KDE printer setup tool

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KDE printer

KDE - Printer Configuration

Download for openSUSE

Vendor: openSUSE

License: GPL



About

The KDE Systems Settings has a Printer module which can be used for the printer installation and configuration in openSUSE. It is found as of Leap 42.2 KDE desktop under Settings -> System Settings -> Printers. This is probably more user friendly than either CUPS configuration Settings -> Manage Prnting or the YaST Printer module found in the YaST Control Center under Hardware -> Printer. Do not confuse with System -> Print system which is another KDE utility

Features

  • Set up directly connected printers (usually USB printers)
  • Set up network printers (printers with a built-in network interface)
  • Configure how to print in the network (also to non-Linux systems)


Printing Basics

A printer device is not used directly by user application programs but via a print queue. When various application programs submit print jobs simultaneously, these jobs are put in a queue and are sent one after the other to the printer device.

The Common Unix Printing System (CUPS) is the server between user and printer. Application programs send their printing output to CUPS which queues the print jobs and processes them ony by one.

For each print job CUPS runs the printer driver and sends the printer driver's output to the printer device. The printer driver produces the final printer-specific data which actually lets the printer print.

To do this, CUPS must know which printer driver belongs to the printer device and how the printer device is connected to the computer so that CUPS can send printing data to the printer device.

Therefore "set up a printer" means to "set up a print queue" and tell CUPS for the particular queue:

  • How the printer device is connected to the computer.
  • Which printer driver belongs to the printer device.

See Concepts printing for more information about printing basics.

The module provides an interface to CUPS.

Requirements for Printing

  • The printer must be supported by openSUSE, see SDB:Installing a Printer
  • Check that the printer is properly connected to the computer, and that it is powered on.
  • The CUPS driver configuration file for the printer. You might have to download or find it.

Printer Configuration

There are various other printer setup tools.

  • YaST printer module
  • Gnome printer setup tool (system-config-printer)
  • KDE printer setup tool
  • CUPS web frontend (http://localhost:631/admin)
  • CUPS command line tools (lpadmin and lpinfo)
  • HP's HPLIP driver setup tool "hp-setup" (only for HP devices)

Which ones are available depend upon your desktop and are subject to change


Other configuration

Regarding firewall see SDB:CUPS and SANE Firewall settings.

See also

Portal:Printing