Most Linux systems offer two methods of printing documents. The first simply redirects the standard output of a command, like cat or pr, to the printer directly and the second uses a spooling facility. The redirection method is very similar to that used in many personal computer systems. It is easy to use and implement but it does have some drawbacks. The user cannot continue working while the file is being printed and, if two or more users send files to the printer at the same time, the data will become intermixed as there is no scheduling! The spooling system solves these problems by making a copy of each document and printing each copy, in its entirety, in the background. This frees up the user's terminal to carry on working and prevents multiple print requests from corrupting each other.

The printer device name is usually /dev/lp but it may vary from system to system. It is necessary to consult the system documentation to determine which names to use to make the commands work correctly. The spooling system and associated commands require the system administrator to set up the system before they can be used correctly. This procedure is complex and is described in detail in the HOWTO documents on the CD-ROM.