legacy-printer-app - Man Page

Legacy Printer Application

Synopsis

legacy-printer-app [ SUB-COMMAND ] [ Options ] [ FILES ]

legacy-printer-app is a Printer Application that can be run standalone or as a dedicated IPP Everywhere network service. legacy-printer-app maps arbitrary classic CUPS drivers to the Printer Application format. If on a system there is no classic installation (DEB, RPM, ... packages, installation from source) of CUPS 2.x or older, but instead, CUPS 3.x or newer is used and/or the CUPS Snap, claasic CUPS drivers are not supported any more and printer drivers can only be provided by means of Printer Applications. legacy-printer-app finds classic CUPS drivers in the locations where they are usually installed for being found by the distribution's classic CUPS 2.x installation, typically filters in /usr/lib/cups/filter, backends in /usr/lib/cups/backend, PPD files (and files generating PPDs) in /usr/share/ppd, /usr/share/cups/model/, /usr/share/cups/drv, and /usr/lib/cups/driver. When opening the Printer Application's web interface (http://localhost:8000/, http://localhost:8001/, ...) and clicking "Add Printer" printers are discovered and available classic drivers offered. Once setting up a printer it gets available as an emulation of a driverless IPP printer and the Printer Application uses the classically installed driver. A classic installation of CUPS or any general CUPS filters (cups-filters package) is not needed.

This way classic CUPS drivers for which no equivalent Printer Application is available, especially manufacturer-supplied proprietary drivers for legacy printers, can be continued to be used with CUPS 3.x or the CUPS Snap.