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NAME
lp - submit print request
SYNOPSIS
lp [-c] [-m] [-p] [-s] [-w] [-d destination] [-f form-name]
[-H special-handling] [-n number] [-o option]
[-P page-list] [-q priority-level]
[-S character-set | print-wheel] [-t title]
[-T content-type [-r]] [-y mode-list] [file]...
lp -i request-ID... [-c] [-m] [-p] [-s] [-w]
[-d destination] [-f form-name] [-H special-handling]
[-n number] [-o option] [-P page-list]
[-q priority-level] [-S character-set | print-wheel]
[-t title] [-T content-type [-r]] [-y mode-list]
DESCRIPTION
The lp utility submits print requests to a destination.
There are two formats of the lp command.
The first form of lp prints files (file) and associated
information (collectively called a print request). If file
is not specified, lp assumes the standard input. Use a
hyphen (-) with file to specify the standard input. Files
are printed in the order in which they appear on the command
line.
The second form of lp changes print request options. This
form of lp can only be used with print services and proto-
cols that support job modification. The LP print service
allows print requests to be modified when they are in a
queue local to the system that the lp commands was executed
on. The Internet Print Protocol (IPP) allows job modifica-
tion on remote ipp print services.
The print request identified by request-ID is changed
according to the printing options specified. The printing
options available are the same as those with the first form
of the lp. If the request has finished printing when the lp
command is executed, the change is rejected. If the request
is in the process of printing, it is stopped and restarted
from the beginning (unless the -P option has been given).
The print client commands locate destination information
using the "printers" database in the name service switch.
See nsswitch.conf(4), printers(4), and printers.conf(4) for
details.
OPTIONS
Printers that have a 4.x or BSD-based print server are not
configured to handle BSD protocol extensions. lp handles
print requests sent to such destinations differently (see
NOTES).
The following options are supported:
-c Copies file before printing.
Unless -c is specified, users should
not remove any file before the print
request has completely printed.
Changes made to file after the print
request is made but before it is
printed might be reflected in the
printed output. file is linked (as
opposed to copied).
-d destination Prints file on a specific destina-
tion. The -d option is used to set
the destination only when the job is
first created. (Note: To move exist-
ing jobs to a different destination,
see lpmove(1M).) destination can be
either a printer or a class of
printers (see lpadmin(1M)). Specify
destination using atomic, URI-style
(scheme://endpoint), or POSIX-style
(server:destination) names. See
printers.conf(4) for more informa-
tion.
-f form-name Prints file on form-name. The LP
print service ensures that the form
is mounted on the printer. The print
request is rejected if the printer
does not support form-name, if form-
name is not defined for the system,
or if the user is not allowed to use
form-name (see lpforms(1M)).
-H special-handling Prints the print request according to
the value of special-handling. The
following special-handling values are
acceptable:
hold Do not print the print
request until notified.
If printing has already
begun, stop it. Other
print requests are
placed ahead of a
request that has been
put on hold (held print
request) until the print
request is resumed.
resume Resume a held print
request. If the print
request had begun to
print when held, it is
the next print request
printed, unless it is
superseded by an immedi-
ate print request.
immediate Print the print request
next. If more than one
print request is
assigned, the most
recent print request is
printed next. If a print
request is currently
printing on the desired
printer, a hold request
must be issued to allow
the immediate request to
print. The immediate
request is only avail-
able to LP administra-
tors.
-i request-ID Changes options for the print request
identified by request-ID. There must
be a space between -i and request-ID.
This option applies to jobs that are
in a local queue on a print server.
This also applies to remote queues on
when the remote print server supports
IPP with job modification.
-m Sends mail after file has printed
(see mail(1)). By default, no mail is
sent upon normal completion of a
print request.
-n number Prints a specific number of copies of
file. Specify number as a digit. The
default for number is 1.
-o option Specifies printer-dependent options.
Specify several options by specifying
-o option multiple times (-o option
-o option -o option ). Printer-
dependent options can also be speci-
fied using the -o keyletter once,
followed by a list of options
enclosed in double quotes (-o"option
option option").
options take the following forms:
key=value Associates information
with the request for use
by the backend print
service. The keys and
values that can be used
are specific to the
backend print service
and queue configuration.
[no]key Associates boolean
information with the
request for use by the
backend print service.
