README - OpenPrinting CUPS Filters v1.0.43 - 2013-12-19
-------------------------------------------------------
Looking for compile instructions? Read the file "INSTALL.txt"
instead...
INTRODUCTION
CUPS is a standards-based, open source printing system developed
by Apple Inc. for Mac OS® X and other UNIX®-like operating
systems. CUPS uses the Internet Printing Protocol ("IPP") and
provides System V and Berkeley command-line interfaces, a web
interface, and a C API to manage printers and print jobs.
This distribution contains backends, filters, and other software
that was once part of the core CUPS distribution but is no longer
maintained by Apple Inc. In addition it contains additional
filters and software developed independently of Apple, especially
filters for the PDF-centric printing workflow introduced by
OpenPrinting and a daemon to browse Bonjour broadcasts of remote
CUPS printers and makes these printers available locally.
From CUPS 1.6.0 on, this package is required for using printer
drivers with CUPS under Linux. With CUPS 1.5.x and earlier this
package can be used optionally to switch over to PDF-based
printing. In that case some filters are provided by both CUPS and
this package. Then the filters of this package should be used.
For compiling and using this package CUPS, Poppler, libjpeg,
libpng, libtiff, libijs, freetype, fontconfig, liblcms (liblcms2
recommended), libavahi-common, and libavahi-client are needed. It
is highly recommended, especially if non-PostScript printers are
used, to have Ghostscript, foomatic-filters, and foomatic-db
installed.
CUPS, this package, and Ghostscript contain some rudimentary printer
drivers, see http://www.openprinting.org/drivers/ for a more
comprehensive set of printer drivers for Linux.
See
http://www.linuxfoundation.org/collaborate/workgroups/openprinting/pdf_as_standard_print_job_format
for information about the PDF-based printing workflow.
Report bugs to
https://bugs.linuxfoundation.org/
Choose "OpenPrinting" as the product and "cups-filters" as the component.
See the "LICENSE.txt" files for legal information.
IMAGE PRINTING DEFAULT CHANGED TO "SCALE TO FIT"
Compared to the PostScript-based original CUPS filters there is a
change of defaults: The imagetopdf and imagetoraster filters print
in "scale-to-fit" mode (image is scaled to fill one page but
nothing of the image being cut off) by default.
This is done to support photo printing via AirPrint. The photo
apps on Apple's iOS devices send print jobs as JPEG images and do
not allow to set any options like "scaling" or the page size. With
"scale-to-fit" mode set by default, the iOS photos come out on one
page, as expected.
To get back to the old behavior, supply one of the options
"nofitplot" "filplot=Off", "nofit-to-page", or "fit-to-page=Off".
POSTSCRIPT PRINTING RENDERER AND RESOLUTION SELECTION
If you use CUPS with this package and a PostScript printer then
the included pdftops filter converts the print job data which is
in PDF format into PostScript. By default, the PostScript is
generated with Ghostscript's "ps2write" output device, which
generates a DSC-conforming PostScript with compressed embedded
fonts and compressed page content. This is resource-saving and
leads to fast wire transfer of print jobs to the printer.
Unfortunately, Ghostscript's PostScript output is not compatible
with some printers due to interpreter bugs in the printer and in
addition, processing (by Ghostscript or by the printer's
interpreter) can get very slow with high printing resolutions when
parts of the incoming PDF file are converted to bitmaps if they
contain graphical structures which are not supported by
PostScript. The bitmap problem especially occurs on input files
with transparency, especially also the ones produced by Cairo
(evince and many other GNOME/GTK applications) which unnecessarily
introduces transparency even if the input PDF has no transparency.
Therefore there are two possibilities to configure pdftops at
runtime:
1. Selection of the renderer: Ghostscript, Poppler, pdftocairo, or
Adobe Reader
Ghostscript has better color management and is generally optimized
more for printing. Poppler produces a PostScript which is
compatible with more buggy built-in PostScript interpreters of
printers and it leads to a somewhat quicker workflow when
graphical structures of the input PDF has to be turned into
bitmaps. Adobe Reader is the PDF renderer from Adobe, the ones who
created PDF and PostScript. pdftocairo is a good choice for the
PDF output of Cairo (for example when printing from evince). It
is less resource-consuming when rasterizing graphical elements
which cannot be represented in PostScript (like
transparency). Note that pdftocairo only supports PDF input using
DeviceRGB, DeviceGray, RGB or sGray and is not capable of
generating PostScript level 1. So its support is only experimental
and distributions should not choose it as default.
The selection is done by the "pdftops-renderer" option, setting it
to "gs", "pdftops", "pdftocairo", or "acroread":
Per-job: lpr -o pdftops-renderer=pdftops ...
Per-queue default: lpadmin -p printer -o pdftops-renderer-default=gs
Remove default: lpadmin -p printer -R pdftops-renderer-default
By default, pdftops uses Ghostscript if this does not get changed
at compile time, for example by the Linux distribution vendor.
2. Limitation of the image rendering resolution
If graphical structures of the incoming PDF file have to be
converted to bitmaps due to limitations of PostScript, the
conversion of the file by pdftops or the rendering by the printer
can get too slow if the bitmap resolution is too high or the
printout quality can degrade if the bitmap resolution is too low.
By default, pdftops tries to find out the actual printing
resolution and sets the resolution for bitmap generation to the
same value. If it cannot find the printing resolution, it uses 300
dpi. It never goes higher than a limit of 1440 dpi. Note that this
default limit can get changed at compile time, for example by the
Linux distribution vendor.
The resolution limit for bitmaps can be changed to a lower or
higher value, or be set to unlimited. This is done by the option
"pdftops-max-image-resolution", setting it to the desired value
(in dpi) or to zero for unlimited. It can be used per-job or as
per-queue default as the "pdftops-renderer" option described
above.
The "pdftops-max-image-resolution" option is ignored when Adobe
Reader is selected as PDF renderer.
POSTSCRIPT PRINTING DEBUG MODE
Sometimes a PostScript printer's interpreter errors, crashes, or
somehow else misbehaves on Ghostscript's output. To find
workarounds (currently we have already workarounds for Brother and
Kyocera) it is much easier to work with uncompressed PostScript.
