75 WARNING: Installing CUPS will overwrite your existing printing
  76 system. Backup files are made by the installation script and
  77 restored by the removal script, so if you experience problems
  78 you should be able to remove the CUPS software to restore your
  79 previous configuration.  However, Easy Software Products makes
  80 no warranty for this and will not be liable for any lost
  81 revenues, etc.
  82
  83 To install the CUPS software you will need to be logged in as
  84 root (doing an "su" is good enough).  Once you are the root
  85 user, run the installation script with:
  86
  87     ./cups.install ENTER
  88
  89 After asking you a few yes/no questions the CUPS software will
  90 be installed and the scheduler will be started automatically.
  91
  92
  93 INSTALLING HOST-SPECIFIC (RPM, DEBIAN, ETC.) DISTRIBUTIONS
  94
  95 The host-specific distributions use the operating system
  96 software installation tools.  To install a host-specific
  97 distribution please consult the CUPS Software Administrators
  98 Manual or your operating system documentation.
  99
 100
 101 READING THE DOCUMENTATION
 102
 103 Once you have installed the software you can access the
 104 documentation (and a bunch of other stuff) on-line at:
 105
 106     http://localhost:631
 107
 108 If you're having trouble getting that far, the documentation is
 109 located in the "/usr/share/doc/cups" directory in the binary
 110 distributions, and under the "doc" directory in the source
 111 archives.
 112
 113 Please read the documentation before asking questions.
 114
 115
 116 GETTING SUPPORT AND OTHER RESOURCES
 117
 118 If you have problems, READ THE DOCUMENTATION FIRST!
 119
 120 You can subscribe to the CUPS mailing list by sending a message
 121 containing "subscribe cups" to majordomo@cups.org.  This list is
 122 provided to discuss problems, questions, and improvements to the
 123 CUPS software.  New releases of CUPS are announced to this list
 124 as well.
 125
 126 Commercial support (with a guaranteed response time) is
 127 available from Easy Software Products.  For more information
 128 see:
 129
 130     http://www.easysw.com/cups
 131
 132 See the CUPS web site at "http://www.cups.org" for other site
 133 links.
 134
 135
 136 SETTING UP PRINTER QUEUES USING YOUR WEB BROWSER
 137
 138 CUPS 1.1 includes a new web-based administration tool that
 139 allows you to manage printers, classes, and jobs on your
 140 server.  To access the printer administration tools open the
 141 following URL in your browser:
 142
 143     http://localhost:631/admin
 144
 145 You will be asked for the administration password (root or any
 146 other user in the sys/system/root group on your system) and then
 147 shown a menu of available functions.
 148
 149 DO NOT use the hostname for your machine - it will not work with
 150 the default CUPS configuration.  To enable administration access
 151 on other addresses, consult the CUPS Software Administrators
 152 Manual.
 153
 154
 155 SETTING UP PRINTER QUEUES FROM THE COMMAND-LINE
 156
 157 CUPS works best with PPD (PostScript Printer Description)
 158 files.  In a pinch you can also use System V style printer
 159 interface scripts.
