Simple printing via LPR protocol

Problems and successes with specific brands/models of printers
Post Reply
Message
Author
User avatar
greengeek
Posts: 5789
Joined: Tue 20 Jul 2010, 09:34
Location: Republic of Novo Zelande

Simple printing via LPR protocol

#1 Post by greengeek »

I would like to use the LPR protocol to print to a network attached copier/printer which I am told does support LPR.

My understanding is that I should be able to do this if the following conditions are met:

1) My puppy needs to have the LPR protocol installed
2) I need to know the IP address of the copier and my puppy PC must be on the same network (ie I can successfully ping the copier)
3) I have a xxx.txt file ready to send.

In other words, I do not need a driver. Is this true? I can print basic docs without a driver? What syntax would I use? Is LPR standard on any/many puppy(s)?

thanks in advance.

User avatar
rcrsn51
Posts: 13096
Joined: Tue 05 Sep 2006, 13:50
Location: Stratford, Ontario

#2 Post by rcrsn51 »

CUPS can access a networked printer using LPD/LPR. Have you tried the CUPS wizard to see what happens? What printer make and model are we talking about?

User avatar
greengeek
Posts: 5789
Joined: Tue 20 Jul 2010, 09:34
Location: Republic of Novo Zelande

#3 Post by greengeek »

rcrsn51 wrote: What printer make and model are we talking about?
A whole range of makes and models. My job entails servicing printers and copiers (and troubleshooting network connectivity). The brands I work on are mostly HP, Konica Minolta, Brother, Lexmark, Mita and Kyocera.. In order to prove basic printing connectivity to a device some of the guys at work use LPR. Of course they use Windows, but I mostly use puppy for my offline testing (I don't connect my PC to the customer's network). Not all models support LPR but many apparently do.

From what I have been told LPR is a 'standard' protocol which allows low-level data transfer to any printer that supports it, without any need for installation of a driver. (of course I might be about to discover that this is not true...).

If such a thing is possible then it will help me to prove that a machine can not only respond to a ping, but also handle basic print data packets. (sometimes a customer's network is firewalled in such a way that pings and LPR are disabled, so I need to be able to prove that the printer itself is handling the connectivity properly, therefore the network is the source of the problem)

I haven't tried CUPS because I thought it required specific drivers for each machine. I thought LPR (and telnet, which I am also usng) would be more in the realm of network utilities than printing utilities and I figured CUPS would just add another layer that I'm not very good with...

gcmartin

#4 Post by gcmartin »

moved.

Post Reply