Debian bug report logs - #902
lpr can't print a PostScript file ?!

Package: lpr; Reported by: iwj10@cus.cam.ac.uk (Ian Jackson); 162 days old.

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From server.et-inf.fho-emden.de!tobias Thu May 25 02:14:19 1995
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From: tobias@server.et-inf.fho-emden.de (Peter Tobias)
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Subject: Re: Bug#902: lpr can't print a PostScript file ?!
To: iwj10@cus.cam.ac.uk, debian-bugs@pixar.com
Date: Thu, 25 May 1995 11:09:07 +0000 (GMT-1:00)
In-Reply-To: <m0sDEVn-0000XQZ.ijackson@nyx.cs.du.edu> from "Ian Jackson" at May 21, 95 06:09:00 pm
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Ian Jackson wrote:
> I've been trying to print a PostScript file, without much success.

lpr -d file.ps

> Just typing `lpr <postscript-file>' prints it as ASCII.  IMO it should
> automatically recognise it.

No, that's not the job of lpr. If you it to recognize such files
automatically you should use a magic filter (like apsfilter for
example).

BTW: If someone is planning to create a package with a magic filter
I would be happy if this person would also take over the lpr package
because I can't test the lpr stuff (no printer :-)).


Peter

-- 
 Peter Tobias                                EMail:
 Fachhochschule Ostfriesland                 tobias@et-inf.fho-emden.de
 Fachbereich Elektrotechnik und Informatik   tobias@perseus.fho-emden.de
 Constantiaplatz 4, 26723 Emden, Germany

Acknowledgement sent to tobias@server.et-inf.fho-emden.de (Peter Tobias):
Extra info received and forwarded. Full text available.
Information forwarded to debian-devel@pixar.com:
Bug#902; Package lpr. Full text available.

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From simons-rock.edu!jimr Mon May 22 15:11:35 1995
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To: grib@arlut.utexas.edu (William Gribble), debian-bugs@pixar.com
Cc: iwj10@cus.cam.ac.uk
Subject: Re: Bug#902: lpr can't print a PostScript file ?! 
In-Reply-To: Message from grib@arlut.utexas.edu (William Gribble) 
   of "Mon, 22 May 1995 09:45:55 MDT." <9505221445.AA02272@mamba.arlut.utexas.edu> 
Date: Mon, 22 May 1995 18:06:53 -0400
From: "James A. Robinson" <jimr@simons-rock.edu>

> > Package: lpr
> > Version: 5.9-6
> >
> > I've been trying to print a PostScript file, without much success.
> >
> > Just typing `lpr <postscript-file>' prints it as ASCII.  IMO it should
> > automatically recognise it.

One of you should probably package apsfilter, or put together a better
set of magic filters.  If I have time I will try and put apsfilter
together, but I've only ever used it on a PS printer.


Jim

Acknowledgement sent to "James A. Robinson" <jimr@simons-rock.edu>:
Extra info received and forwarded. Full text available.
Information forwarded to debian-devel@pixar.com:
Bug#902; Package lpr. Full text available.

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From arlut.utexas.edu!grib Mon May 22 07:45:59 1995
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From: grib@arlut.utexas.edu (William Gribble)
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Subject: Re: Bug#902: lpr can't print a PostScript file ?!
To: iwj10@cus.cam.ac.uk, debian-bugs@Pixar.com
Date: Mon, 22 May 1995 09:45:55 -0600 (CDT)
In-Reply-To: <m0sDEVn-0000XQZ.ijackson@nyx.cs.du.edu> from "Ian Jackson" at May 21, 95 06:09:00 pm
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> Package: lpr
> Version: 5.9-6
> 
> I've been trying to print a PostScript file, without much success.
> 
> Just typing `lpr <postscript-file>' prints it as ASCII.  IMO it should
> automatically recognise it.

What's worse, in my opinion, is that there's no way at all to print a
binary file using lpr.  While I would like lpr to automatically handle
postscript, on my non-postscript inkjet I'd be happy if this worked
(as it did in days of yore with SLS, then Slackware):

gs -q -sDEVICE=escp2 -r360x360 -sOutputFile="|lpr -h" - < foo.ps

Under debian, this prints garbage characters until I reset the printer. 
I assume that somewhere along the line lpr thinks it's smarter than it is 
and it's stripping to 7 bits or trying to line wrap or something. 

As it is, I have to do something like 

gs -q -sDEVICE=escp2 -r360x360 -sOutputFile=/tmp/lpr_tmp - < foo.ps
su
cat /tmp/lpr_tmp > /dev/lp1 

Which is, needless to say, suboptimal. 

> Ian.

b.g.




Acknowledgement sent to grib@arlut.utexas.edu (William Gribble):
Extra info received and forwarded. Full text available.
Information forwarded to debian-devel@pixar.com:
Bug#902; Package lpr. Full text available.

Message received at debian-bugs:


From cus.cam.ac.uk!iwj10 Mon May 22 07:23:05 1995
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From: iwj10@cus.cam.ac.uk (Ian Jackson)
To: Debian bugs submission address <debian-bugs@pixar.com>
Subject: lpr can't print a PostScript file ?!

Package: lpr
Version: 5.9-6

I've been trying to print a PostScript file, without much success.

Just typing `lpr <postscript-file>' prints it as ASCII.  IMO it should
automatically recognise it.

I've tried reading lpr(1), lpd(8) and printcap(5), but none of these
manpages seem to provide any way to tell lpr that I'm giving it a
PostScript file.

One of the manpages says
     Refer to the 4.3 BSD Line Printer Spooler Manual for a complete discus-
     sion on how setup the database for a given printer.
but I can't find that document anywhere, and in any case I shouldn't
have to delve so deeply just to print a perfectly ordinary ps file !

Is it just me, or is the type-specification system described in lpr(1)
a mess ?  Surely it should be extensible ?

Some sites I've used have had a scheme where you passed a type string
to lpr (this usually used the -T option, though this claims to set the
`title' with this lpr).  This allows you to have different `types' for
things like "postscript, draft" vs. "postscript, high density" (useful
if you have a dot-matrix printer) or "text printed normal size" vs.
"text printed very compactly".

Ian.

Acknowledgement sent to iwj10@cus.cam.ac.uk (Ian Jackson):
New bug report received and forwarded. Full text available.
Report forwarded to debian-devel@pixar.com:
Bug#902; Package lpr. Full text available.
Ian Jackson / iwj10@thor.cam.ac.uk, with the debian-bugs tracking mechanism
This page last modified 07:43:01 GMT Wed 01 Nov