[Pkg-cups-devel] Bug#660420: Some Postscript printer drivers (Kyocera, Brother, maybe others) do not work anymore

[Wolfgang Walter]

On Tuesday 06 March 2012, you wrote:
> Hi Wolfgang,
> 
> Am 06.03.2012 01:28, schrieb Wolfgang Walter:
> > I can also confirm that printing to a kyocera FS-1300D (as a postscript-
> > printer) does not work any more. It does not print and hangs instead.
> >
> > This seems to be due to the postscript file generated from the PDF by
> > ghostscript (called by the pdftops cups filter in my case).
> >
> > To test I tried to print my .bashrc: lp .bashrc
> >
> > 1. I redirected the final output a file and then sent to the printer by 
hand:
> > printer does not print and hangs.
> >
> > 2. I modified cupsfilters.convs such that I get the PDF. I then used 
pdf2ps to
> > generate the postscript file. Sent it to the printer: printer does not 
print
> > and hangs.
> >
> > 3. I used pdftops from poppler-utils to generate the postscript file: Sent 
it
> > to the printer and it works.
> >
> > 4. I used ps2ps on this postscript file: the generated one does not work 
and
> > printer hangs.
> >
> >
> > I called gs with -sDEVICE=pswrite to genrate a postscript file from the 
PDF:
> > that one worked.
> >
> >
> > The only way I may print using cups with a kyocera FS-1300D as postscript
> > printer is by printing to a file as PDF and then using acroread to 
actually
> > print it.
> >
> >
> > Regards
> 
> I tried to follow your explanations but somehow I did not succeed. :)
> 

I modified /etc/cups/printers.conf such that it prints into a file (DeviceURI 
file:///tmp/blub). This file I sent do the printer by hand (i.e. to 
/dev/usb/lp0).

In Step 2) I modified /usr/share/cups/mime/cupsfilters.convs such that cups 
does not do the last step (generating a postscript file from the PDF by 
pdftops filter). So /tmp/blub is now a PDF and I can see if pdf2ps is the 
problem:

	pdf2ps /tmp/blub bla.ps
	cat bla.ps > /dev/usb/lp0

As I said: does not work.

But

	/usr/bin/pdftops /tmp/blub bla.ps
	cat bla.ps > /dev/usb/lp0

works (/usr/bin/pdftops is from packet poppler-utils).


> Anyway, did you try to set the printer to use a generic Postscript PPD 
> as outlined here in this report before?

Yes. I did this with Kyocera's PPD and with the generic postscript. No change.


If I send the postscript which is generated by KDE or chromium or firefox or 
a2ps ... directly to the printer it works (either as above or via a raw-
printer in cups). 

Regards,
-- 
Wolfgang Walter
Studentenwerk München
Anstalt des öffentlichen Rechts