MINOLTA-QMS PRINTERS SUPPORT COMMON UNIX PRINTING METHODS.

MINOLTA-QMS, Inc. has announced its support for the Common UNIX Printing System, better known as "CUPS," as well as the PDQ printing system in its current color and monochrome network printers. Support for CUPS and PDQ widens the compatibility for MINOLTA-QMS printers to include all major versions of the popular UNIX and Linux operating systems. "MINOLTA-QMS has always been a leader in UNIX printing," said Steve Fletcher, president and COO of MINOLTA-QMS, "Now, thanks to these innovative software solutions, we extend that leadership to include Linux printing as well. Our customers who use UNIX or Linux can now easily enjoy the efficiency of the Crown architecture built into our printers."

Both the Common UNIX Printing System and PDQ allow MINOLTA-QMS to enable device-specific features, such as paper input trays or duplex printing options, by providing PostScript Printer Description (PPD) files to the CUPS or PDQ environments. Customers who use UNIX or Linux applications can take advantage of either CUPS or PDQ to easily select these features through a familiar, web-based graphical user interface.

Both CUPS and PDQ were designed to alleviate printing problems encountered by users of UNIX and Linux. In these operating systems, generic printing is easy, but accessing device-specific features such as multiple paper input trays or addressable output bins is more difficult. The common printing methods now supported by MINOLTA-QMS printers break down barriers to printing by providing access to these device-specific features through graphical user interfaces or more conventional command line entries. According to the web site for CUPS (http://www.cups.org), "CUPS uses IPP 1.1 to provide a complete, modern printing system for UNIX that can be extended to support new printers, devices, and protocols while providing compatibility with existing UNIX applications."

PDQ differs from CUPS in its use of the LPD protocol within TCP/IP. LPR/LPD is a familiar, but uncertain method of printing within UNIX. The web site for PDQ (http://pdq.sourceforge.net) states, "Most casual UNIX users regard lp and lpr as black holes into which print jobs disappear, and may or may not emerge. Most users print to the closest printer, and keep on submitting the job until they see it. A better model for printing is that the workstation processes everything, and submits finalized data to the printer when it first becomes available." Both CUPS and PDQ offer the UNIX and Linux user graphical interfaces as alternatives to the arcane command line prompt commands associated with printing in these systems. MINOLTA-QMS printer customers can now choose the printing environment they prefer when using either UNIX or Linux.

Common UNIX Printing System software is available free of charge from http://www.cups.org. CUPS is provided under the GNU General Public License (GPL) and GNU Library General Public License (LPGL), Version 2.

PDQ software is available free of charge from http://pdq.sourceforge.net/. PDQ is provided under the GNU Library General Public License (LPGL), Version 2.