image\overbutt.gifSharing printers with non-Windows clients

When you connect a printer to your Linux computer, it is automatically shared with other Linux or UNIX computers on the network. A printer that is connected to another computer in a non-Windows network is called a remote printer.

To print to a remote printer, clients have to configure the printcap file on their computers with the path to the remote printer. When a client prints a file to a remote printer, the file is spooled in the local spool directory. The lpd daemon then sends the file across the network to the remote printer specified in the client's printcap file.

You can control how your printer is shared by configuring the printcap and lpd.perms files on your machines. The printcap file contains all of the printer configuration information. The lpd.perms file contains printing permissions. Both files are located in the /etc/ directory.

For information about the options you can configure in the printcap and lpd.perms files, see the printcap and lpd.perms man pages.

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