If you are reading this because your non-postscript printer is spewing out pages and pages of postscript code - don't panic. You can use the command lprm to remove the active print job. If you are using X-windows you must open a terminal first. You could use "xterm". If you want to use "GNOME terminal", activate the desktop menu and choose Gnome->Utilities->GNOME terminal
Gnome->Utilities->GNOME terminal |
If you just want to remove the active job, type lprm followed by enter. If you want to remove all pending print jobs, type lprm - followed by enter. (Don't forget the "-" switch.)
debian:~# lprm - enter |
You can find out more about this command by typing man lprm followed by enter at the command prompt.
This document assumes that you are running Debian Linux 2.2 (Potato) and the lpr spooling daemon. (This is the default setting, so if you haven't changed it, that's what you've got.) Everything you need can be found on the three Debian Official Binary cd-roms.
I have tested these instructions on my i386 system. I started with a fresh, clean, base installation of Debian 2.2 r4. I then installed The X Window System (core) and the Gnome desktop. You don't need to work within X, but you may wish to test the installation by printing from some X applications. My system has a Canon BJC-4200 colour inkjet printer attached to the parallel port. The following instructions reflect this.
Some programs seem to print OK to a non-postscript printer. When I first installed Debian I tried printing a text file from Emacs. It printed perfectly and I thought everything was OK. Then I tried Emacs' "Pretty-Print" and the printer produced an unending stream of pages covered with nonsense. Switching the printer on and off, and even re-booting the PC, failed to stop the flow. This is when I found out about the lprm command.
The printing system expects Postscript files. Fortunately, Debian includes a software package called Apsfilter. Apsfilter converts your print file format before it reaches the printer. Apsfilter uses Ghostscript - a postscript emulator that is part of the Debian distribution.
I have assumed that you will prefer to carry out the installation in stages rather than in one go. It takes a little longer but you can test that everything works at each stage. This makes it easier to pin down errors, or even avoid them all together. I have tried to make each section in this article as self-contained as possible.
Look at the checklist at the end of this article for an outline of the stages.