Selecting an IPP DSS

Use an Internet Printing Protocol Destination Support System (IPP DSS) if your printer natively supports IPP and accepts the required document formats (for example, PDF, PostScript, or PCL).

IPP DSS overview

An IPP DSS sends print jobs directly to the printer using standard IPP operations, without relying on a local print subsystem such as CUPS. The IPP DSS is designed for environments where no data transformation is required and where job control can be achieved using standard, non-collection IPP job template attributes.

Job submission model

The IPP DSS submits jobs using one of the following IPP operation models, depending on the printer capabilities:

  • Print-Job
    • Used when the printer supports submitting job attributes and document data in a single operation.
  • Create-Job followed by Send-Document
    • Used when the printer supports or requires job creation and document submission as separate steps.
The selection of the submission model is based on the printer supported operations as reported by the operations-supported attribute.

Destination command

The destination command for an IPP DSS specifies the IPP URI of the target printer. Typical destination commands include:

ipp://ip-address:631/ipp/print
ipps://ip-address:631/ipp/print
where ip-address is the IP address or host name of the printer.

Some printers expose different IPP resource paths depending on vendor implementation or firmware version, for example: 

ipp://ip-address:631/ipp/print
ipp://ip-address:631/ipp/printer

Supported document formats

The IPP DSS determines supported input formats based on the printer document-format-supported attribute. Common formats include:

  • application/PDF
  • application/PS
  • printer-specific PCL formats
Only formats explicitly advertised by the printer should be submitted. The IPP DSS does not perform document format conversion.

Job attributes handling

The IPP DSS supports a defined subset of IPP job template attributes. Collection-type attributes (such as media-col) are not used. All job attributes are mapped directly from InfoPrint Manager attributes to their corresponding IPP attributes. Only attributes supported by the destination printer should be submitted to ensure predictable behavior.

InfoPrint Manager to IPP attribute mapping in IPP DSS

InfoPrint Manager attribute IPP attribute
job-name job-name
job-owner requesting-user-name
job-priority job-priority
job-finishing finishings
message-from-administrator message-from-operator
sides sides
color-bits-per-plane print-color-mode
copy-count copies
document-format document-format
output-bin output-bin
number-up number-up
page-select page-ranges
content-orientation orientation-requested
default-printer-resolution printer-resolution
print-quality print-quality

Transport and protocol features

The IPP DSS uses standard IPP or IPPS transport for job submission and status reporting. When IPPS is used, communication may be encrypted depending on printer support.

When to use an IPP DSS

An IPP DSS is a good choice when:

  • The printer provides a compliant IPP interface
  • Required job control can be achieved using non-collection IPP attributes
  • Supported document formats can be sent directly to the printer
  • You prefer a lightweight, standards-based printing solution
If more advanced media modeling, collection-based attributes, or vendor-specific backends are required, a CUPS DSS or another DSS implementation might be more appropriate.

Parent topic: Selecting a DSS