Printing on Linux

This is a short guide to printing on Linux using shell commands.

Shell Commands

The following commands are available on the shell to print and control print jobs:

Command	Description	Example
lp	Print files	lp text.ps
cancel	Cancel a print job	cancel card-ethz-131
lpq	Show queued print jobs	lpq
lpstat	Show all printers	lpstat -p
lpoptions	List printer options	lpoptions
	List options one printer	lpoptions -p card-ethz
	Change default printer	lpoptions -d card-ethz

Run man <command> in a shell to get more information on each of the commands above.

Content Type

Please note that the printers will detect PostScript and PDF that is printed from command line and print it as such. All other content is printed as text.