The keys that can be
used are specific to the
backend print service
and queue configuration.
The following options are commonly
used with the LP print service:
nobanner
Does not print a banner page with
the request. This option can be
disallowed by the LP administra-
tor.
On a system that is configured
with Trusted Extensions, use of
this option requires the
solaris.print.nobanner authoriza-
tion.
nofilebreak
Prints multiple files without
inserting a form feed between
them.
nolabels
On a system that is configured
with Trusted Extensions, speci-
fies suppression of page header
and footer labels. Use of this
option requires the
solaris.print.unlabeled authori-
zation.
length=numberi | numberc | number
Prints the print request with
pages of a specific length in
inches, centimeters, or number of
lines. Append the letter i for
inches or c for centimenters to
number. Indicate the number of
lines by specifying number alone.
length=66 indicates a page length
of 66 lines. length=11i indicates
a page length of 11 inches.
length=27.94c indicates a page
length of 27.94 centimeters.
This option can not be used with
the -f option.
width=numberi | numberc | number
Prints the print request with
pages of a specific width in
inches, centimeters, or number of
columns. Append the letter i for
inches or c for centimeters to
number. Indicate the number of
columns by specifying number
alone. width=65 indicates a page
width of 65 columns. width=6.5i
indicates a page width of 6.5
inches. width=10c indicates a
page width of 10 centimeters.
This option can not be used with
the -f option.
lpi=number
Prints the print request with the
line pitch set to number lines in
an inch. Use number to specify
the number of lines in an inch.
This option can not be used with
the -f option.
cpi=n|pica|elite|compressed
Prints the print request with the
character pitch set to number
characters in an inch. Use number
to specify the number of charac-
ters in an inch. Use pica to set
character pitch to pica (10 char-
acters per inch), or elite to set
character pitch to elite (12
characters per inch) Use
compressed to set character pitch
to as many characters as the
printer can handle. There is no
standard number of characters per
inch for all printers; see the
terminfo database (see ter-
minfo(4)) for the default charac-
ter pitch for your printer. This
option can not be used with the
-f option.
stty=stty-option-list
Prints the request using a list
of options valid for the stty
command (see stty(1). Enclose
the list in single quotes (`') if
it contains blanks.
-P page-list Prints the pages specified in page-
list in ascending order. Specify
page-list as a of range of numbers,
single page number, or a combination
of both.
The -P option can only be used if
there is a filter available to handle
it; otherwise, the print request is
rejected.
-p Enables notification on completion of
the print request. Delivery of the
notification is dependent on addi-
tional software.
-q priority-level Assigns the print request a priority
in the print queue. Specify
priority-level as an integer between
from 0 and 39. Use 0 to indicate the
highest priority; 39 to indicate the
lowest priority. If no priority is
specified, the default priority for a
print service is assigned by the LP
administrator. The LP administrator
can also assign a default priority to
individual users.
-s Suppresses the display of messages
sent from lp.
-S character-set | Prints the request using the
-S print-wheel character-set or print-wheel. If a
form was requested and requires a
character set or print wheel other
than the one specified with the -S
option, the request is rejected.
Printers using mountable print wheels
or font cartridges use the print
wheel or font cartridge mounted at
the time of the print request, unless
the -S option is specified.
Printers Using Print Wheels: If print
wheel is not one listed by the LP
administrator as acceptable for the
printer the request is rejected
unless the print wheel is already
mounted on the printer.
Printers Using Selectable or Pro-
grammable Character Sets: If the -S
option is not specified, lp uses the
standard character set. If
character-set is not defined in the
terminfo database for the printer
(see terminfo(4)), or is not an alias
defined by the LP administrator, the
request is rejected.
-t title Prints a title on the banner page of
the output. Enclose title in quotes
if it contains blanks. If title is
not not specified, the name of the
file is printed on the banner page.
-Tcontent-type [-r] Prints the request on a printer that
can support the specified content-
type. If no printer accepts this type
directly, a filter is used to convert
the content into an acceptable type.
If the -r option is specified, a
filter is not used. If -r is speci-
fied, and no printer accepts the
content-type directly, the request is
rejected. If the content-type is not
acceptable to any printer, either
directly or with a filter, the
request is rejected.
-w Writes a message on the user's termi-
nal after the files have been
printed. If the user is not logged
in, then mail is sent instead.
