DOS-based printing from NT to Unix/Linux

Question

I need help for the below mentioned scenario:

1. A dot-matrix printer is physically connected to the Linux machine (e.g. Ubuntu-10.04, it can be any Unix/Linux flavor)
2. From this Linux machine, when I take a RDP to the Windows NT-4.0 Terminal Server, I run the DOS-based application.
3. Now I want to print few pages from this DOS-based application to the Ubuntu's printer, while I am in an RDP session.

When I followed the Samba-printing documentation, I was able to print from GUI-based applications like Notepad, Microsoft Word and so forth; but not able to print from the Windows command prompt.

Any idea how to do this?

(The Windows machine is strictly NT-4.0 2000 Terminal Server.)

Answer 1

I would do this in two steps:

1. Setup Samba printing on the Linux box.

2. On the NT box run this command:

   net use LPTx \\samba\printer
   

   (for x use a value ranging from 1-3 depending on what lpt3 ports your DOS app can use)

   If nothing else needs/uses LPT1 disable the LPT in the BIOS of the NT box.

Answer 2

Another way is to setup the Berkeley spooling package on Unix.

Windows NT has had the lpr and lpq commands since NT4.

Answer 3

I guess your application isn't DOS-based, but just a command-line application.

Does it print to the command line, and you like to redirect the output to the printer? Try:

programname > LPT

(or was ist LPT0?)