The print service relies on the standard interface script
and the terminfo database to initialize each printer
and set up a selected page size, character pitch, line pitch,
and character set.
Thus, it is usually sufficient to have the correct entry in the
terminfo database
(/usr/lib/terminfo/terminfo.lp)
to add a new printer to the print service.
The terminfo database identifies each printer by a short name,
identical to the kind of name used to set the TERM shell variable.
For example, the name in the terminfo database
for the AT&T model 455 printer is ``455''.
To specify the terminfo type for your printer, in the
Printer Setup Manager
select Properties from the
Printer menu, then select Printer Model.
By default, the terminfo database includes
entries for several popular printers.
Select the terminfo type from the list
that corresponds to your printer.
If terminfo does not include an entry for your printer,
you might still be able to use the printer with the print service.
However, you will not be able to use automatic selection of page size,
pitch, and character sets, and you might have trouble
keeping the printer set to the correct modes for each print request
or using printer forms with the printer.
In this case, you can either
add an entry to terminfo
for your printer or
create a customized interface program
to use with the printer.
You can define hundreds of items for each
terminal or printer in the terminfo database.
However, the print service uses fewer than 50 of these,
and most printers need even less than that.
You can check items defined for a specific terminfo entry
by typing the following command:
Identify an entry in the /usr/lib/terminfo/terminfo.lp file
that uses the same or similar commands as the printer you are adding
and copy that information to filename, where
filename is the file containing the
terminfo entry you created for the printer.
Once you create the new entry,
compile it into the database:
ticfilename
After adding or deleting terminfo entries
or changing values that govern pitch settings,
page width and length, or character sets,
stop and restart the print service.
terminfo entry definitions for printers
terminfo entry
Description
Booleans:
daisy
printer needs operator to change character set
Numbers:
bufsz
number of bytes buffered before printing
* cols
number of columns in a line
* it
tabs initially every # spaces
* lines
number of lines on a page
orc
horizontal resolution in units per character
orhi
horizontal resolution in units per inch
orl
vertical resolution in units per line
orvi
vertical resolution in units per inch
cps
average print rate in characters per second
Strings:
* cr
carriage return
cpi
change number of characters per inch
lpi
change number of lines per inch
chr
change horizontal resolution
cvr
change vertical resolution
csnm
list of character set names
mgc
clear all margins (top, bottom, and sides)
* hpa
horizontal position absolute
* cud1
down one line
* cuf1
carriage right
swidm
enable double-wide printing
rwidm
disable double-wide printing
* ff
page eject
* is1
printer initialization string
* is2
printer initialization string
* is3
printer initialization string
* if
name of initialization file
* iprog
pathname of initializing program
* cud
move carriage down # lines
* cuf
move carriage right # columns
* rep
repeat a character # times
* vpa
absolute vertical position
scs
select character set
smgb
set bottom margin at current line
smgbp
set bottom margin
* smgl
set left margin at current column
smglp
set left margin
* smgr
set right margin at current column
smgrp
set right margin
smgt
set top margin at current line
smgtp
set top margin
scsd
start definition of a character set
* ht
tab to next 8-space tab stop
The items marked with an asterisk (*) are available on
your system and the rest can be added.
See
terminfo(4)
for the terminfo file structure and
for information on how to construct a terminfo
database entry for a new printer.