On Sun, 11 Jul 2004 sigsegv@rambler.ru wrote:

> Richard Rauch wrote:
>
> >Why use *either* LPRng or CUPS?  (^&
> >
> >I've been using the printer spool that ships with NetBSD.  I have been
> >able to interoperate with an LPRng-based network from my laptop (my
> >laptop was just a client in that network) and I find that the native
> >spooling has ample flexibility for me.
> >
> >It might help if you would say what you intend to do with the printer.
> >
> >
> >(I was pushed to look into LPRng for my laptop.  I read through some
> >of the documentation, and concluded that I didn't actually need it
> >to talk to LPRng hosts.  Other than that, I haven't really looked
> >much at either LPRng or CUPS.  I figure if I ever run into a probelm
> >that I can't solve with the native spooler, I'll see what the
> >options are for alternatives.  (^&)
> >
> >
> >
> Yeah you're right, the native print spooling system will do just fine
> for most tasks, but if you have a large network with many printers
> attached to it, then LPRng or CUPS might scale better. I don't run such
> networks and have virtually no experience, however sooner or later I'll
> end up working as a Unix systems admin, so it's a good idea to find and
> test the "optimal" solution that integrates well into large and complex
> networks.
>

Hm, I used the native thing years ago - meanwhile I use CUPS.

Haven't looked at the native stuff in years, but as far as I remember,
"getting it working" with the native system is much harder, especially
for non-HPLaserJet and non-Epson24-pin printers. Don't like writing that
printcap-entries...

CUPS is easy to setup and administrate and lots of ready-to-use "drivers"
(=descriptors?) are available, so if this is a point for you and
you don't have experience (or the time to gather it)  setting up the
native printing, use CUPS.

-Florian