cupsreject

Reject print jobs to the specified destinations

$ cupsreject [destination1 destination2 ...]

$ cupsreject -h [server] [destination1 destination2 ...]

$ cupsreject -r [reason] [destination1 destination2 ...]

cupsreject printer

printer
    The name of the CUPS printer or class for which to reject new jobs.

cupsreject is a command-line utility used in the Common Unix Printing System (CUPS) to prevent a specified printer or class from accepting new print jobs. When a printer is rejected, any new jobs sent to it will be held in the queue but will not be processed or printed until the printer is accepted again using the cupsaccept command. It is important to note that cupsreject does not stop jobs that are already in the queue from printing; it only affects the acceptance of subsequent new jobs. This command is typically used by administrators for maintenance, troubleshooting, or when a printer is temporarily unavailable for new work, but existing jobs should complete.

To use cupsreject, you must be a member of the 'lpadmin' group or have root privileges.
Rejecting a printer only prevents new jobs from being accepted; it does not stop jobs already in the queue from processing.

Administrative privileges are required to run cupsreject. Users must typically be part of the 'lpadmin' group or execute the command as the 'root' user to modify printer states.

It's crucial to understand the distinction between cupsreject and cupsdisable.
cupsreject: Prevents new jobs from being added to the queue, but existing jobs continue to print.
cupsdisable: Stops the printer from processing any jobs at all, effectively pausing all printing activity on that device, including jobs already in the queue.
Use cupsreject when you want to clear the incoming queue for new jobs but allow current jobs to finish. Use cupsdisable when you need to immediately halt all printing operations.

cupsreject is a core component of the Common Unix Printing System (CUPS), which was originally developed by Easy Software Products and first released in 1999. CUPS became the standard printing system for many Unix-like operating systems, including most Linux distributions and macOS. The cupsreject command, alongside its counterparts like cupsaccept, cupsenable, and cupsdisable, has been fundamental to CUPS's robust print queue management capabilities since its early versions, providing administrators with fine-grained control over printer states.

cupsaccept(8), cupsenable(8), cupsdisable(8), lpadmin(8), accept(8)