To get uncompressed PostScript as output, send a job with the
"psdebug" option, with commands like the following:
lpr -P <printer> -o psdebug <file>
lp -d <printer> -o psdebug <file>
If you want to send your job out of a desktop application, run
lpoptions -p <printer> -o psdebug
to make "psdebug" a personal default setting for you.
To extract the PostScript output for a developer to analyse it,
clone your print queue to a one which prints into a file:
cupsctl FileDevice=yes
lpadmin -p test -E -v file:/tmp/printout \
-P /etc/cups/ppd/<name of original queue>.ppd
and print into this queue as described above. The PostScript
output is in /tmp/printout after the job has completed.
This option does not change anything if Poppler's pdftops is used
as renderer.
HELPER DAEMON FOR BROWSING REMOTE CUPS PRINTERS AND IPP NETWORK PRINTERS
From version 1.6.0 on in CUPS the CUPS broadcasting/browsing
facility was dropped, in favour of Bonjour-based broadcasting of
shared printers. This is done as Bonjour broadcasting of shared
printers is a standard, established by the PWG (Printing Working
Group, http://www.pwg.org/), and most other network services
(shared file systems, shared media files/streams, remote desktop
services, ...) are also broadcasted via Bonjour.
Problem is that CUPS only broadcasts its shared printers but does
not browse broadcasts of other CUPS servers to make the shared
remote printers available locally without any configuration
efforts. This is a regression compared to the old CUPS
broadcasting/browsing. The intention of CUPS upstream is that the
application's print dialogs browse the Bonjour broadcasts as an
AirPrint-capable iPhone does, but it will take its time until all
toolkit developers add the needed functionality, and programs
using old toolkits or no toolkits at all, or the command line stay
uncovered.
The solution is cups-browsed, a helper daemon running in parallel
to the CUPS daemon which listens to Bonjour broadcasts of shared
CUPS printers on remote machines in the local network via Avahi,
and can also listen for (and send) CUPS Browsing broadcasts. For
each reported remote printer it creates a local raw queue pointing
to the remote printer so that the printer appears in local print
dialogs and is also available for printing via the command
line. As with the former CUPS broadcasting/browsing with this
queue the driver on the server is used and the local print dialogs
give access to all options of the server-side printer driver.
Note that CUPS broadcasting/browsing is available for legacy
support, to let the local CUPS daemon work seamlessly together
with remote CUPS daemons of version 1.5.x and older which only
support CUPS broadcasting/browsing. In networks with only CUPS
1.6.x servers (or Ubuntu or Fedora/Red Hat servers with CUPS
1.5.x) please use the native Bonjour broadcasting of your servers
and cups-browsed, configured for Bonjour browsing only on the
clients.
Also high availability with redundant print servers is
supported. If there is more than one server providing a shared
print queue with the same name, cups-browsed uses the first queue
which appeared and if this queue disappears, cups-browsed
seamlessly switches to the queue of another server. Unfortunately,
load-balancing (what CUPS did via implicit classes) is not
possible with cups-browsed.
For maximum security cups-browsed uses IPPS (encrypted IPP)
whenever possible.
In addition, cups-browsed is also capable of discovering IPP
network printers (native printers, not CUPS queues) with known
page description languages (PWG Raster, PDF, PostScript, PCL XL,
PCL 5c/e) in the local network and auto-create PPD-less print
queues for them (using a System V interface script to control the
filter chain). Clients have to IPP-poll the capabilities of the
printer and send option settings as standard IPP attributes. We do
not poll the capabilities by ourselves to not wake up the printer
from power-saving mode when creating the queues. Jobs have to be
sent in PDF format. Other formats are not accepted. This
functionality is primarily for mobile devices running CUPS to not
need a printer setup tool nor a collection of printer drivers and
PPDs.
The configuration file for cups-browsed is
/etc/cups/cups-browsed.conf. This file can include limited forms
of the original CUPS BrowseRemoteProtocols, BrowseLocalProtocols,
BrowsePoll, and BrowseAllow directives. It also can contain the
new CreateIPPPrinterQueues to activate discovering of IPP network
printers and creating PPD-less queues for them.
Note that cups-browsed does not work with remote CUPS servers
specified by a client.conf file. It always connects to the local
CUPS daemon by setting the CUPS_SERVER environment variable and so
overriding client.conf. If your local CUPS daemon uses a
non-standard domain socket as only way of access, you need to
specify it via the DomainSocket directive in
/etc/cups/cups-browsed.conf.
The "make install" process installs init scripts which make the
daemon automatically started during boot. You can also manually
start it with (as root):
/usr/sbin/cups-browsed &
or in debug mode with
/usr/sbin/cups-browsed --debug
Shut it down by sending signal 2 (SIGINT) or 15 (SIGTERM) to
it. The queues which it has created get removed then (except a
queue set as system default, to not loose its system default
state).
Make sure that cups-browsed gets started after avahi-daemon, so that
the Bonjour/DNS-SD browsing works. On systems using systemd use a
/usr/lib/systemd/system/cups-browsed.service file like this:
[Unit]
Description=Make remote CUPS printers available locally
After=cups.service avahi-daemon.service
Wants=cups.service avahi-daemon.service
[Service]
ExecStart=/usr/sbin/cups-browsed
[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target
On systems using Upstart use an /etc/init/cups-browsed.conf file like this:
start on (filesystem
and started avahi-daemon
and (started cups or runlevel [2345]))
stop on runlevel [016]
respawn
respawn limit 3 240
pre-start script
[ -x /usr/sbin/cups-browsed ]
end script
exec /usr/sbin/cups-browsed
These files are included in the source distribution as
utils/cups-browsed.service and utils/cups-browsed-upstart.conf.
Here is some info on how cups-browsed works internally (first concept of a
daemon which does only Bonjour browsing):
- Daemon start
o Wait for CUPS daemon if it is not running
o Read out all CUPS queues created by this daemon (in former sessions)
o Mark them unconfirmed and set timeout 10 sec from now
- Main loop (use avahi_simple_poll_iterate() to do queue list maintenance
regularly)
o Event: New printer shows up
+ Queue for printer is already created by this daemon -> Mark list
entry confirmed, if discovered printer is ipps but existing queue ipp,
upgrade existing queue by setting URI to ipps. Set status to
to-be-created and timeout to now-1 sec to make the CUPS queue be
updated.
