Bug 528842 - Postscript print to HP p1505n printer fails (hpcups); OK under Fedora10 (hpijs)
Summary: Postscript print to HP p1505n printer fails (hpcups); OK under Fedora10 (hpijs)
Keywords:
Status: CLOSED CURRENTRELEASE
Alias: None
Product: Fedora
Classification: Fedora
Component: hplip
Version: 11
Hardware: i686
OS: Linux
low
medium
Target Milestone: ---
Assignee: Tim Waugh
QA Contact: Fedora Extras Quality Assurance
URL:
Whiteboard:
Depends On:
Blocks:
TreeView+ depends on / blocked
 
Reported: 2009-10-14 00:00 UTC by Dave Blackburn
Modified: 2010-04-21 11:15 UTC (History)
2 users (show)

Fixed In Version:
Clone Of:
Environment:
Last Closed: 2010-04-21 11:15:59 UTC
Type: ---
Embargoed:


Attachments (Terms of Use)
PPD file for HP LaserJet p1505n with CUPS (14.48 KB, application/vnd.cups-ppd)
2009-10-24 15:20 UTC, Dave Blackburn
no flags Details

Description Dave Blackburn 2009-10-14 00:00:19 UTC
Description of problem:
A command such as:
  echo xxx | enscript -B -f Courier8
fails when an HP p1505n printer is configured as the default printer.

Version-Release number of selected component (if applicable):
cups 1.4-0.rc1.15.fc11

How reproducible:
Always.

Steps to Reproduce:
1. Configure HP p1505n printer as default printer
2. Verify "test printer" works
3. Verify verious apps such as firefox and gnumeric print OK
4. Send postscript output to printer with command such as:
  echo xxx | enscript -B -f Courier8

  
Actual results:
A blank page is printed.

Expected results:
A line printed with: xxx near the top left corner

Additional info:

The same test works fine when the above steps are performed from a fedora10 (omega10) system.

The fedora10 system has a file: /etc/cups/ppd/lp.ppd that contains:
*% PPD file for HP LaserJet p1505n Foomatic/hpijs with CUPS.
*% Created by the CUPS PPD Compiler v1.2.3.

The fedora11 file contains:
*%%%% PPD file for HP LaserJet p1505n with CUPS.
*%%%% Created by the CUPS PPD Compiler CUPS v1.4rc1.

Comment 1 Tim Waugh 2009-10-23 14:15:20 UTC
Please attach the entire PPD files for non-working case.  Thanks.

Comment 2 Dave Blackburn 2009-10-24 15:20:23 UTC
Created attachment 365950 [details]
PPD file for HP LaserJet p1505n with CUPS

Comment 3 Tim Waugh 2009-10-26 14:44:46 UTC
Thanks.  So this is the native hpcups driver, using PCL3 rasterization.

Could it be that the 'xxx' appears outside the printable area of the device?  Do you get output when you run 'cal 2009 | enscript -B -f Courier8'?

Comment 4 Dave Blackburn 2009-10-26 15:31:06 UTC
When I run 'cal 2009 | enscript -B -f Courier8' I get no printed output (i.e. a blank page is produced).

When I run 'cal 2009 | enscript -B -f Courier8 -P lp2' I get no printed output (no blank page is produced).
Note: lp2 is an HP officejet 4215.

When I perform postscript print from emacs I do get output.
The output in this case is preceeded by extra blank space (i.e. the expected print is shifted down the page but is as otherwise as expected).

This test from emacs works the same on either the p1505n or on an officejet 4215 (i.e. the officejet seems to have the same problem as the p1505n).

This makes me wonder if the problem is not in cups but in the conversion of postscript to pcl3 (I presume by gs).

The Fedora 10 system uses: 
ghostscript-8.63-6.fc10.i386

The (failing) Fedora 11 system uses:
ghostscript-8.70-1.fc11.i586

I'll try 'yum downgrade ghostscript' and post the result.

