[cups.general] Where to get PPD files?

[John Jason Jordan]

On Thu, 01 Nov 2007 08:21:41 +0100
Frank Fricke <fri at idmt.fraunhofer.de> dijo:

> > I looked all over cups.com, linuxprinting.org, hp.com, and
> > openprinting.org and all I can find is references to PPD files, how
> > cool they are, why I need them, but I can't find the actual FILES. I've
> > spent hours looking. Can someone tell me where the PPD files are hiding?

>    http://openprinting.org/printer_list.cgi  (choose "HP" and "LasterJet
> 4L")
> -> http://openprinting.org/show_printer.cgi?recnum=HP-LaserJet_4L
> (choose "download ppd")
> ->
> http://openprinting.org/ppd-o-matic.cgi?driver=ljet4&printer=HP-LaserJet_4L&show=0
> 
> The last URL is the downloadable PPD file and the previous URLs are the
> way to get there :)
> btw: One can extract windows self-extracting zip files just like normal
> ones with the 'unzip' command.

First, I said I had a 4M Plus, not a 4L. But that's OK, I had already
been there. I ended up at:

http://openprinting.org/show_printer.cgi?recnum=HP-LaserJet_4M_Plus

And there is no option to download a PPD file. I tried the 4L, and it
does offer a PPD file, which is why you thought I could get one there.
But the 4M Plus page doesn't show the PPD file download link.

So I went off to Adobe.com, downloaded the whole stack of files,
unzipped it (as you said), and I now have what appears to be a PPD
file. The actual filename seems to be for a PCL printer that does not
have the PostScript SIMM (as mine does). However, it does appear to
work. I always thought there would be two different ways to install
drivers for this printer - one that would access the PCL page
description language, and one that would access the PostScript
interpreter if the printer has the PostScript SIMM in it.

Previously I installed a driver for this printer that also continues to
work. I installed it before the PostScript SIMM arrived in the mail. I
did not use a PPD file to install the driver. I can't see any
difference in the way the two printers render a file.

Thanks for the help. I am still confused.