+ Queue does not yet exist -> Mark as to-be-created and set
timeout to now-1 sec.
o Event: A printer disappears
+ If we have listed a queue for it, mark the entry as disappeared, set
timeout to now-1 sec
o On any of the above events and every 2 sec
+ Check through list of our listed queues
- If queue is unconfirmed and timeout has passed, mark it as
disappeared, set timeout to now-1 sec
- If queue is marked disappered and timeout has passed, check whether
there are still jobs in it, if yes, set timeout to 10 sec from now,
if no, remove the CUPS queue and the queue entry in our list. If
removal fails, set timeout to 10 sec.
- If queue is to-be-created, create it, if succeeded set to
confirmed, if not, set timeout to 10 sec fron now. printer-is-shared
must be set to false.
- Daemon shutdown
o Remove all CUPS queues in our list, as long as they do not have jobs.
Do not overwrite existing queues which are not created by us If
the simple <remote_printer> name is already taken, try to create a
<remote_printer>@<server> name, if this is also taken, ignore the
remote printer. Do not retry, to avoid polling CUPS all the time.
Do not remove queues which are not created by us. We do this by
listing only our queues and remove only listed queues.
Queue names: Use the name of the remote queue. If a queue with the
same name from another server already exists, mark the new queue
as duplicate and when a queue disappears, check whether it has
duplicates and change the URI of the disappeared queue to the URI
of the first duplicate, mark the queue as to-be-created with
timeout now-1 sec (to update the URI of the CUPS queue) and mark
the duplicate ddisappeared with timeout now-1 sec. In terms of
high availability we replace the old load balancing of the
implicit class by a failover solution. Alternatively (not
implemented), if queue with same name but from other server
appears, create new queue as <original name>@<server name without
.local>. When queue with simple name is removed, replace the first
of the others by one with simple name (mark old queue disappeared
with timeout now-1 sec and create new queue with simple name).
Fill description of the created CUPS queue with the Bonjour
service name (= original description) and location with the server
name without .local.
stderr messages only in debug mode (command line options:
"--debug" or "-d" or "-v").
Queue identified as from this daemon by doing the equivalent of
"lpadmin -p printer -o cups-browsed-default", this generates a
"cups-browsed" attribute in printers.conf with value "true".
CUPS FILTERS FOR PDF AS STANDARD PRINT JOB FORMAT
Here is documentation from the former CUPS add-on tarball with the filters
for the PDF-based printing workflow: imagetopdf, texttopdf,
pdftopdf, pdftoraster, pdftoopvp, and pdftoijs
The original filters are from http://sourceforge.jp/projects/opfc/
NOTE: the texttops and imagetops filters shipping with this package
are simple wrapper scripts for backward compatibility with third-party
PPD files and custom configurations. There are not referred to in the
cupsfilters.convs file and therefore not used by the default
configuration. Direct conversion of text or images to PostScript is
deprecated in the PDF-based printing workflow. So do not use these
filters when creating new PPDs or custom configurations. The parameters
for these filters are the same as for texttopdf and imagetopdf (see
below) as the ...tops filter calls the ....topdf filter plus
Ghostscript's pdf2ps.
IMAGETOPDF
==========
1. INTRODUCTION
This program is "imagetopdf". "imagetopdf" is a CUPS filter which reads
a single image file, converts it into a PDF file and outputs it to stdout.
This program accepts the following image file format;
gif, png, jpeg, tiff, photocd, portable-anymap, portable-bitmap,
portable-graymap, portable-pixmap, sgi-rgb, sun-raster, xbitmap,
xpixmap, xwindowdump
xbitmap, xpixmap and xwindowdump images are converted into png images by
the "convert" command. Other kinds of image file format can be supported
if the "convert" command support them.
Output PDF file format conforms to PDF version 1.3 specification, and
input image is converted and contained in the output PDF file as a binary
format non-compression image.
"imagetopdf" may outputs multiple pages if the input image exceeds page
printable area.
2. LICENSE
"imagetopdf.c" is under the CUPS license. See the "LICENSE.txt" file.
For other files, see the copyright notice and license of each file.
3. COMMAND LINE
"imagetopdf" is a CUPS filter, and the command line arguments, environment
variables and configuration files are in accordance with the CUPS filter
interface.
imagetopdf <job> <user> <title> <num-copies> <options> [<filename>]
"imagetopdf" ignores <job> and <user>.
<title> is appended into the PDF dictionary as /Title.
<num-copies> specifies the number of document copies.
<options> is a CUPS option list.
<filename> is an input image file name.
When omit the <filename>, "imagetopdf" reads an image file from stdin.
4. ENVIRONMENT VARIABLES
This program refers the following environment variable;
PPD: PPD file name of the printer.
5. COMMAND OPTIONS
"imagetopdf" accepts the following CUPS standard options;
fitplot
mirror
PageSize
page-left, page-right, page-bottom, page-top
OutputOrder
Collate
sides
cupsEvenDuplex
position
scaling
ppi
natural-scaling
landscape
orientation-requested
See the CUPS documents for details of these options.
6. KNOWN PROBLEMS
Problem:
PBM and SUN raster images can not be printed.
Solution:
Due to the CUPS libcupsimage library's bug. Update the CUPS on your system.
7. INFORMATION FOR DEVELOPERS
Following information is for developers, not for driver users.
7.1 Options handled by a printer or "imagetopdf"
Following options are handled by a printer or "imagetopdf".
Collate, Copies, Duplex, OutputOrder
Which handles these options depends on following options and attributes.
Collate, Copies, Duplex, OutputOrder, cupsEvenDuplex, cupsManualCopies
"imagetopdf" judges whether a printer can handle these options according to
the followings option settings in a PPD file.
Collate:
If Collate is defined, "imagetopdf" judges the printer supports Collate.
Copies:
If cupsManualCopies is defined as True, "imagetopdf" judges the printer
does not support Copies feature.
Duplex:
If Duplex is defined, "imagetopdf" judges the printer supports Duplex.
If cupsEvenDuplex is True, Number of pages must be even.
OutputOrder:
If OutputOrder is defined, "imagetopdf" judges the printer supports
OutputOrder.
If the printer cannot handle these options, "imagetopdf" handles it.
Following pseudo program describes how "imagetopdf" judges to handle
these options.
