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Diffstat (limited to 'USAGE')
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@@ -0,0 +1,245 @@ + +Foomatic 3.0.2 +============== + +foomatic-filters +---------------- + +Filter scripts used by the printer spoolers to convert the incoming +PostScript data into the printer's native format using a +printer/driver specific, but spooler-independent PPD file. + + +Grant Taylor <gtaylor@picante.com> +Till Kamppeter <till.kamppeter@gmx.net> +http://www.linuxprinting.org/ + +This usage documentation file is written by Till Kamppeter + + +Intro +----- + +Foomatic is a database providing information about the usage of +printers with free operating systems and free printer drivers, where +"free" is meant as free software in the sense of the Free Software +Foundation (http://www.gnu.org). Therefore the database only contains +information about printer drivers which are free software. The +technology of this database can also be used for non-free drivers, but +the database entries have to be published in separate packages +then. The database can also be run under non-free operating systems +(as commercial Unixes) as they often use GhostScript and free printer +drivers. + +Since most free operating systems (GNU/Linux, *BSD, ...) are +compatible to Unix, their applications send PostScript to the printer +queues. Therefore one usually hands over the PostScript directly to a +PostScript printer (sometimes with some prepended PostScript commands +for options) or uses GhostScript for generating the data format the +printer needs. This is done by the printer spooler which also stores +the data in a spool directory when the printer is still occupied by +another job, transmits the data to a print server in the network, and +so on. + +The printer drivers for non-PostScript printers are either compiled +into GhostScript, a plug-in for GhostScript (e. g. IJS drivers), or +they are an extra filter which converts a generic bitmap generated by +GhostScript into the printer's data format. For this the spooler has +to call complicated command lines of GhostScript and the extra filter +(if needed). The user of a free operating system normally does not see +these command lines because an installation program takes appropriate +filter scripts and/or description files from a database and assigns +them to the printer queue. + +Widely used databases were the RHS-Printfilters and the APS +filters. Their disadvantages were that they only supported one spooler +(LPD/LPRng) and only a small part of the driver's options (mostly page +size and resolution). Foomatic supports all options of the drivers and +all known spoolers (LPD, LPRng, GNUlpr, CUPS, PPR, PDQ, CPS, direct +spooler-less printing). In addition, all known free software printer +drivers are supported. Foomatic also supports printing of various +non-PostScript file types for spoolers which do not support this by +themselves (LPD, LPRng, GNUlpr, spooler-less printing). To enable this +feature you need to have "a2ps", "enscript", or "mpage" installed. + +Another problem is that the way how to install queues, to print files, +and to handle jobs is very different with different spoolers. LPD for +example requires editing of configuration files for adding a queue, +whereas CUPS and PPR have specialized command line utilities. Foomatic +puts a layer between the applications and the spoolers so that one has +a common, spooler-independent command line interface for all spoolers, +so that switching of spoolers or administration of a network with +different spoolers gets much easier, because for the same operations +there are the same commands, independent of the spooler. + +This command line interface can also be used as a base for +spooler-independent graphical frontends. + + +Installation +------------ + +Foomatic runs on all systems where one can run the Perl +interpreter. + +foomatic-filters needs nothing else than the Perl interpreter to build +and run. + +To connect to remote printers, you need additional connectivity +software (as "rlpr", "nc", "smbspool', ...). To print non-PostScript +files with LPD, LPRng, GNUlpr, or without spooler, you will need a2ps, +enscript, mpage, or similar filters which convert non-PostScript files +to PostScript. a2ps, enscript, and mpage will be automatically used by +the scripts when they are installed. + +Download sources: +rlpr: http://freshmeat.net/projects/rlpr/ or + http://www.linuxprinting.org/download/printing/ +netcat: http://freshmeat.net/projects/netcat/ + +This package does not require any other Foomatic package. it can be +used with PPD files downloaded from linuxprinting.org, with +manufacturer-supplied PPDs for PostScript printers, and probably with +other PPD files. + +Note: PPD files for native CUPS drivers, as the ones shipping with +CUPS or Gimp-Print cannot be used with other spoolers than CUPS. + +For