HP-UX System Administrator's Guide: Overview

HP-UX provides a library of sample files corresponding to most HP printers (or printer

families) -- examples: “laserjet”, “colorlaserjet”, “PCL5” -- and some sample

files corresponding to generic printer families (for example “postscript”).

When you set up a printer in the line printer spooling system (whether through a tool

like the System Management Homepage or directly by using the shell based lpadmin

command), you specify a printer model script to be associated with the printer you are

setting up. A copy of the specified model script (one of the previously mentioned

sample files) is copied from the /usr/spool/lp/model directory into the /usr/

spool/lp/interface directory (which is actually a symbolic link to the directory

/etc/lp/interface

where the copy will physically reside).

Printer model files are required in the following procedures:

• Adding a Local Printer to the LP Spooler — see HP-UX System Administrator’s

Guide: Configuration Management (Chapter 6: Configuring Printers)

• Adding a Remote Printer to the LP Spooler — see HP-UX System Administrator’s

Guide: Configuration Management (Chapter 6: Configuring Printers)

• Adding a Network-Based Printer — see HP-UX System Administrator’s Guide:

Configuration Management (Chapter 6: Configuring Printers)

The model scripts are ASCII files that you can read to find one that matches the printer's

capabilities. Protocols like the Printer Command Language (PCL) or PostScript are

understood by many non-HP printers as well. The printer's user guide may reveal

details like the PCL language level supported by the printer that are necessary to find

the model script that allows to make the best use of the printer's features.

Even model scripts written to support a specific printer type might not support all

features offered by it. Therefore, they might benefit from customizing. The scripts can

be edited though it is probably better practice to copy one to a file of a new name and

edit the copy (in order to prevent your customization from being overwritten should

a new version of the original script be delivered in a future update to HP-UX).

If there is no model file to match the protocol used by your printer, the one named

"dumb" offers some basic functionality and should work with most non-HP printers.

There is also a "dumbplot" model script for plotters.

The /usr/sbin/lpadmin command copies the identified model script to

/etc/lp/interface/printername. See lpadmin(1M) for information on the

command options.

Printer Types

A local printer is physically connected to your system. To configure a local printer, see

HP-UX System Administrator’s Guide: Configuration Management (Chapter 6: Configuring

Printers).

Because everything under the /usr mount point is supposed to be treated as read-only and the contents

of the interface directory are supposed to be editable. See /usr in the section Key HP-UX Directories.

80 Major Components of HP-UX