How to list configured printers and printer queues

[nnrao1502]

Hello experts ,

I am looking for commands on 11.31  to list printers and printer queues , SMH was removed from our servers , so I am looking for some help.

Thank you very much

[Bill Hassell]

lpstat is the command.
There are a number of options to filter the output.
lpstat with no options will show any print jobs that are running (probably the most useful)
lpstat -v will show all the printers and their device files but won't hang on problem printers.
lpstat -t will query every printer (even if dead). lpstat -t will easily hang if there are printer setup issues.

[nnrao1502]

Thanks Bill for your response.  I see we have few network printers and few remote printers configured .  I see all the links and config files are in /var/spool/lp . Also noticed  /etc/lp/interface  has files  which is matching the print queue names .  I have 2  questions  if you can help 

1. is there a way to find the printer model which each print queue is pointing to 

2. is there any other config files other than  /etc/lp/interface .? ..... We need to move these printers and configuration to a different OS  and we are remote to servers and printers ( also printer are spread in different locations)

Thanks you very much.

[Bill Hassell]

HP-UX has a very simplistic view of printers and nothing has changed for the last 20 years.

A "remote" printer refers to a generic printer using a send-and-pray protocol with port 515. It is a one way communication and uses very simple scripts to send plain ASCII to priters. It is known as the lpd protocol. There is no information about the printer except that it is listening on port 515. Typically dumb printers will use this method as will blackbox converters that accept port 515 communication and send the results via serial or parallel cables to non-network printers. 

Porting these printers to another OS (Windows, Linux, etc) will be a challenge unless someone can look at the printer for model numbers. Additonally, each printer or adapter has an lpd name like lp or print or... This name is required to the printer to HP-UX but I have not been able to locate a config file with that name. You would have to consult the printer or adapter's manufacturer to get the name.

"Network" printers refer to any printer using the proprietary JetDirect protocol using port 9100. This is a two-way protocol, originally designed for HP brand printers. As HP became the largest manufacturer of printers, many other manufacturers have adopted the port 9100 protocol. Identifying the model of the printer (and a *lot* of additional info) is easy on HP-UX:

# hpnpadmin -v 12.34.56.78

where 12.34.56.78 is the printer's IP address. Read the hpnpadmin man page for more details. But most of the details are network oriented. Things like printer language (PCL, ASCII, Postscript, etc) and hardware (duplex, color, etc) are not available.

Unlike Windows which uses massive drivers to convert print content to dots on the page, HP-UX only knows ASCII. An application program may know how to send color info but the program must support that model directly. No changes are made to the data stream by HP-UX except for PCL model scripts that insert some special codes to turn on duplex or change font size. These changes apply to the entire print job. For each printer, there is a printer script in the directory /etc/lp/interface/model.orig which can be examined to see how it works. Or you can get a printout of the options by using lp -dprinter-name -ooptions /etc/profile

Similar to remote printers, you'll need to physically examine each printer to determine its model and how to migrate to another OS.

[nnrao1502]

Thank you very much Bill for good write-up