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The KDEPrint Handbook
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The KDEPrint Handbook

Kurt Pfeifle

Developer: Michael Goffioul
Reviewer: Lauri Watts
Revision 1.00.04 (2001-08-09)

Copyright © 2001 Kurt Pfeifle

Legal Notice

This handbook describes KDEPrint. KDEPrint is not a standalone program. It is the new printing framework for KDE 2.2. KDEPrint is an intermediate layer between KDE (or other) applications and the selected (and installed) print subsystem of your OS (operating system).

Table of Contents

1. Introduction
To configure your printing subsystem from KControl
2. Technical Overview
A Brief Description of KDEPrint
What it is not
What it is
KDEPrint -- Different Usage for Different People
What users and administrators can do with KDEPrint
What KDE developers can do with it...
What KDEPrint offers to everybody...
How to access KDEPrint
3. KDEPrint's Highlights
The “Add Printer” Wizard
Full Print Job Control
Modules for different print subsystems
More KDEPrint “Goodies”
CUPS Support: the Most Important Module in KDEPrint
qtcups and kups — The Predecessors
KDEPrint — The Heir
kprinter — Graphical Print Command
Plans for Future Development
4. Some Theoretical Background: CUPS, IPP, PostScript® and Ghostscript
Basics About Printing
PostScript® in memory - Bitmaps on Paper
Raster Images on Paper Sheets
RIP: From PostScript® to Raster
Ghostscript as a Software RIP
“Drivers” and “Filters” in General
Drivers and Filters and Backends in CUPS
Spoolers and Printing Daemons
Excursion: How “CUPS” uses the power of PPDs
Device Dependent Print Options
Where to get the PPDs for PostScript® Printers
How Special PPDs are Now Useful Even For Non-PostScript® Printers.
Different Ways to get PPDs for non-PostScript® Printers
How IPP Support Makes CUPS the Best Choice Around
“LPD Must Die!”
How the IPP Came to Be
Why IPP is Solving Many Problems
Printer “Plug'n'Play” for Clients
“Seeing” Printers Not Installed Locally?
Printing Without Installing a Driver
“Zero Administration”, Load Balancing, and “Failover Switching”
5. Getting Started
Selecting Your Print Subsystem
Working with the Printing Manager
6. Print Server Configuration: CUPS
Quick Help
Longer Help
Explaining different elements of the GUI
Upper Window: View on Printers, both Real and Virtual
Lower Window: Tabbed View of Details
Welcome to the CUPS Server Configuration
Server General Configuration
Server Logging Configuration
Server Folders Configuration
Server HTTP Configuration
Server encryption support configuration
Server Miscellaneous Configuration
Network General Configuration
Network Clients Configuration
Browsing General Configuration
Browsing Connection Configuration
Browsing Masks Configuration
Browsing Timeouts Configuration
Browsing Relay Configuration
Security Configuration
Example: How To Define The Security For All Printers
7. The “Add Printer Wizard” for CUPS
Starting
Backend Selection
Direct Network Setting
Information Retrieval by Scanning the Network
Printer Model Selection
Driver Selection
Printer Test and Finding the Right Settings
Banner Selection
Finally: Baptizing Your New Printer
The Final Confirmation Screen
8. CUPS options presently not available through KControl
Overview of provided features
Where to find help when using CUPS
How to find CUPS related man pages
Outside KDEPrint: Hints & Tips Tricks with CUPS on the Commandline
Allowing or denying printer access for certain users
Imposing Quotas for certain printers
Installing a “raw” printer
Troubleshooting CUPS in KDEPrint
Error Messages
Questions and Answers
Solving Problems
9. Module Built Around rlpr Utility
Overview of provided features
10. Generic LPD Module (UNIX®)
Overview of Provided Features
11. LPR (BSD)
Overview of Provided Features
12. LPRng
13. Module For External Print Command (Netscape®-like)
Overview of provided features
14. KDEPrint Extensions To All Print Subsystems
“Virtual” Printers
The “Fax” Printer
The “File” Printer
The “PDF” Printer
“External” Filters
The enscript Filter for Text Files
The “n-up” Filter for Any File
Three different “Make Pamphlet” Filters for PostScript® Files
15. Final word from the Author
Who am I, what is my business?
Credits
Caveats
16. Credits And Licenses

List of Examples

4.1. PostScript® Code
4.2. Rendered PostScript®
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