lp(1) User Commands lp(1)NAMElp - submit print request
SYNOPSISlp [-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 protocols 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 modification
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 destination. 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)). Spec‐
ify destination using atomic, URI-style
(scheme://endpoint), or POSIX-style (server:des‐
tination) names. See printers.conf(4) for more
information.
-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-han‐
dling 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 immediate 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 immedi‐
ate request to print. The immediate
request is only available to LP
administrators.
-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 comple‐
tion of a print request.
-n number Prints a specific number of copies of file.
Specify number as a digit. The default for num‐
ber 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 specified 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 administrator.
On a system that is configured with Trusted
Extensions, use of this option requires the
solaris.print.nobanner authorization.
nofilebreak
Prints multiple files without inserting a
form feed between them.
nolabels
On a system that is configured with Trusted
Extensions, specifies suppression of page
header and footer labels. Use of this option
requires the solaris.print.unlabeled autho‐
rization.
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 centime‐
ters.
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. Indi‐
cate 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 indi‐
cates 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 characters 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 print‐
ers; see the terminfo database (see ter‐
minfo(4)) for the default character 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 depen‐
dent on additional software.
-q priority-level Assigns the print request a priority in the
print queue. Specify priority-level as an inte‐
ger between from 0 and 39. Use 0 to indicate the
highest priority; 39 to indicate the lowest pri‐
ority. 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 character-set or
-S print-wheel 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 spec‐
ified.
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 Programmable Char‐
acter Sets: If the -S option is not specified,
lp uses the standard character set. If charac‐
ter-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 specified, 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 fil‐
ter, the request is rejected.
-w Writes a message on the user's terminal 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 fil‐
ter 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 standard input. If file is
not specified, lp uses the standard input.
USAGE
See largefile(5) for the description of the behavior of lp when encoun‐
tering 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 environment vari‐
able 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 unspeci‐
fied 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 database
$HOME/.printers User-configurable printer database
ou=printers LDAP version of /etc/printers.conf
printers.conf.byname NIS version of /etc/printers.conf
ATTRIBUTES
See attributes(5) for descriptions of the following attributes:
┌─────────────────────────────┬─────────────────────────────┐
│ ATTRIBUTE TYPE │ ATTRIBUTE VALUE │
├─────────────────────────────┼─────────────────────────────┤
│Availability │SUNWlp-cmds │
├─────────────────────────────┼─────────────────────────────┤
│CSI │Enabled. See NOTES. │
├─────────────────────────────┼─────────────────────────────┤
│Interface Stability │Committed │
├─────────────────────────────┼─────────────────────────────┤
│Standard │See standards(5). │
└─────────────────────────────┴─────────────────────────────┘
SEE ALSOcancel(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), standards(5)NOTES
CSI-capability assumes that printer names are composed of ASCII charac‐
ters.
Print jobs are assumed to contain one type of data. That type of data
is either specified on the command line or autodetected (simple, Post‐
Script) 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 com‐
mand 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 protocol, 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 authentication.
SunOS 5.11 10 Dec 2009 lp(1)
