13.6. Generating PDF documents from print jobs

Installing the univention-printserver-pdf package expands the print server with a special cups-pdf printer type, which converts incoming print jobs into PDF documents and adds them in a specified directory on the printer server where they are readable for the respective user. After the installation of the package, univention-run-join-scripts must be run.

The cups-pdf:/ protocol must be selected when creating a PDF printer in the UMC module Printers (see Creating a printer share); the destination field remains empty.

PDF must be selected as Printer producer and Generic CUPS-PDF Printer as Printer model.

The target directory for the generated PDF documents is set using the Univention Configuration Registry Variable cups/cups-pdf/directory. As standard it is set to /var/spool/cups-pdf/%U so that cups-pdf uses a different directory for each user.

Print jobs coming in anonymously are printed in the directory specified by the Univention Configuration Registry Variable cups/cups-pdf/anonymous (standard setting: /var/spool/cups-pdf/).

By default generated PDF documents are kept without any restrictions. If the Univention Configuration Registry Variable cups/cups-pdf/cleanup/enabled is set to true, old PDF print jobs are deleted via a Cron job. The storage time in days can be configured using the Univention Configuration Registry Variable cups/cups-pdf/cleanup/keep.