To add a local printer such as one attached to the parallel port or USB port of your computer, click the Add button in the main printconf window. The window shown in Figure 2-1 will appear.
Enter a unique name for the printer in the Queue Name text field. This can be any descriptive name for your printer. You can also create alias names for the printer by clicking the Add button beside the Aliases list. Refer to Chapter 8 for more information about aliases. The printer name and aliases cannot contain spaces and must begin with a letter a through z or A through Z. The valid characters are a through z, A through Z, 0 through 9, -, and _.Click Queue Type from the left side menu and choose Local Printer from the Queue Type menu. Also enter the printer device in the Printer Device text field or choose it from the pulldown menu as shown in Figure 2-2.
Next, select the type of printer that is connected to the system by clicking Printer Driver from the left side menu. After choosing the manufacturer and model number of the printer, a list of drivers will appear. If there is more than one driver for the printer, choose the preferred driver in the Printer Driver list. If you are not sure which one to use, do not change this value. Click the Printer Notes button to view notes about the printer driver from the Linux Printing Database.
Click Driver Options from the left side menu after selecting a printer driver. These options will vary depending on the printer driver that you selected. Typical options include paper size, print quality, and printer resolution.
Click the OK button. The new printer will appear in the printer list in the main window. Click the Apply button in the main window to save your changes to the /etc/printcap configuration file and restart the printer daemon (lpd). After applying the changes, print a test page to ensure the configuration is correct. Refer to Chapter 7 for details.