LPD Daemon TCPIP Printing
LPD stands for Line Printer Daemon; it is the part that receives and processes the request. A “daemon” is a server or agent. The LPD Protocol Specification is documented in RFC 1179, Line Printer Daemon Protocol, dated August 1990, edited by L. McLaughlin III, and downloadable. LPD can also be referenced as the Berkeley printing system which is a group of programs with print server functionality for various UNIX systems.
LPD software can receive files from host systems such as an AS/400, UNIX system, mainframe systems, or a Windows system. Once the LPD receives the file, it can print to a local printer, write to disk (print to file) for archiving or editing purposes, or do both at the same time.
Definition of LPR
LPR stands for Line Printer Requester; it’s the part submitting the requests.
A printer that supports the LPD/LPR protocol can be referred to as a “TCP/IP printer”. The TCP/IP protocol is used when printers and devices need to connect to each other, or workstations, or a network. RPM Remote Print Manager® is LPD software that receives spool files from the print spooler, allowing the user to print to their locally attached printer.
An advantage of the LPR/LPD Protocol is simplicity to implement, which implies it’s a good approach. The control file contains information that can be used for various implementations.
External LPD Links
- LPD Software by Brooks Internet Software
- LPR Software (with broadcast printing)
- WikiPedia definition of an LPD
- Computing Library reference to LPD Line Printer Daemon
