Adding printer-resident fonts to a printer's font list

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You can add printer-resident fonts to a printer's font list.

When a printer is installed, the list of printer-resident fonts should be added to the font list for that printer. This font list file can be edited to contain only the font names in the printer's memory (For example AGaramond-Bold through ZapfDingbats), and placed into the file /etc/lp/printers/prlocal/residentfonts to prevent downloading of these fonts from the host computer.

To add printer-resident fonts to a printer's font list, do the following:

  1. Navigate to the printer administration directory in which the font lists are kept. For a particular printer, this font list is contained in the file /etc/lp/printers/printer-name/residentfonts.
    With the -p option, download checks this file to see what Type 1 fonts are ROM-resident and disk-resident (some PostScript printers have directly attached fonts disks) in the printer so that it does not download such fonts.
  2. This file is not automatically created when a PostScript printer is first set up on your system using the lpadmin command. You may need to create this file yourself. (font-list files must be edited manually; that is, with the help of a text editor such as vi.)

    When fonts are permanently downloaded to the printer, add the font names to this file. (This will prevent fonts from being downloaded when they are already on the printer, which can be a time-consuming procedure.)

    Note: If the printer is attached to a remote system, this list should include fonts which reside on that system and are available for downloading to the printer. This prevents fonts from being transmitted unnecessarily across a network.