How to print landscape files from another server via LPD?

[Helge Blischke]

John MacLerran wrote:

>> John MacLerran wrote:
>>
>> > Dear CUPS Forum members
>> >
>> > I'm trying to set up a queue in CUPS to print landscape all the time. I
>> > have searched the documentation and forums, and found several similar
>> > questions, but the solutions presented there did not help.
>> >
>> > The reason I need this is that our ERP system sends its reports in 132
>> > column landscape format by default, and I'm trying to set up  a CUPS
>> > queue that will accept that output and print it. Alternatively, I'm
>> > trying to get a defnintive answer of "no, this can't be done", so that
>> > I can present other, better options (like pdf printing and electronic
>> > delivery of reports), and still have done due diligence.
>> >
>> > There are a few wrinkles, however. Our ERP servers are running Solaris
>> > 10, using LPD to send the output to a linux box that acts as our print
>> > server.
>> >
>> > On Solaris, the print queue is configured like this (the lines don't
>> > wrap):
>> >
>> > ccenterapp_land:\
>> >         :printer-uri-
>> supported=lpd\://anaerobic.isu.edu/printers/ccenterapp_land#Solaris:\
>> >         :bsdaddr=anaerobic.isu.edu,ccenterapp_land,Solaris:
>> >
>> > (Anaerobic is our Linux box. It is Red Hat Enterprise 5.5 and cups
>> > 1.3.7, patch level 18, the Red Hat default.)
>> >
>> > On Linux, our lpoptions file for this queue looks like this (again, no
>> > wrap in the real file):
>> >
>> >      Default ccenterapp_land landscape=true cpi=14 lpi=8 page-left=36
>> >      page-right=36      page-top=36 page-bottom=36
>> >
>> >
>> > When I send a 132-column text file from Linux, it prints correctly --
>> > output is flipped landscape, and extends out to the 132-column mark,
>> > using this lp command:
>> >
>> > lp -d ccenterapp_land testprint.txt
>> >
>> > However, when I send that exact same test file from the Solaris boxes,
>> > using the same lp command, I get output that is partially correct.  It
>> > is flipped landscape, but the lines are wrapped into portrait margins
>> > -- 101 columns, to be exact.
>> >
>> > I specified various options in the cups-lpd config file (xinitd, I
>> > think, I'm not the linux box's sysadmin), but, frankly, I'm not sure
>> > what options to try, and neither a search here, nor a google search,
>> > turned up a list of what options are valid.
>> >
>> > The current cups-lpd config entry looks like this:
>> >
>> >     service printer
>> >     {
>> >         disable = no
>> >         socket_type = stream
>> >         protocol = tcp
>> >         wait = no
>> >         user = lp
>> >         server = /usr/lib/cups/daemon/cups-lpd
>> >         server_args  = -o job-sheets=none,none
>> >      }
>> >
>> > In the server_args parameter, I've tried the following options:
>> >
>> >  -o document-format=application/octet-stream  -- as indicated by the
>> >  man page
>> >  -o document-format=application/vnd.cups-raw  -- from a google search
>> >  -o landscape                                 -- a s.w.a.g. on my part
>> >
>> > Neither of which helped. The vnd.cups-raw one really clobbered the
>> > output -- reducing it to one line, portrait, that ran off the right
>> > side of the page and was dropped.
>> >
>> > What am I missing? How can I make the linux queue print landscape, all
>> > 132 columns, without wrapping, when the file is sent from Solaris?
>> >
>> > Thank you
>> > -John MacLerran
>> > macljohn at isu.edu
>>
>> I think you are using the default system V printing system on your
>> solaris box. In that system, every print queue is associated with one or
>> more of the following descriptions:
>> - printer type
>> - content type (ASCII, PostScript, etc)
>> - form name (especially for ASCII content type defining cpi, width (chars
>> per line, etc.)
>>
>> Please post how the respective printer on your Solaris box is defined
>> with respect to these attributes. Perhaps you only need to modify one of
>> these.
>>
>> Helge
>>
>>
> ------
> Thanks Helge.
> I'm not sure those attributes are set up for this print queue.
> 
> I looked in this directory:
> /var/spool/lp/admins/lp/printers/
> and saw directories for some of our printers -- the ones that are defined
> locally on the Solaris box, but the queue in question is not related to a
> printer that is local on the Solaris box (which is named Poseidon), but is
> just a 'remote' queue that resides on Anerobic, a completely different
> server.
> 
> I've asked our unix sysadmin if he's aware of another directory where
> those attributes reside, and we'll check for them.  Do you know if the
> /var/spool/lp/admins/lp/printers/ directory is the one I should be looking
> in? -john -----------

John,

I currently do not have access to a real Solaris 10 box, which means I'm not 
able to do real tests on that issue.
But you could try the following:
- stop the respective printer on your print server
- print a (small) sample file from your Solaris box
- post (an URL to) both the job's control and data file from the
  Linux box (the cxxxxx and the dxxxxx-001 file from the
  /var/spool/cups directory).

Looking into these files, I should be able to determine if the unwanted 
wrapping occurs on the Solaris or the Linix box and, perhaps, give hints how 
to settle down this issue.

Helge