Setting Printer Preferences on Linux Systems

To access the Printer Preferences tool, click Launch, then choose Preferences -> Printer Preferences.

You can use the Printer Preferences tool to add printers and to manage print and job queues.

To Add a New Printer

Perform the following steps:

1. Click Launch, then choose Preferences -> Printer Preferences.

2. Double-click on the New Printer icon.

   If you are not logged in as root user, you are prompted to enter the root password, then click OK.

3. Follow the instructions in the Add a Printer assistant as follows.

   • Specify whether you want to add a local printer attached to your computer or a remote printer attached to the network.

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     Note –

     Before you add a remote printer, you must have the following information from your system administrator: Printer Type, Host, and Queue.

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   • Enter the printer details.

   • Enter the name for your printer.

   • If the details you entered for your printer are correct, click Apply to add your printer.

To Manage Print Jobs

To manage your print jobs, double-click on the printer icon. Choose the Edit menu item to perform print job management activities.

Table 7–24 lists the print job management activities that you can perform.

Table 7–24 Print Job Management Activities

Dialog Element	Description
Pause Jobs	Select this item to temporarily stop your job from printing.
Resume Jobs	Select this item to resume your printing job.
Cancel Jobs	Select this item to cancel your printing job.

To Manage Printer Queues

The print queue shows the documents that are waiting to be printed. You can perform printer queue management duties from the Printer menu.

To manage your printer queues, double-click on the printer icon. Choose the Printer menu item to perform printer queue management activities.

Table 7–25 lists the printer queue management activities that you can perform.

Table 7–25 Printer Queue Management Activities

Dialog Element	Description
Pause Printer	Select this item to temporarily stop your printer.
Set as Default	Select this item to set the current printer as your default printer.
Print Test Page	Select this item to print a test page.

To View Documents Waiting to Print

For documents waiting to print, you can view, but not change, the status of the job. To view your current print jobs, double-click on the printer for which you want to view the documents waiting to print.

Table 7–26 shows the information displayed for each document in the print queue.

Table 7–26 Print Job Status

Dialog Element	Description
Name	Shows the name of the document.
Job Number	Shows the number assigned to the print job.
Owner	Shows the username of the person who sent the document to the printer.
Size	Shows the size of the document in kilobytes.
State	Shows the current status of the document, such as Spooling, Paused, or Printing.

To Set Printer Options

Perform the following steps:

1. Log in as root user.

2. From the Printers dialog, highlight the printer that you want to modify, then choose File -> Properties.

3. From the Properties dialog, you can customize the settings for printers in the following functional areas:

   • General

   • Paper

   • Advanced

To Set General Options

Use the General tabbed section to view and to modify information about the selected printer, such as the printer name and location.Table 7–27 lists the general options that you can modify.

Table 7–27 General Options

Dialog Element	Description
Name	Shows the name of the selected printer.
Description	Provides a brief description of the selected printer.
Location	Shows the location of the selected printer.
Resolution	Use the drop-down list to select the resolution to use for the printer.
Status	Shows the status of the selected printer.
Print a Test Page	Click to print a test page.

To Set Paper Options

Use the Paper tabbed section to specify paper values, and to choose the paper layout for the selected printer.

Table 7–28 lists the paper options that you can specify.

Table 7–28 Paper Options

Dialog Element	Description
Paper size	Use the drop-down list to select the paper size to use for the printer.
Paper type	Use the drop-down list to select the paper type to use for the printer.
Source	Use the drop-down list to select the paper tray to use for the printer. The source specifies where the paper is located in the printer.
Double Sided	Use the drop-down list to select the layout to use for the printer.

To Set Advanced Options

Use the Advanced tabbed section to specify advanced values for the selected printer.

Table 7–29 lists an example of advanced options that you can specify for a specific printer.

Table 7–29 Advanced Options

Dialog Element	Description
Floyd-Steinberg Dithering	Use the drop-down list to select the type of dithering to use for the printer, for example, Floyd-Steinberg dithering.
Manual Feed of Paper	Use the drop-down list to select whether you want to switch on or off the paper manual feed.
Page Region	Use the drop-down list to select the paper size to use for the printer.
Number of Copies	Use the drop-down list to select the number of copies that you want to print.
Density	Use the drop-down list to select the density to use for the printer.
Economy mode	Use the drop-down list to select the economy mode to use for the printer.
RET Setting	Use the drop-down list to select the Resolution Enhancement Technology (RET) setting to use for the printer. RET inserts smaller dots at the edges of lines and smooths any rough edges.