[kde-linux] Switching to KDE-4.2: Problem #1: I can't print to my printer

[James Richard Tyrer]

Anne Wilson wrote:
> On Monday 09 February 2009 23:54:53 James Richard Tyrer wrote:
<SNIP>
>> Not using anything unusual.  I use LPR and GhostSctipt.  Although 
>> KDE-3stopped supporting lpq, the printing still worked.  And it 
>> still works perfectly in OO.o.  The only setup for OO.o was to 
>> provide a real PPD file (not a CUPS or FooMatic one).
>> 
> I would have thought that pointing the CUPS setup to that same .ppd 
> would have worked.  Did you try that?
> 
No, because I don't have a CUPS setup.

>> But doesn't CUPS require a modified PPD file?
>> 
> Not as far as I know.  I've never heard of anyone having to provide a
>  different driver for OOo and CUPS printing.
> 
I don't think that I was clear.  Yes, OO.o will probably work with a
CUPS or FooMatic modified PPD file although it comes with its own
collection of PPD files.  However, I provided an unmodified one since I
don't have CUPS or FooMatic installed.

>> The driver issue is with my old line printer which is an Epson 
>> LQ1000.
>> 
> Yes, looking at the database at linuxprinting.org it does seem that 
> there is not a specific driver for that model.

There is a GhostScript device available: "epson" which works correctly.

I should probably update the page since the information on the old 
linuxprinting.org site seems to have been lost.

> However, the Omni driver 
> http://www.openprinting.org/show_driver.cgi?driver=omni&fromprinter=Epson-
>  LQ-1010 is said to support several LQ-10?0 models, so may well be an
>  option for you, if the .ppd you already have doesn't work.  I'd try 
> the one that works in OOo first.
> 
Since the GhostScript device works there is no need for that.

>> As I said previously, I want to use the GhostScript RIP device 
>> (commonly, and incorrectly, called a driver).
>> 
> :-)  I know you're trying to be precise, but it's not worth getting 
> too technical here :-)  We all know this as 'a driver' :-)
> 
There is some need for clarity here since PPD files are also being 
called drivers -- they are configuration files.  It isn't a technical 
issue but a semantics issue.  If we call several different things 
'driver' it can only lead to confusion.

>> However, the big problem is that I was not able to print from 
>> KWrite without hacking the code, and I don't think that that is 
>> dependent on the printer which I was trying to use.
> 
> Not being a developer, I could be way off-beam, but I suspect that 
> that's because the driver you have isn't absolutely right for the 
> model.  

The GhostScript device "epson" is correct for any epson 9 or 24 pin dot 
matrix printer since they all use the same printer control codes.

> Models that began before hardware manufacturers even started 
> to become linux-aware can be quite difficult to set up, but often are
>  totally reliable if you can actually get there.
> 
Since the Epson dot matrix printers are totally documented, that isn't a 
problem.

IAC, we seem to have wandered off of the issue.  My printer prints fine 
form Okular-0.8 in KDE-4.2 -- the problem is not with the printer 
driver.  The problem is that printing doesn't work with KWrite.  I click 
"Print" and nothing happens -- I don't even see an error message.  I 
hacked the code and it works fine.  The problem is that I hacked the 
KATE code, could find no library to hack, and that probably means that 
other apps won't work either.  I tried Konqueror and it wouldn't print a 
web page.

It has been suggested to me that this is a Qt bug.  So, I updated 
Qt-COPY and am trying to build TRUNK against it.

-- 
JRT