Printer connections

Select the connection in the wizard or Expert configuration dialog. The supported controls and URI formats depend on the OS and selected spooler.

Connection	Information needed	Typical URI / path
USB	Device path; USB support is available on Linux/Solaris	usb:/dev/usb/lp0
Parallel	Device path	parallel:/dev/lp0
Serial	Device, baud, parity, bits and flow control	serial:/dev/ttyS0?...
Print to file	Absolute file destination	file:/tmp/output.ps
Remote LPD	Server and remote queue	lpd://printer.example/print
IPP	Host, port, resource, optional authentication	ipp://printer.example/printers/office
Socket / JetDirect	Host, port (often 9100)	socket://printer.example:9100
SMB/CIFS	Server, shared printer, optional authentication	smb://server/share

Local devices

Expert Connection tab for a parallel printer with a device path field.

Expert Connection tab for a USB printer with a device path field.

Expert Connection tab for serial printing with device, baud rate, data bits, parity, and flow control fields.

LPD

Enter the host that actually provides the LPD service: this can be the printer itself or a print server, identified by its IP address or fully qualified hostname.

The remote queue name matters; common queue names include print, lp, direct, and hold. These can select different destinations or behavior on the same device. If the required name is absent from the list, enter the exact name supplied by the device or server administrator.

Non-CUPS systems can expose these additional LPD controls:

Control	Effect
Send data before control file	Send the job data first when the remote server requires that ordering.
Manual copies	Send multiple job files instead of asking the printer to duplicate one file.
Add banner	Request a banner page from the LPD server.
Reserve Ports	Use the privileged source ports required by some LPD servers.
Sanitize my junk	Remove unsupported control characters from the job title before submission.

In the CUPS dialog, the available controls are Host, Queue, Disable filter processing, and Enable Print Job Manager GUI.

Expert Connection tab for Remote LPD with host, queue, and non-CUPS options.

IPP

The default IPP port is 631. The host can be a printer or a server providing the IPP service; the resource path identifies the destination service or queue on that host. Supply the exact path required by that service and any required login credentials. Confirm the connection uses the transport and encryption settings required by your network.

Expert Connection tab for IPP with host, port, resource, and empty authentication fields.

Socket / JetDirect

Direct raw TCP printing generally uses port 9100. It may bypass authentication and job control provided by a print server, so prefer a restricted network.

Expert Connection tab for socket printing with host and port fields.

SMB/CIFS

SMB printing requires a working Samba smbclient program and a server/share name. Avoid embedding real passwords in command history or configuration that others can read.

If SMB (thru Samba) is missing from the Add Printer dialog, check that Samba’s SMB client is installed and configured before creating the queue. For a shared printer named \\MACHINE\PRINTER, use MACHINE as the server and PRINTER as the resource.

Expert Connection tab for Samba printing with server, resource, and empty authentication fields.

File devices

Use an absolute destination filename and ensure the print system can write to that file and its parent directory. A file destination can feed a hot-folder workflow by writing a compatible output file inside the watched directory.

CUPS file printing may be disabled by default. Do not change server settings without reviewing local security policy; some print systems append to output files instead of truncating them.

Expert Connection tab for printing to a file with an empty destination path.

For shell examples see configure queues by protocol.