NAME

printcap − printer capability data base

SYNOPSIS

/etc/printcap

DESCRIPTION

printcap is a simplified version of the termcap(5) data base used to describe line printers.  The spooling system accesses the printcap file every time it is used, allowing for the dynamic addition and deletion of printers.  Each entry in the data base is used to describe one printer.  This data base may not be substituted for, as is possible for termcap, because it may allow accounting to be bypassed.

The default printer is normally lp, though the environment variable PRINTER may be used to override this.  Each spooling utility supports an option, −Pprinter, to allow explicit naming of a destination printer.

CAPABILITIES

Refer to termcap for a description of the file layout. 

 NameTypeDefault Description
afstrNULLname of accounting file
dnstr"/usr/lib/lpd"spooling daemon’s path name
ffstr"\f"string to send for a form feed
icboolfalsedriver supports (non standard) ioctl
call for indenting printout
lfstr"/dev/console"error logging file name
lostr"lock"name of lock file
lpstr"/dev/lp"device name to open for output
mxnum1000maximum file size (in BUFSIZ blocks) to spool
ofstrNULLname of output filtering program
sastr"/usr/spool"directory prefix to spooling area
sfboolfalsesuppress a form feed before printing each file
shboolfalsesuppress printing of burst page header

Error messages sent to the console have a carriage return and a line feed appended to them, rather than just a line feed. 

If the local line printer driver supports indentation, the daemon must understand how to invoke it. 

BUGS

The printer descriptions should be merged with those of termcap, but naming conflicts preclude this right now.  Using a tty(4) port for access to a printer normally requires setting the baud rate; this should be incorporated in the data base, rather than requiring an output filter.

7th Edition  —  DEC