Powerpoint + PostScript + CUPS

[Helge Blischke]

Paul Landers wrote:

> This is not strictly a CUPS issue, but I wanted to post it because of it's
> definite impact on CUPS.  I have obtained a sample Microsoft PowerPoint
> presentation that behaves normally until it is printed.  It consistently
> crashes the printing system if printed using PostScript, but prints
> normally using PCL.  Here are the 2 scenarios:
> 
> Scenario 1 (Windows):
> 
> PowerPoint presentation, file size 1MB, 31 slides.
> Print to an HP Laserjet 4000N or a Laserjet 4100, PostScript.
> Spool file size is 11MB.
> After about 1MB of data transfer the job fails.
> The data light on the printer continues flashing until the printer is
> powered OFF. The job can be killed manually in the Windows printer queue
> 
> Repeating the above test using PCL the spool file size is 65MB, but it
> prints normally.
> 
> 
> Scenario 2 (CUPS):
> 
> Repeat the above 2 tests, but instead of printing directly to the network
> printer, print IPP from the Windows XP box to a CUPS 1.3.10 server on
> Debian Lenny (raw queue) to the same 2 network printers:
> 
> The PCL job again prints fine to either printer.
> 
> The PostScript job again fails, and the printer data light flashes until
> powered OFF. Here is the bad part:
> CUPS reports the job(s) completed.
> On the Linux CUPS server, the 'top' command shows an orphaned PID named
> "socket" that is consuming 100% of CPU until it is killed. If the user
> sends multiple copies of the same problematic job, then multiple orphaned
> PIDs are present, dividing the 100% CPU among themselves until all are
> killed.
> 
> My point in this posting is that:
> 
> 1. CUPS reports the job 'complete' when it never actually printed.
> 2. Any unrelated jobs that were sent behind the problematic job are also
> reported as complete, but were in fact lost too and never printed. 3.
> There is no CUPS GUI method for average users to recover from the problem
> (i.e. kill the orphaned PIDs).
> 
> Comments and suggestions?
> 
> Thanks!

Could you post (an URL to) the PostScript file (print to file, the first 
pages should be sufficient), please.

Helge