PostScript problem with Xerox Phaser 6280DN

[PR]

I know this is pretty old thread, but recently I got Xerox Phaser 6280DN and by editing the ppd file I was able to fix the problem and be able to print. Thou another problem showed up:

If I try to print to a ps file, I get an empty page?!?! If I change my printer settings and point to a diff printer, then it prints to a file (.ps) great. The moment I point to the Xerox Phaser 6280DN, it prints an empty page (right on the middle it says "Loading...", but never loads)

I run Ubuntu 10.04 64-bit with Adobe Reader 9.4.7.

I am not sure if anybody still monitors this thread, but I'd appreciate any help to resolve this issue.

/Peter

> Steve Kleene wrote:
>
> >> That means, there is something wrong with how the job patch file is
> >> set up in the PPD. I already have a suspicion but I'll need some more
> >> work to either very- or falsify the hypothesis.
> >>
> >> Helge
> >>
> > I really appreciate the time you're putting into this.  In case it may be
> > of any help, I have now also posted the whole PPD file:
> >
> >   http://syrano.acb.uc.edu/tmp/Phaser_6280DN.ppd
>
> Well, Adobe Reader is the culprit. After installing a printer (print to
> file) using the Phaser_6280DN.ppd on both MacOS 10.5 and SuSE Linux 11.1 and
> doing some test prints from Adobe Reader (9.2 on the Mac and 9.1.2 on Linux)
> revealed
> (1) no problems on MacOS 10.5
> (2) same issue as yours on Linux.
>
> Further investigation showed up that AdobeReader on Linux by itself included
> some defaults/options from the printer's PPD, the JobPatchFile among them,
> but bracketed with PS code that caused the error.
>
> I haven't checked if the newest Adobe Reader 9.2 on Linux exhibits the same
> issue, but I have a solution to your problem (tested on my Linux install):
>
> (1) Get the filter oopstops from the CUPS website (search the links for this
>     name) and install it in your /usr/lib/cups/filter directory (or what the
>     directory is named in your installation).
> (2) Edit your printer's PPD as follows:
>     After the line reading "*cupsVersion: 1.1", insert the line
>     *cupsPreFilter: "application/postscript 0 oopstops"
>
> That's all - provided you have a CUPS version 1.3.x or higher (the prefilter
> stuff has been introduced with 1.3.0) - otherwise contact me directly.
>
> If your don't succeedto download the mentioned filter, drop me an e-mail to
> "h dot blischke at acm dot org".
>
> Helge
>
> P.S.: For all who are interested in the technical details:
>
> The reason why the Reader generated PostScript jobs fail is that the
> job patch file is bracketed by
> "[{" and "} stopped cleartomark", that is, the job patch file gets executed
> as the body of a PostScript procedure.
> Normally, this doesn't cause any problems except in cases as like this:
> the job patch file begins with "currentfile eexec". But, as the executon is
> deferred until the PS interpreter reaches the stopped operator, the file
> "position" returned b y currentfile is just behind the stopped operator
> instead of behind the eexec operator in the procedure body.
>
> The filter I suggested to use has originally been designed to solve a
> similar issue with OpenOffice 2.x and 3.x and eliminates (among other things
> it does) a job patch file specified just as the Adobe Reader does as well.
> The CUPS pstops filter safely inserts the job patch file without the
> delicate procedure stuff around it.
>