Variables
Copies : specified Copies
Duplex : specified Duplex
Collate : specified Collate
OutputOrder : specified OutputOrder
EvenDuplex : specified cupsEvenDuplex
pages : number of pages
number_up : specified number-up
device_copies : Copies passed to the printer
device_duplex : Duplex passed to the printer
device_collate : Collate passed to the printer
device_outputorder : OutputOrder passed to the printer
soft_copies : copies by imagetopdf
device_copies = 1;
device_duplex = False;
device_collate = False;
device_outputorder = False;
if (Copies == 1) {
/* Collate is not needed. */
Collate = False;
}
if (!Duplex) {
/* EvenDuplex is not needed */
EvenDuplex = False;
}
if (Copies > 1 && the printer can handle Copies) device_copies = Copies;
if (Duplex && the printer can handle Duplex) {
device_duplex = True;
} else {
/* imagetopdf cannot handle Duplex */
}
if (Collate && the printer can handle Collate) device_collate = True;
if (OutputOrder == Reverse && the printer can handle OutputOrder)
device_outputorder = True;
if (Collate && !device_collate) {
/* The printer cannot handle Collate.
So imagetopdf handle Copies */
device_copies = 1;
}
if (device_copies != Copies /* imagetopdf handle Copies */ && Duplex)
/* Make imagetopdf handle Collate, otherwise both paper side may have
same page */
Collate = True;
device_collate = False;
}
if (Duplex && Collate && !device_collate) {
/* Handle EvenDuplex, otherwise the last page has
the next copy's first page in the other side of the paper. */
EvenDuplex = True;
}
if (Duplex && OutputOrder == Reverse && !device_outputorder) {
/* Handle EvenDuplex, otherwise the first page's other side of paper
is empty. */
EvenDuplex = True;
}
soft_copies = device_copies > 1 ? 1 : Copies;
7.2 JCL
When you print PDF files to a PostScript(PS) printer, you can specify
device options in PS. In this case, you can write PS commands in a PPD file
like as follows.
*OpenUI *Resolution/Resolution : PickOne
*DefaultResolution: 600
*Resolution 300/300 dpi: "<</HWResolution[300 300]>>setpagedevice"
*Resolution 600/600 dpi: "<</HWResolution[600 600]>>setpagedevice"
*CloseUI: *Resolution
However, if options cannot be described in PS file, you can write JCLs
as follows;
*JCLOpenUI *JCLFrameBufferSize/Frame Buffer Size: PickOne
*DefaultJCLFrameBufferSize: Letter
*OrderDependency: 20 JCLSetup *JCLFrameBufferSize
*JCLFrameBufferSize Off: '@PJL SET PAGEPROTECT = OFF<0A>'
*JCLFrameBufferSize Letter: '@PJL SET PAGEPROTECT = LTR<0A>'
*JCLFrameBufferSize Legal: '@PJL SET PAGEPROTECT = LGL<0A>'
*JCLCloseUI: *JCLFrameBufferSize
Because PDF cannot specify device options in a PDF file, you have to define
all the device options as JCLs.
When a printer does not support PS nor PDF, you can use Ghostscript (GS).
In this case, you can specify device options like a PS printer.
If you want to use the same printer and same PPD file for both PDF and PS
printing, when you print a PS file, you can specify that GS handles it,
and when you print a PDF file, you can also specify that PDF filters handle
it in the same PPD file. However in this case, previous methods is not
appropriate to specify device options.
So, "imagetopdf" handles this case as follows;
(In following pseudo program, JCL option is an option specified with JCLOpenUI)
if (Both JCLBegin and JCLToPSInterpreter are specified in the PPD file) {
output JCLs that marked JCL options.
}
if (pdftopdfJCLBegin attribute is specified in the PPD file) {
output it's value
}
if (Copies option is specified in the PPD file) {
mark Number of copies specified
} else if (pdftopdfJCLCopies is specified in the PPD file) {
output JCL specified with JCLCopies
}
for (each marked options) {
if (pdftopdfJCL<marked option's name> is specified in the PPD file) {
output it's value as a JCL
} else if (pdftopdfJCLBegin attributes is specified in the PPD file) {
output "<option's name>=<marked choice>;" as a JCL
}
}
output NEWLINE
Thus, if you want to use both PDF filters and GS by single PPD file,
what you should do is to add the following line in the PPD file;
*pdftopdfJCLBegin: "pdftoopvp jobInfo:"
Note:
If you specify JCLBegin, you have to specify JCLToPSInterpreter as well.
Note:
When you need to specify the value which is different from the choosen
value based on the PPD into the jobInfo, you have to specify the values
with the key started by "pdftopdfJCL" string.
For example, if the page size is defined in a PPD file as following;
*OpenUI *PageSize/Page Size: PickOne
*DefaultPageSize: A4
*PageSize A4/A4:
*PageSize Letter/US Letter:
*CloseUI: *PageSize
if you choose the page size "Letter", the string "PageSize=Letter;" is
added to jobInfo. On the other hand, if the driver requires the different
value for the "Letter" size, for instance driver requires "PS=LT;"
instead of "PageSize=Letter;" as the jobInfo value, the PPD file has to
be defined as following;
*OpenUI *PageSize/Page Size: PickOne
*DefaultPageSize: A4
*PageSize A4/A4:
*pdftopdfJCLPageSize A4/A4: "PS=A4;"
*PageSize Letter/US Letter:
*pdftopdfJCLPageSize Letter/US Letter: "PS=LT;"
*CloseUI: *PageSize
7.3 Temporally files location
"imagetopdf" creates temporally files if needed. Temporary files are created
in the location specified by TMPDIR environment variable. Default location
is "/tmp".
PDFTOPDF (OLD)
==============
0. DEPRECATION NOTICE
This filter is being replaced by a new implementation that does not
depend on poppler. Therefore it has been renamed "pdftopdf.old",
but the references in the following sections have not been updated.
1. INTRODUCTION
There are two executable programs, "pdftopdf" and "pdf2pdf", in this package.
"pdftopdf" is a filter for CUPS. It reads PDF files, changes page layout
and output a new PDF file. "pdf2pdf" is a user command version of "pdftopdf".
This document describes about only "pdftopdf". See man/pdf2pdf.1 for "pdf2pdf".
