Linux · Printing (CUPS)

On a modern CUPS system, what role does the old /etc/printcap file still play, and where does the real configuration live?

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More in Printing (CUPS)

You just plugged a laser printer into a Linux desktop and it can't find an exact driver match. Why does it usually still print anyway?

A friend says just plugging in any USB or Wi-Fi printer on GNOME auto-configures it in seconds. What's the catch that makes this over-optimistic?

In the early Unix days root could print by copying a PostScript file straight into a printer's device file. What problems did spooling systems like CUPS solve that this couldn't?

Your printer is a cheap inkjet that understands neither PostScript nor PDF. How does CUPS get a page onto it, and which component does the actual translation?

Where does CUPS keep its configuration, and which file holds the central daemon settings versus the per-printer definitions?

Printer-specific quirks like non-printable margins, duplex support, and paper-feed commands have to live somewhere. What kind of file stores them, and who originally defined the format?

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