How to print landscape files from another server via LPD?

[John MacLerran]

> 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
>
---
Thanks, Helge.
You can view the files at:
http://www.isu.edu/~macljohn/c11535
http://www.isu.edu/~macljohn/d11535-001

To me, the data in d11535-001 does not look wrapped. I'm not sure what I'm looking at in the control file, but it doesn't look obviously wrong.

-john
---------------