printing multiple copies

Mike Scott

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Nov 30, 2022, 2:10:57 PM11/30/22

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A long-standing and very annoying problem here.

With the default .ppd file for my Brother printer, the number of copies
is ignored (whether from the print dialogue or using 'lpr -#'. The fix
is out there on the net - change "true" to "True" (could you make it
up?) in the "cupsManualCopies" entry in the ppd.

The only snag is that a new ppd arrives from out of the ether whenever
cups restarts (eg boot time): any change only stays on manually
installed printers.

Is there a fix for this? I can't find where the ppd's are loaded from -
can anyone help please?

--
Mike Scott
Harlow, England

Nic

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Nov 30, 2022, 6:36:07 PM11/30/22

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Have a look for .wine/dosdevices/z/usr/share/cups/model

Not sure about the 'z', but query .ppd in your file explorer

Paul

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Nov 30, 2022, 7:06:23 PM11/30/22

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https://www.openprinting.org/download/kpfeifle/LinuxKongress2002/Tutorial/VI.CUPS-Connections/VI.tutorial-handout-cups-connections.html

https://www.openprinting.org/download/kpfeifle/LinuxKongress2002/Tutorial/VI.CUPS-Connections/CUPS-Connections.png

"You can download the PPD files for any configured printer from the CUPS server:

http://<host name>:631/printers/<printer queue name>.ppd
"

That suggests a ModelNumber.ppd is coerced before being stored as PrinterQueueName.ppd,
making it harder to trace where it came from. It could be put where ever that is,
when the printer is manually installed, or perhaps when some CUPS-specific software
gets an update.

I would want to search the machine for all the PPD files, and see if there
is a "pattern" to their naming, hinting at the best place to be reaching
in and adjusting them.

I cannot check here, unless I have a printer set up, and it happens to be
PostScript capable, to make for a complete test case. Your machine should
be perfect for the research :-)

Paul

Mike Scott

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Dec 1, 2022, 10:55:53 AM12/1/22

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On 01/12/2022 00:06, Paul wrote:
> On 11/30/2022 2:10 PM, Mike Scott wrote:
>> A long-standing and very annoying problem here.
>>
>> With the default .ppd file for my Brother printer, the number of
>> copies is ignored (whether from the print dialogue or using 'lpr -#'.
>> The fix is out there on the net - change "true" to "True" (could you
>> make it up?) in the "cupsManualCopies" entry in the ppd.
>>
>> The only snag is that a new ppd arrives from out of the ether whenever
>> cups restarts (eg boot time): any change only stays on manually
>> installed printers.
>>
>> Is there a fix for this? I can't find where the ppd's are loaded from
>> - can anyone help please?

.....> "

>
> That suggests a ModelNumber.ppd is coerced before being stored as
> PrinterQueueName.ppd,
> making it harder to trace where it came from. It could be put where ever
> that is,
> when the printer is manually installed, or perhaps when some
> CUPS-specific software
> gets an update.
>
> I would want to search the machine for all the PPD files, and see if there
> is a "pattern" to their naming, hinting at the best place to be reaching
> in and adjusting them.

Bit of serendipity earlier today. There's a program 'driverless' that
generates ppd files. I ran this with strace -- it seems it picks up the
ppd from the printer itself. So no chance of simply fixing the errant
capital letter. I'm toying with the idea of renaming this, and writing a
shell script with the same name to call the original and edit it
appropriately.

Either local software has changed to be more case-picky, or I'm
remembering a previous printer when I say it "used to work".

Thanks for replying.

Andrei Z.

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Dec 1, 2022, 11:52:37 AM12/1/22

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Printers and Scanners — Linux Mint User Guide documentation
https://linuxmint-user-guide.readthedocs.io/en/latest/printers.html

Driverless Printing and Scanning (IPP)
Since version 21, Linux Mint features driverless printing and scanning:
...

Nic

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Dec 1, 2022, 12:04:16 PM12/1/22

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Has anybody implemented IPP in LM 19.1?

Carlos E.R.

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Dec 2, 2022, 6:56:04 AM12/2/22

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You should be able to report that as a Bug to your distribution.

Otherwise, there are things you can try:

Remove the "w" (write) permission of the file. Maybe make it inmutable.

A cron job replaces it (don't bother with the edit).

If you are using Apparmor, you can deny the permission to 'driverless'
for writing that particular file.

--
Cheers, Carlos.

Scott Hemphill

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Dec 2, 2022, 5:43:56 PM12/2/22

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How about a symbolic link?

Scott
--
Scott Hemphill hemp...@alumni.caltech.edu
"This isn't flying. This is falling, with style." -- Buzz Lightyear

Carlos E.R.

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Dec 2, 2022, 6:03:05 PM12/2/22

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I am afraid that will not work. Either the link is replaced, or the file
at the other end of the link is replaced or edited.

--
Cheers, Carlos.

Dan Purgert

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Dec 22, 2022, 11:21:00 AM12/22/22

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-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
Hash: SHA512

["Followup-To:" header set to comp.os.linux.networking.]

Nic wrote:
>>
> Has anybody implemented IPP in LM 19.1?
>

IPP has been an option since as far back as like LM13. _However_, this
"driverless" thing is pretty new (and usually requires a supported
printer).

TBH, I usually rip it out, as it is broken more often than not.

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--
|_|O|_|
|_|_|O| Github: https://github.com/dpurgert
|O|O|O| PGP: DDAB 23FB 19FA 7D85 1CC1 E067 6D65 70E5 4CE7 2860

Andrei Z.

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Dec 23, 2022, 6:14:12 AM12/23/22

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CUPSDriverlessPrinting - Debian Wiki

https://wiki.debian.org/CUPSDriverlessPrinting

eternal.septemer

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Jul 14, 2023, 7:45:42 AM7/14/23

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Years of experience with Brother printers under Linux have taught me always to go to:

https://www.brother.co.uk/support/drivers

Enter your model number, select .deb and continue to a happy life.

I always save the resultant ppd from /etc/cups/ppd to a folder in my /home/me/useful-bits directory to save future hassle.

HTH

Regards, Alan

Mike Scott

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Jul 15, 2023, 6:37:50 AM7/15/23

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Thanks. I thought the thread had died a death :}

In practice, I now ignore the cups automatically installed printer, and
have a manually installed item, with the ppd I've corrected. Annoying,
but it works and the ppd stays put.

Still quite slow though to get going; an ongoing irritation I seem to
recall from a while back when I did indeed use Brother's packaged drivers.