When a input PDF file which is given to "pdftopdf" does not include some
required fonts, and if you set the font embedding option, "pdftopdf" embed
fonts in the new PDF file
"pdftopdf" finds fonts to embed by fontconfig library.
"pdftopdf" now embed only TrueType format fonts.
PDF Standard fonts are not embedded.
Note: Do not embed fonts that the font licenses inhibit embedding.
"pdftopdf" does not support functions that are not related to printing
features, including interactive features and document interchange features.
Many of these operators and sections are just ignored.
Some of these may be output, but those functions are not assured.
Encryption feature is not supported.
2. NATIVE PDF PRINTER SUPPORT
pdftopdf introduces native PDF printer support to CUPS for the first
time. PPD files must have a line
*cupsFilter: "application/vnd.cups-pdf 0 -"
and use the "*JCLToPDFInterpreter:" keyword, for example:
*JCLBegin: "<1B>%-12345X@PJL JOB<0A>"
*JCLToPDFInterpreter: "@PJL ENTER LANGUAGE = PDF <0A>"
*JCLEnd: "<1B>%-12345X@PJL EOJ <0A><1B>%-12345X"
They MUST NOT accept PostScript as input data format and will not work
with stock CUPS. They will need cups-filters (which implements the PDF-
based printing workflow) to work.
Options must not be implemented by specifying PostScript code to
inject. They must be injecting JCL code ("*JCLOpenUI:
... ... *JCLCloseUI: ...").
A sample PPD file, HP-Color_LaserJet_CM3530_MFP-PDF.ppd is included.
3. LICENSE
Almost all source files are under MIT like license. However,
"pdftopdf" links some "poppler" libraries, and these files are under
GNU public license. See copyright notice of each file for details.
4. COMMAND LINE
"pdftopdf" is a CUPS filter, and the command line arguments, environment
variables and configuration files are in accordance with the CUPS filter
interface.
pdftopdf <job> <user> <title> <num-copies> <options> [<filename>]
"pdftopdf" ignores <job> and <user>.
<title> is appended into the PDF dictionary as /Title.
<num-copies> specifies the number of document copies.
<options> is a CUPS option list.
<filename> is an input PDF file name.
When omit the <filename>, "pdftopdf" reads a PDF file from stdin,
and save it as a temporary file.
CUPS options defined in <options> are delimited by space. Boolean
type CUPS option is defined only by the option key, and other type
CUPS option are defined by pairs of key and value, <key>=<value>.
5. COMMAND OPTIONS
"pdftopdf" accepts the following CUPS standard options;
fitplot
mirror
PageSize
page-left, page-right, page-bottom, page-top
number-up
number-up-layout
page-border
OutputOrder
page-set
page-ranges
Collate
sides
cupsEvenDuplex
See the CUPS documents for details of these options.
Margin given by the page-left, page-right, page-bottom and page-top is
valid when fiplot or number-up option is set.
"pdftopdf" accepts the following original options;
pdftopdfFontEmbedding
Boolean option.
Force "pdftopdf" to embed fonts. "pdftopdf" does not embed fonts by default.
pdftopdfFontEmbeddingWhole
Boolean option.
Force "pdftopdf" to embed whole fonts.
"pdftopdf" does not embed whole fonts by default.
If this option is false, "pdftopdf" embed subset of the fonts.
This option is valid only when the pdftopdfFontEmbedding option is true.
pdftopdfFontEmbeddingPreLoad
Boolean option.
Force "pdftopdf" to embed fonts specified as pre-loaded fonts in a PPD file.
"pdftopdf" does not embed pre-loaded fonts by default.
If this option is false, pdftopdf does not embed pre-loaded fonts.
This option is valid only when the pdftopdfFontEmbedding option is true.
pdftopdfFontCompress
Boolean option.
Force "pdftopdf" to compress embed fonts.
"pdftopdf" does not compress embed fonts by default.
This option is valid only when the pdftopdfFontEmbedding option is true.
pdftopdfContentsCompress
Boolean option.
Force "pdftopdf" to compress page contents.
"pdftopdf" does not compress page contents by default.
pdftopdfJCLBegin
Boolean option.
Force "pdftopdf" to create JCL info for the following PDF filter
"pdftoopvp".
6. INFORMATION FOR DEVELOPERS
Following information is for developers, not for driver users.
6.1 Options handled by a printer or "pdftopdf"
Following options are handled by a printer or "pdftopdf".
Collate, Copies, Duplex, OutputOrder
Which handles these options depends on following options and attributes.
Collate, Copies, Duplex, OutputOrder, cupsEvenDuplex, cupsManualCopies
"pdftopdf" judges whether a printer can handle these options according to
the followings option settings in a PPD file.
Collate:
If Collate is defined, "pdftopdf" judges the printer supports Collate.
Copies:
If cupsManualCopies is defined as True, "pdftopdf" judges the printer
does not support Copies feature.
Duplex:
If Duplex is defined, "pdftopdf" judges the printer supports Duplex.
If cupsEvenDuplex is True, Number of pages must be even.
OutputOrder:
If OutputOrder is defined, "pdftopdf" judges the printer supports
OutputOrder.
If the printer cannot handle these options, "pdftopdf" handles it.
Following pseudo program describes how "pdftopdf" judges to handle
these options.
Variables
Copies : specified Copies
Duplex : specified Duplex
Collate : specified Collate
OutputOrder : specified OutputOrder
EvenDuplex : specified cupsEvenDuplex
pages : number of pages
number_up : specified number-up
device_copies : Copies passed to the printer
device_duplex : Duplex passed to the printer
device_collate : Collate passed to the printer
device_outputorder : OutputOrder passed to the printer
soft_copies : copies by pdftopdf
device_copies = 1;
device_duplex = False;
device_collate = False;
device_outputorder = False;
if (Copies == 1) {
/* Collate is not needed. */
Collate = False;
}
if (!Duplex) {
/* EvenDuplex is not needed */
EvenDuplex = False;
}
if (Copies > 1 && the printer can handle Copies) device_copies = Copies;
if (Duplex && the printer can handle Duplex) {
device_duplex = True;
} else {
/* pdftopdf cannot handle Duplex */
}
if (Collate && the printer can handle Collate) device_collate = True;
if (OutputOrder == Reverse && the printer can handle OutputOrder)
device_outputorder = True;
if (Collate && !device_collate) {
/* The printer cannot handle Collate.
