I've just installed cups and hplip on freebsd 9, and am totally confused...
The cups documentation indicates jobs may be submitted via the lp or lpr commands. How do I know these jobs are actually using cups
, as opposed to using the general lpr mechanism? For example:
/etc/printcap looks like this:
lp|hp|text|hp8500|HP Officejet Pro 8500 a909g:\
:lp=:\
:sh:\
:mx=1000:\
:rm=12.32.36.69:\
:rp=lp:\
:sd=/var/spool/lpd/hp8500:\
:lf=/var/log/lpd-hp8500-errs:\
:if=/usr/local/lpd/hp8500/hpfilter:
I can print to any of the above devices using lp or lpr, but not the device HP_Officejet_Pro_8500_A909g, which is the name cups appe
ars to be using (it's the one from the .ppd file I pointed at when adding the printer via the web interface).
lpoptions -l
shows a fairly large list of options
lpoptions -l -d HP_Officejet_Pro_8500_A909g
shows the same list
lpoptions -l -d hp8500
shows the same list and then says:
lpoptions: Unknown printer or class
/etc/printcap specifies an input filter. It's obviously being used, because if I remove it things don't print correctly. Does this
imply my lp commands are not using cups? What is the relationship between lp and lpr commands, cups, and /etc/printcap?
Using the web interface, If I try to get the printer defaults by clicking "Query Printer for Default Options" I get:
Unable to send command to printer driver
Unsupported document-format "application/vnd.cups-command".
Using the web interface, the list of printer options is apparently gleaned from the entry in /usr/local/etc/cups/ppd. The list is i
ncomplete for this printer. I moved the original .ppd aside and replaced it with one named hp-officejet_pro_8500_a909g-hpijs.ppd fr
om /usr/local/share/ppd/HP and now get a different list. However, the list is not really more complete; just different, with some o
verlap. In order to get the second .ppd file to actually be used, I had to rename it the same as the original. If that is the offi
cial name, why isn't the /usr/local/share/ppd/HP .ppd file named the same?
The options listed with the original HP_Officejet_Pro_8500_A909g ppd file are:
Media Size
Color Mode
Resolution
Media Source
Media Type
This list does not include some important capabilities of the printer, such as double-sided printing, printout mode for photo paper,
and additional dry time.
With the second .ppd file, the options listed are:
Media Size
Printout Mode
Media Source
Double-sided Printing
Additional Dry Time
Notably missing are options related to color and resolution. lpoptions -l shows more. In particular, it lists:
Quality/Resolution, Quality, Ink Type, Media Type: *FromPrintoutMode 300ColorCMYK 300ColorCMYKFullBleed 300DraftColorCMYK 300Draft
GrayscaleK 300FastDraftColorCMYK 300FastDraftGrayscaleK 300GrayscaleK 600ColorCMYK 600ColorCMYKFullBleed 600GrayscaleK 600PhotoCMYK
600PhotoCMYKFullBleed
Why doesn't this option show up?
Finally, while I can get some things to print using lp or lpr, I cannot get any landscape orientation file to print (.pdf is all I'v
e tried). Something gets sent to the printer, as it wakes up and shakes itself; but never prints anything.
I'm obviously pretty confused. Any clarification anyone can provide would be much appreciated.
Thanks,
Gary