non-PostScript printers one also needs GhostScript (5.50 or newer, +ESP GhostScript 7.05.4 or newer highly recommended) and the +appropriate printer driver. + +For drivers which have to be compiled into GhostScript ("Execution +style: GhostScript" on the driver pages on linuxprinting.org) check +with "gs -h" whether the driver is in your GhostScript. If not you +need to compile the driver into your GhostScript or use a GhostScript +version which already contains it. + +If the driver page says "Execution style: Uniprint", it is much +easier, check whether the appropriate ".upp" file is in one of the +directories listed under "Search path:" in the end of the "gs -h" +output. Copy the ".upp" file to one of these directories when it was +not there already. + +The third type of driver is marked with "Execution style: Filter", +this means, that you have to install a filter executable in addition +to GhostScript. Check with "which <name of the filter>" whether the +filter is already there, otherwise download and install the +appropriate package. + + + +foomatic-filters can be installed using these commands (if you have +downloaded this package from CVS, run "./make_configure" at first, for +that you will also need the "autoconf" and "aclocal" utilities, +"aclocal" is in the "automake" package in some distributions): + + ./configure + make + make install + +"make install" must be run as "root", the other commands can be run as +a normal user. + +The "configure" script will auto-detect where the scripts have to be +installed and where the Perl interpreter is located. If "configure" +fails because of something not being installed, do + + rm -rf config.cache autom*.cache + +before you run "configure" again (after installing the missing parts). + +By default, foomatic-filters is installed into subdirectories of /usr/local +(e. g. /usr/local/bin/foomatic-gswrapper), to get it into subdirectories +of /usr (/usr/bin/foomatic-gswrapper), enter: + + ./configure --prefix=/usr + make + make install + +There are other things which can be adjusted by options on the +"configure" command line, enter "./configure --help" for more +info. You can also modify variables in the beginning of the "Makefile" +after running "configure", but note that every run of "configure" +re-creates the "Makefile". + +You can also run Foomatic out of its source directory (for example +when you want to try it out, or when you don't have root +access). Therefore enter (can be done as a normal user): + + ./configure + make inplace + +and enter the commands with "./" in the beginning +(e. g. "./foomatic-rip ...", "man ./foomatic-rip.1"). This also works +on a machine where a system-wide Foomatic is already installed. + +In addition, you should install a utility to make PostScript out of +non-PostScript files, so that you can print those non-PostScript files +and also a list of available options using the "docs" option. The +supported utilities are "a2ps" +(http://www-inf.enst.fr/~demaille/a2ps/), "enscript" +(http://people.ssh.fi/mtr/genscript/), and "mpage" +(http://www.mesa.nl/pub/mpage). Recommended is "a2ps" because it +detects many file types (text, PDF, most image formats) and together +with ImageMagick (for images) and GNU/ESP/AFPL GhostScript 6.51 or +newer (for PDF) it converts them to PostScript. The other tools +convert only text files. The tool you have installed is auto-detected +by foomatic-rip and used automatically if +necessary. PPR needs this tool only for printing the option +list, and CUPS does not need it at all. PPR and CUPS use internal filters for printing non-PostScript files. + +If you have a multi-function device from HP, install HPOJ from + + http://hpoj.sourceforge.net/ + +before starting to set up printer queues with foomatic-filters. This +is needed for printing on USB devices and for scanning and photo +memory card access on all devices. If you use CUPS 1.1.12 or newer +together with the old HPOJ 0.8, you need also the latest "ptal" +backend script from + + http://www.hornclan.com/~mark/cups/ + +License information and installation instructions for this script you +find in the beginning of the script itself. See also the end of the +"Adding a queue" section in this file to see how to use this script. + +The "ptal" backend script is already included in HPOJ 0.9. + + +Setting up printers +------------------- + +If you have "foomatic-db-engine" installed, see the USAGE file there. + +If not, see, depending on your spooler: + +CUPS: + + http://www.linuxprinting.org/cups-doc.html + +LPD, LPRng, GNUlpr: + + http://www.linuxprinting.org/lpd-doc.html + +PPR: + + http://www.linuxprinting.org/ppr-doc.html + +PDQ: + + http://www.linuxprinting.org/pdq-doc.html + +CPS: + + http://www.tww.cx/cps.php + +Direct, spooler-less printing: + + http://www.linuxprinting.org/direct-doc.html + +Usage of PPD files (for all spoolers): + + http://www.linuxprinting.org/ppd-doc.html + |