-y mode-list Prints the request according to the
printing modes listed in mode-list.
The allowed values for mode-list are
locally defined.
This option can be used only if there
is a filter available to handle it;
otherwise, the print request is
rejected.
OPERANDS
The following operand is supported:
file The name of the file to be printed. Specify file as
a pathname or as a hyphen (-) to indicate the stan-
dard input. If file is not specified, lp uses the
standard input.
USAGE
See largefile(5) for the description of the behavior of lp
when encountering files greater than or equal to 2 Gbyte (
2^31 bytes).
ENVIRONMENT VARIABLES
See environ(5) for descriptions of the following environment
variables that affect the execution of lp: LANG, LC_ALL,
LC_CTYPE, LC_MESSAGES, NLSPATH, and PATH.
LC_TIME Determine the format and contents of date and
time strings displayed in the lp banner page, if
any.
LPDEST Determine the destination. If the LPDEST environ-
ment variable is not set, the PRINTER environment
variable shall be used. The -d dest option takes
precedence over LPDEST. Results are undefined
when -d is not specified and LPDEST contains a
value that is not a valid destination name.
PRINTER Determine the output device or destination. If
the LPDEST and PRINTER environment variables are
not set, an unspecified output device is used.
The -d dest option and the LPDEST environment
variable shall take precedence over PRINTER.
Results are undefined when -d is not specified,
LPDEST is unset, and PRINTER contains a value
that is not a valid device or destination name.
TZ Determine the timezone used to calculate date and
time strings displayed in the lp banner page, if
any. If TZ is unset or null, an unspecified
default timezone shall be used.
EXIT STATUS
The following exit values are returned:
0 Successful completion.
non-zero An error occurred.
FILES
/etc/printers.conf System printer configuration data-
base
$HOME/.printers User-configurable printer database
ou=printers LDAP version of /etc/printers.conf
printers.conf.byname NIS version of /etc/printers.conf
printers.org_dir NIS+ version of /etc/printers.conf
ATTRIBUTES
See attributes(5) for descriptions of the following attri-
butes:
____________________________________________________________
| ATTRIBUTE TYPE | ATTRIBUTE VALUE |
|_____________________________|_____________________________|
| Availability | SUNWlp-cmds |
|_____________________________|_____________________________|
| CSI | Enabled. See NOTES. |
|_____________________________|_____________________________|
| Interface Stability | Standard |
|_____________________________|_____________________________|
SEE ALSO
cancel(1), enable(1), lpq(1B), lpr(1B), lprm(1B), lpstat(1),
mail(1), postprint(1), pr(1), stty(1), accept(1M),
lpadmin(1M), lpfilter(1M), lpforms(1M), lpmove(1M),
lpsched(1M), lpshut(1M), lpsystem(1M), lpusers(1M),
nsswitch.conf(4), printers(4), printers.conf(4), ter-
minfo(4), attributes(5), environ(5), largefile(5), stan-
dards(5)
NOTES
CSI-capability assumes that printer names are composed of
ASCII characters.
Print jobs are assumed to contain one type of data. That
type of data is either specified on the command line or
autodetected (simple, PostScript) based on the contents of
the first file in the job.
When using the BSD printing protocol to send print requests
to a remote print service, functionality is limited.
Printers that have a 4.x or BSD-based print server are not
configured to handle BSD protocol extensions. lp handles
print requests sent to such printers in the following ways:
1. Print requests with more than 52 filenames are
truncated to 52 files.
2. The -f, -H, -o, -P, -p, -q, -S, -T, and -y options
might require a protocol extension to pass to a
print server. If lp cannot handle the print
request, it displays a warning message.
LP administrators enable protocol extensions by
setting a printer's printer-uri-supported (or
bsdaddr) entry in /etc/printers.conf. Changing the
printer-uri-supported entry in /etc/printers.conf
to:
printer-uri-supported=lpd\://server/printers/destination#Solaris
bsdaddr=server,destination,Solaris
Adding Solaris to either of these values causes the
lp command to generate a set of BSD print protocol
extensions that can be processed by a Solaris print
server.
As a result of several limitations in the BSD print proto-
col, it is recommended that the IPP protocol be used for
communication with print servers.
When IPP is in use, the user is prompted for a passphrase if
the remote print service is configured to require authenti-
cation.