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Fine-tuning ghostscript PDF to PS conversion

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pipitas 2010-07-30 19:17:07

This sounds like good advice, thank you very much! However... the Java software producing the output (and lpr) will ultimately be running on a Linux machine I'm unable to change the configuration of. If I can't get at the PPDs, is there something I can do with the file that's going to lpr? Any options I can pass to lpr?

Carl Smotricz 2010-07-30 19:34:50

If its important that your application prints "to the last pixel" on a certain printer, it **requires** some level of control over that print queue (driver used as well as settings). Otherwise, forget it.

pipitas 2010-07-30 19:48:44

Ubuntu is using CUPS for printing. If your PCL output from Ghostscript fulfills 2 conditions: (1) it is at all printable on the target printer; (2) it contains the PCL page image in exactly the required size -- then you could send it with the `-o raw=true` option, bypassing the CUPS filtering chain and shunning the PPD option injection by CUPS into the print data stream. (`lpr -p yourprintername -o raw=true /path/to/A4_300.xxx` -- you may as well use `lp -p...`, btw...)

pipitas 2010-07-30 19:53:32

Does Adobe PDF viewer bypass the lpd then? Can I do the same? I'd be fine fiddling with bytes being sent to /dev/lpN, but these seem to be networked printers and I have no idea how they're connected. The internals of CUPS are a mystery to me that I'd rather not have to explore.

Carl Smotricz 2010-07-30 19:54:15

I suspect the PCL would be good to go if I got it through unmangled, so I'll definitely be giving `-o raw=true` a shot. Heh, what's the use of having GS create printer-specific output if I'm gonna let the printer driver fiddle with it?

Carl Smotricz 2010-07-30 19:57:23

It's been a looooong time since I've used Linux at all, let alone a recent AcroRead on Linux. It's not ruled out that Adobe bypasses the print system (very likely CUPS in this case, not LPD), but I think that is unlikely. Since they need to direct their print output from Reader (which will definitely be PostScript, not PCL) to one of the system's print queues, the way they could do it is by adding the `-o raw=true` or `-oraw` or `-o raw` somewhere to their print command. [And even more unlikely is that you used a PDF-consuming printer, which Reader auto-detected and fed with raw PDF...]

pipitas 2010-07-30 20:02:00

GS is **NOT** creating printer-specific output. It's creating generic output. What's dubbed "printer-specific" usually includes fine-tuning commands to staple the output, draw paper from a certain tray, fold the sheets, and what-not. Such special features usually will only work for a specific model, once they're part of the print data stream. Ghostscript doesn't do that (not with the gs commands outlined above). Instead it creates a generic borderless PCL page image -- but in your special case this is what matches your requirements exactly, since you don't need my mentioned bells'n'whistles.

pipitas 2010-07-30 20:09:41

Still struggling with this stuff, but I got a wealth of useful info from you, so here's my acceptance. Thank you!

Carl Smotricz 2010-08-02 23:30:21

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Fine-tuning ghostscript PDF to PS conversion

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