[Samba] Re: CUPS Print Quality -- WAS -- UPDATE Where are the ADOBE PS Drivers?

[Chris McKeever]

On Fri, 10 Sep 2004 14:45:08 +0100, Simon Hobson
<shobson-lists at colony.com> wrote:
> Chris McKeever wrote:
> 
> >So - the PPD controls the print options - therefore driver
> >independence isnt fully achievable since you need the printer specific
> >PPD (if you want to be able to set printer specific information per
> >job)
> 
> Yes, that is true. What I am not sure about as I've not done the
> testing to support it, is whether just changing the PPD and
> re-running cupsaddsmb will result in the client getting the new ppd
> installed (our login script maps the printers on this site). If it
> does then swapping out a printer should be as simple as changing the
> ppd on the server.

I dont think that you can push the client a new PPD by changing it on
the server .. it gets downloaded to the client on the first
connection.  I dont think it looks back into the print$ directory -- I
think it pulls defaults/etc from the .TDB database files and that
about the most of the interaction it has with the server till it
spools the job to it -- but your idea below I find quite interesting
regarding a generic PPD

> 
> One of the things about Postscript is that it tends to degrade
> reasonably well. I'm fairly confident that in most cases you could
> send a file that (for example) requests duplex printing to a printer
> without that feature and it will still print (but without the duplex
> of course).
> 
> >Now what would be nice (and who knows if at all possible) - if there
> >was a generic CUPS PPD, which gave general print options
> >(duplex/punched) -- when sent from windows into the cups spooled, cups
> >could extract what the client requested, use the PPD of the vendor to
> >ensure what was requested is available, recreated the PS file and send
> >it to the printer.  With this, the client could be completely
> >driver/ppd independent
> >
> 
> You could roll your own !
> 
> I don't know if you've looked at the contents of a ppd, but they tend
> to be fairly easy to understand (if a bit large for a complex
> printer). If you started with a complex printer ppd and stripped out
> the bits you don't need then you could end up with something that
> would just have the features you want, and I think you would probably
> find the output reasonably portable.

I have tried 3 of my PPD's all failed the testppd.php script ---
figures...but I said this before, striving for driver independence on
the client may be a 'holy grail quest'.....


> 
> 
> 
> 
> --
> Simon Hobson MA MIEE, Technology Specialist
> Colony Gift Corporation Limited
> Lindal in Furness, Ulverston, Cumbria, LA12 0LD
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> 
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