[cups] Cups 1.7.5: Paper tray/feeder not free for printer

[Johannes Meixner]

Hello,

On Mar 27 18:16 Rolf-Werner Eilert wrote (excerpts):
> Now I am on a new system with Cups 1.7.5
...
> What would I have to do to use PostScript instead of the
> new PDF printing? Can I switch it from the Cups web surface?

I am not aware of any easy method to switch the print job
processing workflow from PDF back to PostScript - which
does not mean there is no such method - perhaps some
Linux distributions provide one?

In newer CUPS (sinde CUPS 1.6) the usual Linux filtering
programs are no longer provided by CUPS itself but by
the separated cups-filters software, cf.
"PDF: The recent printing data format" in
https://en.opensuse.org/Concepts_printing
and folow the links therein.

Accordingly you cannot configure what filtering programs
are used via the CUPS web interface because that stuff
is not part of CUPS itself.

To switch from the PDF workflow back to the PostScript workflow
you would have to switch back the filtering programs accordingly
which means you would have to install "the right" software
that implements the PostScript workflow.

Then you may have to switch the filtering rules that
define how which original print job data is processed
to "the right" rules for the PostScript workflow, cf.
"What does the filter system do and how does it work?" in
https://en.opensuse.org/SDB:CUPS_in_a_Nutshell
and
https://en.opensuse.org/SDB:Using_Your_Own_Filters_to_Print_with_CUPS

Basically you would have to completely change the print job
filtering on your system. As far as I know this is not
something that is supported by any Linux distribution
so that you would be basically on your own.

Of course it is possible when you have a good understanding
how the CUPS filtering system works but I think to go 
back from the PDF workflow to the PostScript workflow
it is much easier in practice to completely to go back to
an older system that provides traditional CUPS <= 1.5.4
together with all what is needed for the traditional
PostScript workflow "ready to use" and "out of the box".

Simply put:
I would recommend to go back to your old system where things
had worked for you as you need it in your particular case.

With nowadays virtual machines it should be possible
to run an older system with traditional CUPS <= 1.5.4
and its PostScript workflow on a virtual machine that
is used only as print server for your specific needs.

In particular when your printer devices are network printers
it "just works" to access network printer devices also from
within a virtual machine (provided the virtual machine can
access the same remote network hosts in the outer network
as the host system on which the virtual machine runs,
i.e. when the virtual network is not in so called
"isolated mode" but in some kind of "public bridge mode").


Kind Regards
Johannes Meixner
-- 
SUSE LINUX GmbH - GF: Felix Imendoerffer, Jane Smithard,
Graham Norton - HRB 21284 (AG Nuernberg)