Unix Systems usually doesn't have printer support like Windows or Macintosh computers. It's often something like black magic, to get something printed on a plain Unix system.

But even if you downloaded and installed every tool and filter script you need to convert your document type to something, your printer is capable to print, it's kind of commandline wizardry, to actually make it happen ;-)

It starts usually reading the friendly manual pages and ends up drinking some more coffee then you are used to. Often you need to take some aspirin pills as well ;-)

Printing of different file formats is strongly simplified.

The following commandline shows, that the user doesn't have to know anymore, how different file formats have to be converted with different Unix utilities, to get printed onto your printer.

user@unixhost $ lpr -C high:duplex:32bpp:present:glossy ascii-file.gz
  LaTeX.dvi.bz2 picture.gif xfig-file.fig.Z

From apsfilter version 5.2 up its even possible, to change print options on the command line using the -C option of the lpr command, the so called Class option.

Starting from apsfilter 6.0.0 duplex printing is supported. If your printer or driver is not duplex capable, then you can choose apsfilters "pseudo duplex mode". You get an e-mail containing a command that restarts the print queue for printing the backside of the paper. A "magic cookie", makes sure, that only you can start the print job, so that nobody other prints in the meantime.

Click here for a complete list of supported filetypes.

Linuxberg, a resource for 1000's of the best Linux software and applications on the net, gave apsfilter the best note of "5 penguins" in the discipline console - printing.