So pdftopdf handle Copies */
device_copies = 1;
}
if (device_copies != Copies /* pdftopdf handle Copies */ && Duplex)
/* Make pdftopdf handle Collate, otherwise both paper side may have
same page */
Collate = True;
device_collate = False;
}
if (Duplex && Collate && !device_collate) {
/* Handle EvenDuplex, otherwise the last page has
the next copy's first page in the other side of the paper. */
EvenDuplex = True;
}
if (Duplex && OutputOrder == Reverse && !device_outputorder) {
/* Handle EvenDuplex, otherwise the first page's other side of paper
is empty. */
EvenDuplex = True;
}
soft_copies = device_copies > 1 ? 1 : Copies;
6.2 JCL
When you print PDF files to a PostScript(PS) printer, you can specify
device options in PS. In this case, you can write PS commands in a PPD file
like as follows.
*OpenUI *Resolution/Resolution : PickOne
*DefaultResolution: 600
*Resolution 300/300 dpi: "<</HWResolution[300 300]>>setpagedevice"
*Resolution 600/600 dpi: "<</HWResolution[600 600]>>setpagedevice"
*CloseUI: *Resolution
However, if options cannot be described in PS file, you can write JCLs
as follows;
*JCLOpenUI *JCLFrameBufferSize/Frame Buffer Size: PickOne
*DefaultJCLFrameBufferSize: Letter
*OrderDependency: 20 JCLSetup *JCLFrameBufferSize
*JCLFrameBufferSize Off: '@PJL SET PAGEPROTECT = OFF<0A>'
*JCLFrameBufferSize Letter: '@PJL SET PAGEPROTECT = LTR<0A>'
*JCLFrameBufferSize Legal: '@PJL SET PAGEPROTECT = LGL<0A>'
*JCLCloseUI: *JCLFrameBufferSize
For PostScript printers all these options are handled by the pdftops
filter which is the PostScript printer driver in the PDF-based
printing workflow.
If you have a native PDF printer you cannot use options which inject
PostScript code into the data stream, you have to define all options
with JCL. Only in this case pdftopdf adds the JCL header and trailer
to the PDF job. Native PDF PPDs with JCL options are recognized by the
"*JCLToPDFInterpreter:" keyword, for example with the following lines:
*JCLBegin: "<1B>%-12345X@PJL JOB<0A>"
*JCLToPDFInterpreter: "@PJL ENTER LANGUAGE = PDF <0A>"
*JCLEnd: "<1B>%-12345X@PJL EOJ <0A><1B>%-12345X"
To get the correct CUPS filter chain for them, they need the following
line:
*cupsFilter: "application/vnd.cups-pdf 0 -"
and NO "*cupsFilter:" line which accepts PostScript input.
A sample PPD file for a native PDF printer,
HP-Color_LaserJet_CM3530_MFP-PDF.ppd is included.
When a printer does not support PS nor PDF, you can use Ghostscript (GS).
In this case, you can specify device options like a PS printer.
If you want to use the same printer and same PPD file for both PDF and PS
printing, when you print a PS file, you can specify that GS handles it,
and when you print a PDF file, you can also specify that PDF filters handle
it in the same PPD file. However in this case, previous methods is not
appropriate to specify device options.
So, "pdftopdf" handles this case as follows;
(In following pseudo program, JCL option is a option specified with JCLOpenUI)
if (Both JCLBegin and JCLToPDFInterpreter are specified in the PPD file) {
output JCLs that marked JCL options.
}
if (pdftopdfJCLBegin attribute is specified in the PPD file) {
output it's value
}
if (Copies option is specified in the PPD file) {
mark Number of copies specified
} else if (pdftopdfJCLCopies is specified in the PPD file) {
output JCL specified with JCLCopies
}
for (each marked options) {
if (pdftopdfJCL<marked option's name> is specified in the PPD file) {
output it's value as a JCL
} else if (pdftopdfJCLBegin attributes is specified in the PPD file) {
output "<option's name>=<marked choice>;" as a JCL
}
}
output NEWLINE
Thus, if you want to use both PDF filters and GS by single PPD file,
what you should do is to add the following line in the PPD file;
*pdftopdfJCLBegin: "pdftoopvp jobInfo:"
Note:
If you specify JCLBegin, you have to specify JCLToPDFInterpreter as well.
Note:
When you need to specify the value which is different from the choosen
value based on the PPD into the jobInfo, you have to specify the values
with the key started by "pdftopdfJCL" string.
For example, if the page size is defined in a PPD file as following;
*OpenUI *PageSize/Page Size: PickOne
*DefaultPageSize: A4
*PageSize A4/A4:
*PageSize Letter/US Letter:
*CloseUI: *PageSize
if you choose the page size "Letter", the string "PageSize=Letter;" is
added to jobInfo. On the other hand, if the driver requires the different
value for the "Letter" size, for instance driver requires "PS=LT;"
instead of "PageSize=Letter;" as the jobInfo value, the PPD file has to
be defined as following;
*OpenUI *PageSize/Page Size: PickOne
*DefaultPageSize: A4
*PageSize A4/A4:
*pdftopdfJCLPageSize A4/A4: "PS=A4;"
*PageSize Letter/US Letter:
*pdftopdfJCLPageSize Letter/US Letter: "PS=LT;"
*CloseUI: *PageSize
6.3 Special PDF comment
"pdftopdf" outputs the following special comments from the 4th line in the
created PDF data.
%%PDFTOPDFNumCopies : <copies> --- <copies> specified Number of Copies
%%PDFTOPDFCollate : <collate> --- <collate> is true or false
6.4 Temporally files location
"pdftopdf" creates temporally files if needed. Temporary files are created
in the location specified by TMPDIR environment variable. Default location
is "/tmp".
PDFTOPDF -- new implementation
===============================
A new implementation of the pdftopdf filter is available.
It depends on libqpdf to read/write pdf files.
The aim is to replace and imitate the pstops filter in PDF-based workflows.
A similar filter (which can serve as behavior reference)
is called "cgpdftopdf" in OS X (not open source).
