TurboPrint drivers are integrated into your Linux system in a completely compatible way (creating printer queues in /etc/printcap), so printing works just as with every other Linux printer driver.
From the shell, files can be printed using the "lpr" command:
lpr -Pprintername file(s)
If CUPS is installed on your system, the following alternative print command exists (depending on the Linux distribution the "lpr" command is no longer available):
lp -d printername file(s)
Instead of printer name the short name of the printer must be entered, which is shown in TurboPrint's xtpsetup or xtpconfig setup or configuration tools. The default name for the first printer that is set up by TurboPrint is "tp0". So if you want to print a postscript file named "test.ps", just enter
lpr -Ptp0 test.ps
Another way is to use lpr is to put it at the end of a "pipe" - the output of one command is used as input from lpr. This is useful if a file is formated or converted first before it is sent to the printer.
Examples:
a2ps --output=- textfile.txt | lpr -Ptp0
An ASCII file is converted to a postscript file using the a2ps command. The output is printed by lpr.
For more information on lpr see its man page (man lpr).
To print ASCII text files in a certain layout, you can call a2ps or enscript directly. Here are some examples:
a2ps --portrait --borders=0 --columns=1 --no-header --printer=tp0 myfile.txt
enscript --portrait --columns=1 --no-header --printer=tp0 myfile.txt
a2ps --landscape --borders=1 --columns=2 --printer=tp0 myfile.txt
enscript --landscape --borders --columns=2 --printer=tp0 myfile.txt
For more information on a2ps and enscript see
the man pages (man a2ps, man enscript).
Many common file types like postscript documents, plain ASCII files or JPG images are automatically recognized by TurboPrint and can be printed directly from command line.
Responsible for correctly discerning the file type is the
TurboPrint printer filter, "tpfilter". It uses the shell command
"file" for recognizing the MIME file type.
Please have a look at the tpfilter man page to see which file
types are currently supported and which commands are used
for file conversion (man tpfilter).
If a file format is not supported by tpfilter (like some image formats) it must be converted first.
Internally, printing from an application looks just like printing from shell: The application programs creates a temporary file with the page(s) that should be printed (usually in postscript format) and starts the lpr command.
In most applications the user can determine
whether another print command should be used instead of lpr and
which parameters should be used for it (e.g. -Ptp0 to choose
a certain printer).
Some applications also show a list of all printer queues on the system. Simply select your printer in this list.
Note: for every printer queue set up by TurboPrint, also a "raw" queue is created (e.g. "Epson_StylusColor680raw"). This is normally used to print from other computers on a network. Don't choose this raw queue.
Click on the image to be printed with the right mouse button, then choose "File -> Print...". In the frame "Printer Settings", button "Printer" choose the short name of your printer. Set "Media Size" to the desired paper size.
Then click on the "Setup" button.
Choose "PostScript Level 2" as the printer driver. Dont choose any of the manufacturer specific drivers (Epson / HP / ...)! The default in the field command must be slightly changed. Please remove the "-oraw" option. The correct entry is:
lp -s -dprintername
For older versions of GIMP the command line must be changed from "/usr/bin/lpr -Pprintername -l" to
/usr/bin/lpr -Pprintername
The field "PPD File" can be left empty. Only if you're using the CUPS printing system should choose the PPD file for your printer from the directory
/usr/share/cups/model/turboprint
Press "OK" to close the "Setup" dialog.
As GIMP prints the picture a bit too bright you should open the Dialog "Adjust Colors" and change the "Gamma" setting to 0.55. At this point everything is set up correctly for TurboPrint.
Now you can choose the print size and position of the image. Use the "Scaling" slider to change the picture size. The print position can be changed either by moving the black square in the preview or by entering the position in the fields "Left" and "Top". Use "Center Image" to position the image in the middle of the page.
Finally choose "Print" or "Print And Save Settings" to print the picture or just "Save Settings" to save the settings you made.
The print dialog can be opened with the "File" menu, option "Print...".
For use with TurboPrint, choose
Print To: Printer
Print Command: lpr -Pprintername
The other settings in the dialog can be set as needed. Just make sure to select the correct paper size.
Before you can print, you must first setup one or several printers.
Click on "Printer Setup" on the StarOffice desktop.
Select "Generic Printer" on the list of available printer drivers. Then choose "Add new printer" - a new entry will appear in the list of installed printers.
If you are using the CUPS printing system you should add a new printer driver instead of using the generic printer driver. Choose "Install new driver" and enter the path to the CUPS PPD files ("Driver Directory - Browse"). The path is by default
/usr/share/cups/model/turboprint
Choose the correct printer and click on the "Ok" button. Now the new printer will appear in the list of StarOffice printer drivers. Choose it again in the printer driver list and choose "Add new printer" - a new entry will appear in the list of installed printers.
Choose "Connect..." to open the following dialog:
Select the printer queue of your choice (e.g. "tp0") and close the dialog with "OK".
Now open the "Configure" dialog with the button "Configure..."
Choose the default page size and orientation. Then set "PostScript Level"="2" and "Color space"="Color". If you're using the CUPS printing system, you also have to choose the print resolution (DPI). Close the dialog with "OK".
Finally, you can change the printer name with "Rename". Now close the "Printer Setup" dialog - everything is set up.
Open the "Print" dialog with the menu "File" / "Print".
Choose your printer. In the "Properties..." dialog you can change the page size and the color mode, if you want to. With the CUPS printing system you can also change settings like print resolution and print media. Thats it! Just press "OK" to print.
Note: The printout may need much time to process if you have chosen "TrueColor" mode in TurboPrint's xtpconfig configuration menu. You can speed up the printout a lot by choosing "Black & White". Also with the "256 color" or "Grayscale" modes printing speed will be a bit higher.
Most KDE applications use a standard print dialog.
The available printers are listed with their long (left column) and short names (right name). You only need to select your printer and make sure that the correct paper size is chosen.
If you use TurboPrint, the conversion from the document or image format (e.g. Postscript, PPM, ...) to the printer command language (e.g. ESC/P or PCL) will always be done on the local workstation (where the "lpr" command has been issued).
This means that on the printer server, a printer queue without any further conversion or "filtering" must exist. If TurboPrint is used to create printer queues on the printer server, it will automatically create such "raw printer queues" for access from client computers. These are named like the normal printer queues plus the ending "raw". For example, if the short name of a TurboPrint configuration is called "tp0", the raw printer queue is named "tp0raw".
This raw printer queue must be chosen in xtpsetup on the client computer.
Example for the configuration of a network printer in xtpsetup (the printer server is named "printerserver", the raw printer queue on the server is "tp0raw"):
If the printer server is a windows computer accessed via SAMBA, it will always interpret the data as "raw". Example for the configuration of a windows network printer in xtpsetup (the printer server is named "windowspc", the printer on the server has been shared using the name "hp":
If you want to share a printer that is connected to your Linux workstation to a windows computer, the SAMBA package must be installed and running. In the SAMBA configuration file, the printer queue must be made accessible for access from the network.
Which printer driver should be chosen on the windows computer? There are two general possibilities:
If the CUPS printing system is installed on your Linux computer print jobs that come from a Windows computer are by default sent to the printer without changes.
It that doesn't work on your installation, you have to edit the configuration file
/etc/smb.conf
on your Linux computer. In the section for the printer the line
print command = lpr -l -r -P%d %s
must be added (or modified, if the entry "print command" already exists). Thus print commands from Windows will be interpreted as "raw".
/etc/smb.conf
print command = lpr -r -P%d %s