The Common UNIX Print System (CUPS) has become quite popular. All major Linux distributions now ship it as their default printing system. People tend to regard it as a "black box", and they do not want to look at too closely as long as it works properly. But once there is a problem, they have trouble finding out where to start debugging.

CUPS supports quite a few unique and powerful features. The basic functions of CUPS is relatively quite easy, but since CUPS has various new features such as support of IPP, availability of web interface, a modular architecture, and so on. It is best not to try to apply any prior knowledge about printing to this new system.

CUPS is more than just a print spooling system. It is a complete printer management system that complies with the new Internet Printing Protocol (IPP). Many of its functions can be managed remotely (or locally) or via a web browser (giving you platform-independent access to the CUPS print server). Additionally, it has a traditional command-line and several more modern GUI interfaces, which we shall explore in the forthcoming chapters. In the next chapter, we will discuss how to install and configure CUPS.