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Tin
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Joined: 22 Dec 2005
Posts: 305
Location: Namur, Belgium
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 Posted: Mon Apr 20, 2009 8:54 am Post subject: How to avoid too much work to a poor printer ? [SOLVED] |
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hello,
I have a VERY unusual question 
I want to print some pictures (cartoons) on paper.
My printer is configured with cups :
| Code: |
cat /etc/cups/printers.conf
<Printer myprinter>
Info HP LaserJet Series PCL 6
Location
DeviceURI socket://123.123.123.123:9100
State Idle
StateTime 1239886654
Accepting Yes
Shared Yes
JobSheets none none
QuotaPeriod 0
PageLimit 0
KLimit 0
OpPolicy default
ErrorPolicy stop-printer
</Printer>
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I send the pages to print with that command :
| Code: |
lp -d myprinter -o landscape -o fitplot *.jpg
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It is working fine but it is VERY slow, around 30 seconds per page (and I have around 100 pages...)
During these 30 seconds, I see the printer "data" light blinking, so I guess that the delay is due to the printer processing and not the network nor my laptop (text printing is processing normally).
The problem is that I am quite annoyed to keep the printer busy during one hour, and even if I could launch one job per page to allow other people's jobs to be processed between them, I would prefer to avoid these people to see that I am printing cartoons 
So, my question is :
How would it be possible to avoid this processing ?
I thought that printing to a file would not do any processing, so it would just delay the printing but would not shorten it.
What is the exact processing of the printer ? Convert picture to ..... to what actually ?
Perhaps I could be able to generate that "raw-printer-output-data" on my laptop, then send it directly to the printer ?
This process should be "scriptable" (don't tell me to open each picture manually in the gimp and print it with the interface)
Any ideas, great brains ?
Thank you for your advices 
[edit]
Héhé, I found some interesting little binary named imagetops that can be used by kde in the printer configuration panel (like a filter)
I will try to find how to use it with command line and stdin-out and keep you informed.
[/edit]
[edit2]
Hmm, not yet ok :
imagetops mypicture.jpg | lp -d myprinter -o landscape -o fitplot
=> same thing, 30 seconds looking the "processing..." display on the printer.
So it means that the real work has to be done
not between the picture and the postscript
but between the postscript and the "raw" data used by the printer.
Is it feasible a kind of
define a "virtual" hp laserjet printer which print its raw data in a file (and process the PostScript)
then, send that file to the real printer which would not have anything to process except the actual printing itself ?
[\edit2]
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Tin, the gentoobie
Last edited by Tin on Tue May 05, 2009 6:07 am; edited 1 time in total |
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Tin
Guru
Joined: 22 Dec 2005
Posts: 305
Location: Namur, Belgium
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| Posted: Mon Apr 20, 2009 9:47 am Post subject: |
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Mmmmh, this is definitely the kind of stuff I would need :
| http://pnm2ppa.sourceforge.net/ wrote: |
PPA (Printing Performance Architecture) is a closed, proprietary protocol developed by Hewlett Packard for a short-lived series of DeskJet printers. In essence, the PPA protocol moves the low-level processing of the data to the host computer rather than the printer. This allows for a low-cost (to produce) printer with a small amount of memory and computing power. However, in practice the printer was often as expensive as more capable printers and HP has since discontinued the use of PPA in favour of returning to PCL3e in their latest USB-based printers.
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I hope that such kind of project exists yet, which could apply to my case.
Going on searching...
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Tin
Guru
Joined: 22 Dec 2005
Posts: 305
Location: Namur, Belgium
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| Posted: Tue Apr 21, 2009 2:45 pm Post subject: |
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Another try :
| http://www.linuxfoundation.org/en/OpenPrinting/Database/Foomatic wrote: |
foomatic-filters
The universal print filter "foomatic-rip", used by spoolers to convert PostScript job data into the printer's native format as described by a printer/driver-specific PPD file.
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Let's install, compile and test
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Tin
Guru
Joined: 22 Dec 2005
Posts: 305
Location: Namur, Belgium
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| Posted: Tue May 05, 2009 6:06 am Post subject: |
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Solved :
After installing the foomatic drivers, I had to install the printer again, but I got a new step in the printer wizard with some foomatic stuff.
It works perfectly, printing is preprocessed completely and the printer has nothing to do anymore, except printing at full speed.
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