 160
 161 Six sample PPD files are provided with this distribution that
 162 utilize the PostScript and image file RIPs and the sample EPSON
 163 and HP printer drivers.  To add the sample DeskJet driver to the
 164 system for a printer connected to the parallel port, use one of
 165 the following commands:
 166
 167     Digital UNIX:
 168
 169         /usr/lib/lpadmin -p DeskJet -m deskjet.ppd -v parallel:/dev/lp0 -E
 170
 171     HP-UX:
 172
 173         /usr/lib/lpadmin -p DeskJet -m deskjet.ppd -v parallel:/dev/c2t0d0_lp -E
 174
 175     IRIX:
 176
 177         /usr/lib/lpadmin -p DeskJet -m deskjet.ppd -v parallel:/dev/plp -E
 178
 179     Linux:
 180
 181         /usr/lib/lpadmin -p DeskJet -m deskjet.ppd -v parallel:/dev/lp0 -E
 182         /usr/lib/lpadmin -p DeskJet -m deskjet.ppd -v parallel:/dev/lp1 -E
 183         /usr/lib/lpadmin -p DeskJet -m deskjet.ppd -v parallel:/dev/lp2 -E
 184
 185     Solaris:
 186
 187         /usr/lib/lpadmin -p DeskJet -m deskjet.ppd -v parallel:/dev/bpp0 -E
 188         /usr/lib/lpadmin -p DeskJet -m deskjet.ppd -v parallel:/dev/ecpp0 -E
 189
 190 Similarly, for the other sample drivers you can use:
 191
 192     Driver                         PPD File
 193     -----------------------------  ------------
 194     Dymo Label Printers            dymo.ppd
 195     EPSON Stylus Color Series      stcolor.ppd
 196     EPSON Stylus Photo Series      stphoto.ppd
 197     EPSON Stylus New Color Series  stcolor2.ppd
 198     EPSON Stylus New Photo Series  stphoto2.ppd
 199     EPSON 9-pin Series             epson9.ppd
 200     EPSON 24-pin Series            epson24.ppd
 201     HP DeskJet Series              deskjet.ppd
 202     HP New DeskJet Series          deskjet2.ppd
 203     HP LaserJet Series             laserjet.ppd
 204     OKIDATA 9-Pin Series           okidata9.ppd
 205     OKIDATA 24-Pin Series          okidat24.ppd
 206
 207 These sample drivers provide basic printing capabilities, but
 208 generally do not exercise the full potential of the printers or
 209 CUPS.  For commercial printer drivers check out our ESP Print
 210 Pro software at:
 211
 212     http://www.easysw.com/printpro
 213
 214
 215 PRINTING FILES
 216
 217 CUPS provides both the System V "lp" and Berkeley "lpr" commands
 218 for printing:
 219
 220     lp filename
 221     lpr filename
 222
 223 Both the "lp" and "lpr" commands support printing options for
 224 the driver:
 225
 226     lp -omedia=A4 -oresolution=600dpi filename
 227     lpr -omedia=A4 -oresolution=600dpi filename
 228
 229 CUPS recognizes many types of images files as well as PDF,
 230 PostScript, HP-GL/2, and text files, so you can print those
 231 files directly rather than through an application.
 232
 233 If you have an application that generates output specifically
 234 for your printer then you need to use the "-oraw" or "-l"
 235 options:
 236
 237     lp -oraw filename
 238     lpr -l filename
 239
 240 This will prevent the filters from misinterpreting your print
 241 file.
 242
 243
 244 LEGAL STUFF
 245
 246 CUPS is Copyright 1993-2002 by Easy Software Products.  CUPS,
 247 the CUPS logo, and the Common UNIX Printing System are the
 248 trademark property of Easy Software Products.
 249
 250 The MD5 Digest code is Copyright 1999 Aladdin Enterprises.
 251
 252 The PostScript RIP software (pstoraster) is based on the GNU
 253 Ghostscript 5.50 core, Copyright 1986-1998 by Aladdin
 254 Enterprises.
 255
 256 The PDF filter (pdftops) is based on the Xpdf 0.92 software,
 257 Copyright 1996-2002 by Derek B. Noonburg.
 258
 259 This software is based in part on the work of the Independent
 260 JPEG Group.
 261
 262 CUPS is provided under the terms of the GNU General Public
 263 License and GNU Library General Public License. This program is
 264 distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but WITHOUT ANY
 265 WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY
 266 or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the "LICENSE.html",
 267 "LICENSE.txt", or "cups.license" files for more information.
 268
 269 For commercial licensing information, please contact:
 270
 271     Attn: CUPS Licensing Information
 272     Easy Software Products
 273     44141 Airport View Drive, Suite 204
 274     Hollywood, Maryland 20636-3111 USA
 275
 276     Voice: +1.301.373.9600
 277     Email: cups-info@cups.org
 278     WWW: http://www.cups.org
 279
 280 Note that commercial licensors may also require a license from
 281 Artifex Software Inc. which handles commercial licensing of the
 282 Ghostscript software, and from Derek B. Noonburg who developed
 283 the Xpdf software used to print PDF files.