Bad printing quality using MS Publisher Imagesetter

[Adam Victor Brandizzi]

Hi, all!

We're using CUPS as a printer server to Windows clients. We install IPP printers on Windows pointing to the CUPS server. Since the server uses the convenient PPD to the printer, we configured the clients to use the generic MS Publisher Imagesetter driver from Windows.

The problem is that some files (specially pictures on Word documents) do not print correctly. E.g., transparent spaces on pictures are filled with black color.

My first thought is that the imagesetter is generating bad PostScript. Is it a plausible cause? Is there a way to send "raw" data (i.e., not processed files) to CUPS?

Thanks!

[Helge Blischke]

Post by Adam Victor Brandizzi
Hi, all!
We're using CUPS as a printer server to Windows clients. We install IPP printers on Windows pointing to the CUPS server. Since the server uses the convenient PPD to the printer, we configured the clients to use the generic MS Publisher Imagesetter driver from Windows.
The problem is that some files (specially pictures on Word documents) do not print correctly. E.g., transparent spaces on pictures are filled with black color.
My first thought is that the imagesetter is generating bad PostScript. Is it a plausible cause? Is there a way to send "raw" data (i.e., not processed files) to CUPS?
Thanks!

As the Windows printing system is designed to pass
*print ready* data to the printer, you *must*, for
PostScript printers, use the printer specific PPD
on the Windows side.

"Generic" PPDs usually restrict the generated PostScript
to the smallest subset thought to be common to all
printers - especially assuming the printer is only
a black and white device.

Helge

[Joris Dobbelsteen]

Post by Adam Victor Brandizzi
Hi, all!
We're using CUPS as a printer server to Windows clients. We install IPP printers on Windows pointing to the CUPS server. Since the server uses the convenient PPD to the printer, we configured the clients to use the generic MS Publisher Imagesetter driver from Windows.
The problem is that some files (specially pictures on Word documents) do not print correctly. E.g., transparent spaces on pictures are filled with black color.
My first thought is that the imagesetter is generating bad PostScript. Is it a plausible cause? Is there a way to send "raw" data (i.e., not processed files) to CUPS?

I did have the issue that the MS Publisher Typesetter uses incorrect
margins for my printer. Using Adobe PS printer WITH the printer PPD file
did the job. Maybe you can set it up for MS Publisher, but I'm not sure
about this.

Do set it to "optimize for portability/compatibility" instead of
"optimize for performance" in "postscript settings" in the printing
preferences. This will save you from a lot of trouble with some content.
Maybe newer versions of CUPS (dependencies) work better (I'm using the
Debian Etch supplied versions).

A good test that you CAN do it using "print to file" and open it with a
postscript viewer (ghostscript comes to mind). That way you can verify
if the printer driver is doing it correctly.

- Joris