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Linux printer as a Postscript device
Unix-Linux expert Ken Milberg follows up on his tip, "Printing from Unix to Linux," and explains why you're better off not setting up a Linux printer as a generic Postscript device.
Why do you say in your Unix-Linux printing article that "Unix-Linux (and vice-versa) printing is never easy"? Setting up printers in modern Linux distros is easy -- the only real "problems" come from crazy printers with Windows-specific page description languages. Because of driver and software compatibility concerns, isn't it easier to hook up printers to a Linux box and let it serve up the printer as a generic Postscript device?
Yes, it is easier to hook up printers directly to the box. The downside is that, in many cases, Linux servers are in the data center, which would make them unavailable to users. Our objective is to configure print services and also make the printers available to the clients. If your Linux server is sitting under someone's desk, then by all means, do this. But then I would ask myself, why that server is sitting under someone's desk?
This was last published in May 2007
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