Notable options
---------------
booklet=Off/On/Shuffle-Only
On also tries to set DuplexTumble (two-sided-short-edge) and forces number-up=2
booklet-signature=(multiple of 4, or default: -1 to use "all pages")
Known issues
------------
- Borders, esp. in the "number-up=1 fitplot=false"-case are sometimes drawn
at incorrect locations.
- more testing needs to be done
- documentation largely missing
TEXTTOPDF
=========
This implements a texttopdf filter, and is derived from cups' texttops.
To configure:
-------------
- texttopdf uses CUPS_DATADIR/charset/pdf.utf-8 for font configuration
(when utf-8 was requested as charset). The font names given there are
used as fontconfig selectors; the best matching font, that is both
monospaced and in a supported format (TTC, TTF or OTF) will then be used.
- As a special exception, all fontnames that start with a '.' or '/' are
considered filenames, and fontconfig is skipped; the name is used directly
for loading the font file.
- Implementation note: TrueType Collections (.TTC) are internally handled
by appending '/' and the index of the font inside the collection to
the filename (e.g. to use the second font of uming.ttc, the filename
uming.ttc/1 must be given to the fontembed-library).
By appending the index-field returned from fontconfig, this is completely
transparent to the user (but currently not widely tested).
- You may look at the two examples: pdf.utf-8.simple and pdf.utf-8.heavy.
To use:
-------
The filter is called just like any other cups filter. Have a
look at test.sh for example.
Known Issues
------------
- Text extraction does not work (at least for pdftotext from xpdf)
for the resulting pdfs.
- OTF(CFF) embedding currently does not subset the fonts.
- Text wrapping in pretty-printing mode does not respect double-wide
characters (CJK), and thus produce wrong results (wrap too late)
for lines where they occur. The fix is not trivial, since all the
pretty-printing processing is done without knowledge of / prior to
the font configuration (which is where single or double width
code-ranges are specified).
- The hebrew example in test5.pdf shows one of our limitations:
Compose glyphs are not composed with the primary glyph but printed
as separate glyphs.
Further Infos
-------------
Font embedding is handled by libfontembed in the filter/fontembed
subdirectory.
Please report all bugs to https://bugs.linuxfoundation.org/, product
"OpenPrinting", component "cups-filters".
PDFTORASTER
===========
1. INTRODUCTION
"pdftoraster" is a filter for CUPS. It reads PDF files, convert it and
output CUPS raster.
"pdftoraster" does not support functions that are not related to printing
features, including interactive features and document interchange features.
Many of these operators and sections are just ignored.
Some of these may be output, but those functions are not assured.
Encryption feature is not supported.
2. LICENSE
Almost source files are under MIT like license. However, "pdftoraster" links
some "poppler" libraries, and these files are under GNU public license.
See copyright notice of each file for details.
3. COMMAND LINE
"pdftoraster" is a CUPS filter, and the command line arguments, environment
variables and configuration files are in accordance with the CUPS filter
interface.
pdftoraster <job> <user> <title> <num-copies> <options> [<filename>]
"pdftoraster" ignores <job> and <user>.
<title> is appended into the PDF dictionary as /Title.
<num-copies> specifies the number of document copies.
<options> is a CUPS option list.
<filename> is an input PDF file name.
When omit the <filename>, "pdftoraster" reads a PDF file from the stdin,
and save it as a temporary file.
4. ENVIRONMENT VARIABLES
This program refers the following environment variable;
PPD: PPD file name of the printer.
5. COMMAND OPTIONS
See CUPS documents for details.
6. INFORMATION FOR DEVELOPERS
Following information is for developers, not for driver users.
6.1 Options handled by a printer or "pdftoraster"
"pdftopdf" outputs the following special comments from the 4th line in the
created PDF data.
%%PDFTOPDFNumCopies : <copies> --- <copies> specified Number of Copies
%%PDFTOPDFCollate : <collate> --- <collate> is true or false
"pdftoraster" overrides the command line options by above two option's values.
6.2 Temporally files location
"pdftoraster" creates temporally files if needed. Temporary files are created
in the location specified by TMPDIR environment variable. Default location
is "/tmp".
PDFTOIJS
========
1. INTRODUCTION
"pdftoijs" is a filter for CUPS. It reads PDF files, converts it
and sends it to an IJS server.
2. LICENSE
Almost source files are under MIT like license. However, "pdftoijs" links
some "poppler" libraries, and these files are under GNU public license.
See copyright notice of each file for details.
3. COMMAND LINE
"pdftoijs" is a CUPS filter, and the command line arguments, environment
variables and configuration files are in accordance with the CUPS filter
interface.
pdftoijs <job> <user> <title> <num-copies> <options> [<filename>]
"pdftoijs" ignores <job> and <user>.
<title> is appended into the PDF dictionary as /Title.
<num-copies> specifies the number of document copies.
<options> is a CUPS option list.
<filename> is an input PDF file name.
When omit the <filename>, "pdftoijs" reads a PDF file from the stdin,
and save it as a temporary file.
4. ENVIRONMENT VARIABLES
This program refers the following environment variable;
PPD: PPD file name of the printer.
5. NEW PPD KEYWORDS
*ijsServer : the ijsserver executable
*ijsManufacturer, *ijsModel : as used by the ijs server
*ijsColorspace : the desired output colorspace, one of
'rgb'
'cmyk' (availability depending on poppler compile-options)
'white1', 'black1': 1-bit normal/inverted
'white8', 'black8': 8-bit greyscale normal/inverted
*ijsResolution [option]=[choice]: the desired output resolution e.g. "600 600"
*ijsParams [option]=[choice]: custom ijs parameters, separated by ','
(to escape: use \,)
6. COMMAND OPTIONS
(See CUPS documents for details.)
ijsOutputFile : the destination file, stdout otherwise
7. INFORMATION FOR DEVELOPERS
Following information is for developers, not for driver users.
7.1 Temporally files location
"pdftoijs" creates temporally files if needed. Temporary files are created
in the location specified by TMPDIR environment variable. Default location
is "/tmp".
PDFTOOPVP
=========
1. INTRODUCTION
"pdftoopvp" is a CUPS filter which reads PDF file, renders pages and
outputs PDL to a printer driver which is compliant with the OpenPrinting
Vector Printer Driver Interface "opvp".
2. CONFIGURATION
"pdftoopvp" refers the poppler configuration file. Be aware that poppler
uses "fontconfig" for its font configuration.
