Adding Printer to RHEL

Adding a printer to a RHEL-installed machine can be done by remote or if you are locally at the machine. Doing so requires sudo access to the machine, and if possible, always add the printer via the print server.

Adding the Printer

• Starting the tool

• Run the following command from a terminal/xterm window:

  sudo system-config-printer

• This will start the printer config tool. See Figure 1 below to see what the tool will look like.
• Click the NEW button to start the process of adding a printer. Click FORWARD, then in the next window, input a name for the queue you are creating. This should be the name of the printer. You can also add in a description if you want. When finished, click FORWARD.

• Choosing the queue type

• See Figure 2. Here you are choosing the type of printer queue. Choose "Networked UNIX (LPD)", then click the FORWARD button.

• Setting up the queue

• See Figure 3. You must now designate the print server and queue for the printer you wish to use.
  • For all printers, enter "eceprint.ece.ncsu.edu" as the server.
  • For the queue, enter the name of the printer. The printer should be labeled with its name, but if the label is damaged or missing or if your experience problems, ask your administrator.
• Once finished, click FORWARD.

• Designating the printer driver

• See Figure 4. The next window is for choosing the printer driver that the new queue will use
  • Click on the manufacturer line to choose the appropriate manufacturer for the printer you are using. Then scroll through the list of printers and choose the driver that best suits the printer.
  • If you cannot find an appropriate driver, the Postscript driver under Generic (as shown in the figure) will work for most printers.
• Once you select a driver, click FORWARD. You will see a summary screen. If anything appears incorrect, go back and make the necessary changes, otherwise, click FINISH.

• Finish and save

• Figure 5 shows the printer list after you have finished creating a printer queue. In order to save the changes you have made, you must click the APPLY button.
• Repeat the process to add more printers if necessary, otherwise close the config tool. You should now be able to select the queue you created from the print dialog of programs, or use the lpr command.

Gallery - Click on a picture to see in full-size

Fig1 - Printer Config Tool

Fig2 - Choosing queue type

Fig3 - Inputting server and queue

Fig4 - Choose Driver

Fig5 - Apply Changes

Using Text-based Setup

The text-based version of the printer config tool can be used if you are accessing the machine remotely or if you are using terminal/xterm.

• Starting the tool

• Run the following command:

  sudo system-config-printer-tui

• This will start the TUI version of the printer config tool. See Figure 1 below to see what the tool will look like.

• Within the printer config tool you must use TAB to move between fields and ENTER to make choices.

• Choosing the queue type

• TAB to "NEW" and hit ENTER. This will open up a window for choosing the type of queue you wish to create.
  • See Figure 2. As an example, we are adding the printer ARCTICWOLF to a computer. The first blank in this window is the name of the queue you are adding. Use the name of the printer for the queue name.
  • Hit TAB once and use the down-arrow key to highlight "UNIX Print Queue LPD".
  • Hit TAB one more time to highlight "NEXT" and hit ENTER.

• Setting up the queue

• A new window will open for designating the print server and queue. See Figure 3.
  • In the first blank, enter "eceprint.ece.ncsu.edu".
  • In the second blank, enter the name of the queue for the printer. The queue name is the same as the printer name, which should be labeled on the printer. If the printer is unlabeled or if your experience problems, ask your administrator.
  • TAB to "NEXT" and hit ENTER.

• Designating the printer driver

• The next window is for choosing the printer driver that the new queue will use
  • Use the Up and Down arrow keys to scroll through the list and SpaceBar to expand selections
  • Once you have found the driver you wish to use, highlight it, then TAB to "NEXT" and hit ENTER.

• Finish and save

• You'll now see a summary screen, as shown in Figure 4. TAB to "Finish" and hit ENTER.
  • You'll return to the screen shown in Figure 1. Add additional printers as necessary.
  • To set a printer as default, highlight the printer, then TAB to "Default" and hit ENTER.

• When you are finished, TAB to "Exit" and hit ENTER.
  • You'll get a msg saying that changes must be saved. Say YES and wait for the config tool to exit back to the command prompt.
  • The printer should now be available for printing from the print dialog for programs, or by using the command lpr froma command prompt. If you have multiple printers added, you can print to a non-default printer by using lpr -Pqueuename.

Gallery - Click on a picture to see in full-size

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  Printer Config Tool

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  Choosing queue type

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  Inputting server and queue

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  Summary screen