Quoting Richard Rauch (rkr@olib.org):
> 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.

I've been over LPR since Sun pulled YP support out of SunOS 4.x
when they moved from 3.5.

What's do I like about lprng?

I can use 1 directory for ALL printers (really useful on an
enduser machine or some machine that just doesn't handle lots
of printing).

I can pull 'printcap' information from elsewhere.  Like NIS or
LDAP or a SQL server or about any client/server type app.  Or
a file.


I was over lpr when I had to move or rename or add or delete
printers on 200 machines at time.  When Sun demo'd a UI that
became Admin[S]Tool during a Solaris 2.0 beta show, I asked
the demo guy how we'd add 20 printers to 200 machines, with
several of the printers having 4-6 queues (duplex/simplex,
landscape/portrait, 1up/2up  and all combinations thereof).
Um, well, you'd want to do that from the CLI (shell).

Great, cute OS you have there.  Can I have 4.1.3 for the
Classic please?  (and we got _u1).

Further LPR is 1975?  Printers are able to talk back.
I want a popup that tells *me* (the one who sent the job) that
the printer is out of paper.  Or it's waiting for A4.
I've punted with zephyr grams in times of yore.

I've also taken my Mac laptop into work and "oops! there's
something in the queue for the home laser printer" (powersuckr).
Select item, drag it to queue for Work Printer (mopier)
and it prints.   Mom can handle that.

More important, my assistant can move unwanted items from
one printer queue to  other when the main printers gone
whacko.


So no, in my view lpr barely meets the need and hasn't been
replaced because it, well, barely meets that need.

I'll skip over spending 2 years working for an CAD var and
fighting the EVIL serial settings for various plotters.
"8n1@9600b"  no, you have to learn xc# and sc# somethings.
A main reason I'll never use a direct connect serial printer.