Thanks,

Dave

Comment 5 Dave Blackburn 2009-10-26 15:42:17 UTC
Running 'yum downgrade ghostscript' yields:
Removed:
  ghostscript.i586 0:8.70-1.fc11                                                                    

Installed:
  ghostscript.i586 0:8.64-6.fc11                                                                    

Running cal 2009 | enscript -B -f Courier8' then fails to both printers:

$ cal 2009 | enscript -B -f Courier8
[ 1 pages * 1 copy ] sent to printer
$ lpq
lp is ready
Rank    Owner   Job     File(s)                         Total Size
1st     blackbu 109     (stdin)                         14336 bytes
$ cal 2009 | enscript -B -f Courier8 -P lp2
[ 1 pages * 1 copy ] sent to lp2
$ lpq -P lp2
lp2 is not ready
Rank    Owner   Job     File(s)                         Total Size
1st     blackbu 108     (stdin)                         14336 bytes
2nd     blackbu 110     (stdin)                         14336 bytes
$ 
$ lprm 109 108 110
lprm: The printer or class was not found.
$ lprm 109 
lprm: The printer or class was not found.
$ lprm -P lp2 108 
lprm: The printer or class was not found.

Possibly a different bug? (The printer or class was not found.)

Comment 6 Tim Waugh 2009-10-26 16:42:11 UTC
(In reply to comment #5)
> Possibly a different bug? (The printer or class was not found.)  

Yes, that's a separate bug.  Would you mind filing a separate report for it?  Thanks.

Back to this bug: could you please try the 'zxs' version of the driver?

System->Administration->Printing
Double-click on the printer's icon
Click Change... next to 'Make and Model'
Click Forward to keep the same manufacturer
Select 'LaserJet p1505n zxs' as the model
Click Forward and keep going through the dialog.
Finally, click Apply.

Does that driver give better results?

Comment 7 Dave Blackburn 2009-10-26 21:15:29 UTC
I configured a seperate printer: lpz to the same device but with the zxs driver.
I used: system-config-printer (how I originally configured: lp).
I generated a standard test print then later another test using:
cal 2009 | enscript -B -f Courier8 -P lpz
> Does that driver give better results?  
No.
In both cases the print was queued but never started.

Comment 8 Dave Blackburn 2009-11-25 15:03:14 UTC
I updated using:
  yum --enablerepo=updates-testing update cups
Updated to:
  cups-libs-1.4.2-7.fc11.i586
  cups-1.4.2-7.fc11.i586

Postgress print test now works OK:
  echo xxx | enscript -B -f Courier8

Comment 9 Dave Blackburn 2009-11-27 02:34:15 UTC
I tried an additional test using:
  echo xxx | enscript --ps-level=1 -B -f Courier8
In this case the xxx prints OK except it prints about one third of the way down the page i.e. extra white space at the top.

This is normally not a problem except for a few apps that still use postscript level 1 e.g. emacs and dia.

So this seems like a possible different cups bug or looked at another way as a bug in applications still using an old postscript version.

Comment 10 Tim Waugh 2009-11-27 16:38:49 UTC
So the original bug is fixed, but this is a separate bug?

I think it might be actually be getting cropped from the top of the page.  Enscript doesn't fetch the PPD for the queue to determine the imageable area, and the default margins from hpcups can sometimes be quite cautious.

What size paper are you printing on?

Comment 11 Dave Blackburn 2009-11-28 03:03:24 UTC
> So the original bug is fixed, but this is a separate bug?
That's how it looks to me.
Using --ps-level=1 results in the large extra white space at the top.
Without this option, printing using enscript now works fine.

> What size paper are you printing on?  
Letter size actual and configured (per system-config-printer > printer options > media size).

Comment 12 Tim Waugh 2009-11-30 11:03:51 UTC
Can you please show me the output of 'lpoptions -l -p thequeue' for your particular queue name?