3. JCL
When "pdftoopvp" reads a PDF file from stdin, "pdftoopvp" handles the data
prior to PDF header (%PDF ...) as JCL options. JCL options for "pdftoopvp"
must begin with "pdftoopvp jobInfo:". "pdftoopvp" passes the option string
just after ":" to the driver as the jobInfo option.
4. COMMAND LINE
"pdftoopvp" is a CUPS filter, and the command line arguments,
environment variables and configuration files are in accordance with
the CUPS filter interface.
pdftoopvp <job> <user> <title> <num-copies> <options> [<filename>]
"pdftoopvp" ignores <job>, <user>, <title> and <num-copies>.
<options> is a CUPS option list.
When omit the <filename>, "pdftoopvp" reads a PDF file from stdin,
and save it as a temporary file.
CUPS options defined in <options> are delimited by space. Boolean
type CUPS option is defined only by the option key, and other type
CUPS option are defined by pairs of key and value, <key>=<value>.
5. COMMAND OPTIONS
"pdftoopvp" accepts the following CUPS standard options;
Resolution=<int>
Specifies a printer resolution in dpi.
When this option is omitted, the resolution is treated as 300dpi.
Horizontal and vertical resolution are treated as the same resolution.
PageSize=<string>
Specifies a paper size by name defined in the PPD file.
This option is ignored when no PPD file is assigned for the printer
queue.
"pdftoopvp" accepts the following original options;
opvpDriver=<string>
Specifies a driver library name.
opvpModel=<string>
Specifies a printer model name.
opvpJobInfo=<string>
Specifies "jobInfo" printing options that are passed to the driver.
Printing options are overridden by JCL options.
opvpDocInfo=<string>
Specifies "docInfo" document options that are passed to the driver.
opvpPageInfo=<string>
Specifies "pageInfo" page options that are passed to the driver.
pdftoopvpClipPathNotSaved (Boolean option)
Specifies that the driver cannot save clipping path operators in PDF.
nopdftoopvpShearImage (Boolean option)
Specifies that the driver cannot rotate/shear images by CTM.
nopdftoopvpMiterLimit (Boolean option)
Specifies that the driver does not support miter limit.
If the driver does not prepare the opvpSetMiterLimit function entry,
this option setting is ignored, and also miter limit is ignored.
pdftoopvpIgnoreMiterLimit (Boolean option)
When nopdftoopvpMiterLimit option is set, pdftoopvp automatically
replace paths to multiple lines or drawing images. This option
specifies to avoid the path replacement even when nopdftoopvpMiterLimit
option is set.
pdftoopvpMaxClipPathLength=<int>
Specifies the maximum number of clipping path points that the driver
supports. Default value is 2000 points.
pdftoopvpMaxFillPathLength=<int>
Specifies the maximum number of fill path points that the driver supports.
Default value is 4000 points.
nopdftoopvpLineStyle (Boolean option)
Specifies that the driver ignores the line style settings in PDF.
If the driver does not prepare the SetLineStyle , SetLineDash or
SetLineDashOffset function entry, this option setting is ignored, and
also line style, line dash and line dash offset are ignored.
nopdftoopvpClipPath (Boolean option)
Specifies that the driver does not support clipping path.
If the driver does not prepare the opvpSetClipPath function entry, this
option is ignored, and also clip path setting is ignored.
nopdftoopvpBitmapChar (Boolean option)
Specifies that the driver does not output characters as images.
Default setting is that "pdftoopvp" outputs small characters as images.
pdftoopvpBitmapCharThreshold=<int>
Specifies the threshold value that "pdftoopvp" outputs characters as
images. Threshold value is defined as W x H where character's width
is given by W pixels and height is given by H pixels.
Default threshold value is 2000 points.
nopdftoopvpImageMask (Boolean option)
Specifies that the driver does not support image mask.
If this option is set, "pdftoopvp" treats as the nopdftoopvpBitmapChar
option is given.
6. PPD OPTIONS
Following options can be defined in a PPD.
Resolution=<int>
PageSize=<string>
opvpDriver=<string>
opvpModel=<string>
opvpJobInfo=<string>
opvpDocInfo=<string>
opvpPageInfo=<string>
pdftoopvpClipPathNotSaved=True
pdftoopvpShearImage=False
pdftoopvpMiterLimit=False
pdftoopvpIgnoreMiterLimit=True
pdftoopvpMaxClipPathLength=<int>
pdftoopvpMaxFillPathLength=<int>
pdftoopvpLineStyle=False
pdftoopvpClipPath=False
pdftoopvpBitmapChar=False
pdftoopvpBitmapCharThreshold=<int>
pdftoopvpImageMask=False
7. OPTIONS OVERRIDING RULE
"jobInfo" printing options in a PPD is used as a initial "jobInfo" printing
options. If opvpJobInfo option is given in the command line, precedent
"jobInfo" printing options are overridden by the opvpJobInfo options.
After the "jobInfo" printing options are overridden by the opvpJobInfo
options, if JCL options are given, precedent "jobInfo" printing options are
overridden by the options given by JCL options.
8. INFORMATION FOR CUPS 1.1
To use this program under CUPS 1.1, following lines must be defined
in the CUPS's "mime.types" file.
application/vnd.cups-pdf
9. KNOWN PROBLEMS
Problem:
When a page is rotated and a character is small, character might not be
rotated correctly. This problem is caused by free type library.
Solution:
Define the nopdftoopvpBitmapChar to inhibit characters output as images.
URFTOPDF
========
"urftopdf" is a filter to convert Apple's proprietary URF raster
format into PDF. URF raster is generated by some iOS applications when
printing via Airprint, so this filter provides a more complete support
for AirPrint clients. Note that it is not clear whether nowadays all
iOS applications send PDF and not URF any more. Also the filter does
not support all variants of URF format so the URF support is most
probably incomplete.
Apple does not provide any official documentation of the format but there is
already some reverse engineering done. A description of the format as far as it
got found out and two sample files can be found here:
https://github.com/AlanQuatermain/unirast
An actual implementation of an urftopdf filter is here:
https://github.com/superna9999/urftopdf
This original version uses libharu and to avoid an extra dependency
the filter coming with this package is converted to use libqpdf
instead (the same library as pdftopdf uses).
License: GNU General Public License version 3 or any newer version
