[cups] Guidance on troubleshooting printing to USB-connected brother laser printer

[Johannes Meixner]

Hello,

On 2020-09-28 17:35, Banibrata Dutta wrote:
> On Mon, Sep 28, 2020 at 6:49 PM Brian Potkin wrote:
> 
>> 
>> Both Firefox and Evince convert this 4-page PDF into another PDF 
>> before
>> sending to the printing system. You can choose to troubleshoot using
>> this PDF (it will be one of the d* files) or the original 4-page PDF 
>> or
>> both.
>> 
>> You will have a PPD for the printer in /etc/cups/ppd.
> 
> Is there a way to know the right PPD file definitely ?

The PPD that you currently use for your printer in the /etc/cups/ppd
directory is named as your print queue for your printer is named.
This is the PPD that needs to be tested via cupsfilter how the
generic filtering (except the printer specific filtering) works.

>> Execute
>> 
>>  sudo cupsfilter -p PPD_in_/etc/cups/ppd -m
>> application/vnd.cups-postscript your4-pagePDF > out.ps 2>log
>> 
>> This tests the non-vendor part of the filtering system. View out.ps.
> 
> View out.ps to check everything is visually in order ?

Cf. the section
"Test if what the application had submitted to CUPS seems to be correct"
in
https://en.opensuse.org/SDB:How_to_Report_a_Printing_Issue
how to use Ghostscript to view a PostScript or PDF file
plus getting Ghostscript (error) messages in case of issues.

> However, I do have one more basic question. If every page of the PDF 
> are of
> different size (perhaps even non-standard page sizes), is CUPS filter 
> able
> to convert them all into desired page-size (such as - say A4 or Letter) 
> ?

You will see that by viewing out.ps what the outcome is
in your particular case.

Additionally you may have a look at the section
"It always helps to simulate printout on a virtual generic PostScript 
printer"
in
https://en.opensuse.org/SDB:How_to_Report_a_Printing_Issue

Kind Regards
Johannes Meixner
-- 
SUSE Software Solutions Germany GmbH
Maxfeldstr. 5 - 90409 Nuernberg - Germany
(HRB 36809, AG Nuernberg) GF: Felix Imendoerffer