Specifications

6-3
System V Printer Configuration
You can customize the print service by adjusting or replacing some of the items shown in
the Overview of Print Request Processing figure (the numbers in the following list
correspond to the numbered items in the diagram).
1. Print service configuration: For most printers, you need only change the printer
configuration stored on disk. See the lpadmin command for adding or modifying a local
printer.
2. terminfo database: For printers that are not represented in the terminfo database, you
can add a new entry that describes the capabilities of the printer. See Adding a Printer
Entry to the terminfo Database on page 6-14. The print service uses the terminfo
database in two parallel capacities: screening print requests to ensure that those
accepted can be handled by the desired printer, and setting the printer so it is ready to
print the requests.
For example, if the terminfo database does not show a printer capable of setting a page
length requested by a user, the spooling daemon rejects the request. However, if it does
show it to be capable, then the interface program uses the same information to initialize
the printer.
3. Standard Interface Program: If you have a particularly complicated printer or if you want
to use features not provided by the print service, you can change the interface script.
This script is responsible for managing the printer: it prints the banner page, initializes
the printer, and invokes a filter to send copies of the user’s files to the printer.
4. Optional filters: To provide a link between the applications used on your system and the
printers, you can add slow and fast filters. Each type of filter can convert a file into
another form, for example, mapping one set of escape sequences into another, and can
provide a special setup by interpreting print modes requested by a user. Slow filters are