PRINTCAP(5)						      BSD File Formats Manual						       PRINTCAP(5)

NAME

     printcap -- printer capability data base

SYNOPSIS

     printcap

DESCRIPTION

     The printcap data base is a simplified version of the termcap(5) data base used to describe line printers.  The spooling system accesses the
     printcap file every time it is used, allowing dynamic addition and deletion of printers.  Each entry in the data base is used to describe one
     printer.  This data base may not be substituted for, as is possible for termcap(5), because it may allow accounting to be bypassed.

     The default printer is normally lp, though the environment variable PRINTER may be used to override this.	Each spooling utility supports an
     option, -P printer, to allow explicit naming of a destination printer.

     Refer to the 4.3 BSD Line Printer Spooler Manual for a complete discussion on how to set up the database for a given printer.

CAPABILITIES

     Refer to termcap(5) for a description of the file layout.

     Name    Type    Default		      Description
     af      str     NULL		      name of accounting file
     br      num     none		      if lp is a tty, set the baud rate (ioctl(2) call)
     cf      str     NULL		      cifplot data filter
     df      str     NULL		      tex data filter (DVI format)
     fc      num     0			      if lp is a tty, clear flag bits (sgtty.h)
     ff      str     'f'		      string to send for a form feed
     fo      bool    false		      print a form feed when device is opened
     fs      num     0			      like `fc' but set bits
     gf      str     NULL		      graph data filter (plot(3) format
     hl      bool    false		      print the burst header page last
     ic      bool    false		      driver supports (non standard) ioctl to indent printout
     if      str     NULL		      name of text filter which does accounting
     lf      str     /dev/console	      error logging file name
     lo      str     lock		      name of lock file
     lp      str     /dev/lp		      device name to open for output to local printer, or port@host for remote printer/printer on print
					      server
     ms      str     NULL		      list of terminal modes to set or clear
     mx      num     1000		      maximum file size (in BUFSIZ blocks), zero = unlimited
     nd      str     NULL		      next directory for list of queues (unimplemented)
     nf      str     NULL		      ditroff data filter (device independent troff)
     of      str     NULL		      name of output filtering program
     pc      num     200		      price per foot or page in hundredths of cents
     pf      str     NULL		      filter for printing PostScript files
     pl      num     66 		      page length (in lines)
     pw      num     132		      page width (in characters)
     px      num     0			      page width in pixels (horizontal)
     py      num     0			      page length in pixels (vertical)
     rf      str     NULL		      filter for printing FORTRAN style text files
     rg      str     NULL		      restricted group. Only members of group allowed access
     rm      str     NULL		      machine name for remote printer or port@host for a remote printer on a port other than the standard
					      port. (also suppress the burst page, see NOTES)
     rp      str     ``lp''		      remote printer name argument
     rs      bool    false		      restrict remote users to those with local accounts
     rw      bool    false		      open the printer device for reading and writing
     sb      bool    false		      short banner (one line only)
     sc      bool    false		      suppress multiple copies
     sd      str     /var/spool/output/lpd    spool directory
     sf      bool    false		      suppress form feeds
     sh      bool    false		      suppress printing of burst page header (local only, see NOTES)
     st      str     status		      status file name
     tf      str     NULL		      troff data filter (cat phototypesetter)
     tr      str     NULL		      trailer string to print when queue empties
     vf      str     NULL		      raster image filter
     xc      num     0			      if lp is a tty, clear local mode bits (tty(4))
     xs      num     0			      like `xc' but set bits

     If the local line printer driver supports indentation, the daemon must understand how to invoke it.

FILTERS

     If a printer is specified via lp (either local or remote), the lpd(8) daemon creates a pipeline of filters to process files for various
     printer types.  The pipeline is not set up for remote printers specified via rm unless the local host is the same as the remote printer host
     given.  The filters selected depend on the flags passed to lpr(1).  The pipeline set up is:

	   p	   pr | if regular text + pr(1)
	   none    if	   regular text
	   c	   cf	   cifplot
	   d	   df	   DVI (tex)
	   g	   gf	   plot(3)
	   n	   nf	   ditroff
	   o	   pf	   PostScript
	   f	   rf	   Fortran
	   t	   tf	   troff
	   v	   vf	   raster image

     The if filter is invoked with arguments:

	   if [-c] -wwidth -llength -iindent -n login [-j jobname] -h host acct-file

     The -c flag is passed only if the -l flag (pass control characters literally) is specified to lpr(1).  The width and length specify the page
     width and length (from pw and pl respectively) in characters.  The -n and -h parameters specify the login name and host name of the owner of
     the job respectively.  The -j parameter is optional and specifies the name of the print job if available.	The acct-file option is passed
     from the af printcap entry.

     If no if is specified, of is used instead, with the distinction that of is opened only once, while if is opened for every individual job.
     Thus, if is better suited to performing accounting.  The of is only given the width and length flags.

     All other filters are called as:

	   filter -xwidth -ylength -n login [-j jobname] -h host acct-file

     where width and length are represented in pixels, specified by the px and py entries respectively.

     All filters take stdin as the file, stdout as the printer, may log either to stderr or using syslog(3), and must not ignore SIGINT.

     Filters can communicate errors to lpd by their exit code and by modifying the mode of the spool lock file as follows:
	   Exit code  Description
	   0	      Success.
	   1	      An attempt is made to reprint the job and mail is sent if it fails.
	   2	      lpd(8) silently discards the job.
	   n	      lpd(8) discards the job and mail is sent.
	   lock code  Description
	   u+x	      Stop printing and leave queue disabled (S_IXUSR).
	   o+x	      Rebuild the queue (S_IXOTH).

LOGGING

     Error messages generated by the line printer programs themselves (that is, the lp* programs) are logged by syslog(3) using the LPR facility.
     Messages printed on stderr of one of the filters are sent to the corresponding lf file.  The filters may, of course, use syslog(3) them-
     selves.

     Error messages sent to the console have a carriage return and a line feed appended to them, rather than just a line feed.

SEE ALSO

     lpq(1), lpr(1), lprm(1), termcap(5), lpc(8), lpd(8), pac(8)

     4.3 BSD Line Printer Spooler Manual.

NOTES

     The sh flag is a function of the spooler with the locally attached printer, and so has no effect when used with rm.  NetBSD never adds a
     burst page when used as a remote spooler.	To suppress the burst page for other systems or dedicated devices, refer to the documentation for
     those systems or devices.

HISTORY

     The printcap file format appeared in 4.2BSD.

BSD
								   July 18, 2008							       BSD