Comment 13 Dave Blackburn 2009-11-30 14:45:14 UTC
lpoptions -l -p lp
PageSize/Media Size: Photo A6 Hagaki Card3x5 EnvChou4 EnvMonarch Photo5x7 A5 Card5x8 Oufuku Env10 EnvA2 EnvC6 EnvDL EnvChou3 Letter A4 *Legal B5 JB5 Executive FLSA ExecutiveJIS 16k EnvC5 EnvB5 Custom.WIDTHxHEIGHT
Duplex/Double-Sided Printing: DuplexNoTumble DuplexTumble *None
InputSlot/Media Source: *Auto PhotoTray Upper Lower Envelope LargeCapacity Manual MPTray
ColorModel/Output Mode: *Gray
MediaType/Media Type: *Plain
OutputMode/Print Quality: *Normal Draft Best
OptionDuplex/Duplexer Installed: *False True

Comment 14 Tim Waugh 2009-11-30 15:04:36 UTC
The queue is configured to use "Legal" as the default page size.  Can you try changing that to "Letter" and see if it makes a difference?  Thanks.

Comment 15 Dave Blackburn 2009-11-30 15:54:59 UTC
system-config-printer > printer options shows:
media size: letter 8.5x11 in.

It was A4 initially (a couple of weeks ago) then I set it to letter.
It seems at some later point I saw it set to legal so I changed it to letter using
system-config-printer.

Now lpoptions shows it as legal but system-config-printer shows it as letter!

This printer (lp) is used as a network printer from two hosts.
On the other host, system-config-printer > printer options shows:
media size: A4 

The first host runs fedora 11 with:
cups.i586       1:1.4.2-7.fc11   @updates-testing
cups-libs.i586  1:1.4.2-7.fc11   @updates-testing

The second host runs fedora 10 (Omega 10) with:
cups.i386             1:1.3.10-5.fc10                            installed
cups-libs.i386        1:1.3.10-5.fc10                            installed
cupsddk-drivers.i386  1.2.3-5.fc10                               installed

Up to this point, the testing and conversation in this bug report is relative
to the first host.

On the second host, I used system-config-printer to set media size to letter.
On that host lpoptions -l -p lp now shows letter and enscript with option
--ps-level=1 or without this option starts the print correctly at the top of
page.

On the first host, I used system-config-printer to set media size to A4 and
then back to letter.
lpoptions -l -p lp continues to show media size of legal!

I'm unable to set media size to letter!
Is there a cups file somewhere in which I can directly set the media size?

Comment 16 Tim Waugh 2009-12-01 16:38:03 UTC
The PPD you attached in comment #2 had 'Legal' as the default page size; in other words, the queue had 'Legal' as its default page size at the time you attached the PPD file.

If lpoptions and system-config-printer are showing different values for the default page size I'm wondering if you have a PPD on each client as well as the server. (You only need one on the server; otherwise clients are performing their own rasterizing.)

Do you?  What's in /etc/cups/ppd/ on the clients?

Comment 17 Dave Blackburn 2009-12-17 04:41:34 UTC
I ran: grep Default /etc/cups/ppd/lp.ppd
on both systems.

On both systems the output includes:
*DefaultPageSize: Letter
*DefaultPageRegion: Letter
*DefaultImageableArea: Letter
*DefaultPaperDimension: Letter

On the Fedora 10 system I get:
lpoptions -l -p lp
PageSize/Media Size: *Letter A4 Photo Photo5x7 3x5 5x8 A5 ...

On the Fedora 11 system I get:
lpoptions -l -p lp
PageSize/Media Size: Photo ... Letter A4 *Legal B5 JB5 Executive FLSA ...

So it looks to me like on the Fedora 11 system, lpoptions -l -p lp contradicts
whats in /etc/cups/ppd/lp.ppd.

Since the printer is connected as a network printer on the same subnet as both computers, it would seem to me that neither computer is "the server" since the printer contains "server" software and both computers are in the role of "client".

Perhaps the problem is related to the discrepency between
lpoptions -l -p lp and whats in /etc/cups/ppd/lp.ppd.

Comment 18 Tim Waugh 2010-04-16 20:02:29 UTC
Do you have a ~/.cups/client.conf or /etc/cups/client.conf file?  What is in it?

Comment 19 Dave Blackburn 2010-04-17 01:24:58 UTC
No such file: ~/.cups/client.conf
Empty file: /etc/cups/client.conf

I'm now running Fedora 12 and having no problem with this printer.

Comment 20 Tim Waugh 2010-04-21 11:15:59 UTC
OK, closing.  Sorry we couldn't find the fix for Fedora 11.


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