printerbanner

printerbanner [ -d ] [ -w width ] [ -l ] [ -t ] [ header ]

-d
    Enables debug mode. Depending on the implementation, this might send output to standard output or provide verbose diagnostic information.

-w width
    Sets the output width of the banner in characters. This determines how many characters wide the banner can be. Common defaults are often 80 or 132.

-l
    Prints the banner page in landscape orientation. This option effectively rotates the text, making it suitable for wider banners.

-t
    Prints the banner page to the standard output (terminal) instead of directing it to a printer. This is useful for previewing banners or generating ASCII art for other purposes.

header
    The text string to be printed in large characters on the banner page. If omitted, a default value like the username, job name, or 'Banner Page' might be used, depending on how printerbanner is invoked by the printing system.

printerbanner is a utility designed to generate and print large-format banner pages, typically composed of ASCII art. Its primary purpose is to create separator pages for print jobs on shared printers, making it easy to identify the owner and details of a printout. The banner usually contains a large representation of a specified header text, often the username, job title, or other identifying information.

While historically used for physical printers as part of printing systems like CUPS (Common Unix Printing System), it can also output to standard output (the terminal) for viewing, making it useful for generating large text art for various purposes.

The exact behavior and default options of printerbanner can vary significantly depending on the specific printing system (e.g., CUPS, LPD, or derivatives) and its configuration.

Direct usage by users is less common; it is primarily invoked internally by print spoolers like lpr or lp when banner pages are enabled for a print queue or requested as part of a job.

While printerbanner can be run directly, its primary function is as a backend program for print spoolers. When a print job is submitted with options to include a banner page (e.g., `lpr -J "My Important Job" myfile.txt`), the printing system internally calls printerbanner with relevant arguments to generate and queue the banner alongside the actual document, ensuring proper job separation.

Beyond its role in printer job separation, printerbanner -t serves as a versatile tool for generating large ASCII text. This capability can be leveraged in shell scripts, for creating decorative terminal art, or for enhancing documentation examples with prominent text, transforming a simple string into a visually striking large-character representation.

The concept of banner pages originated in early computing environments to provide clear job separation and identification on shared mainframe or minicomputer printers. Utilities like printerbanner became standard components of Unix-like operating systems' print spooling systems (initially LPD, and later integrated into modern systems like CUPS). Its usage has evolved from purely physical print separation to also being a tool for generating large ASCII art for digital display or unique print jobs, especially when used with the -t option.

lpr(1), lp(1), banner(6), cups(7)