[kde] Printout mode disappeared [solved]

Message

MadEgg · Post by **MadEgg** » Sun Jun 24, 2007 12:08 pm

I don't know exactly since when this has been, maybe a KDE update, maybe a CUPS update or maybe the switch from hpijs to hplip. Anyway, recently I haven't been able to select the printout mode from the application I'm trying to print from. Worse even, I can only select the print-out mode for a printer in the hplip toolbox, meaning it applies to all printjobs afterwards, even when I only want to print one printjob with other printout settings.

Anybody has any clue where this setting has gone?

And on a sidenote, is it still true that when the print-out mode is set to color, black areas in the print are made by mixing colors instead of using black ink?

didymos · Post by **didymos** » Sun Jun 24, 2007 4:32 pm

Have you tried setting up the printer by going to "Peripherals --> Printers" in kcontrol? As to the sidenote, I've never heard that before. Currently, the driver settings with hplip allow you to choose all sorts of cartridge combinations by setting "Resolution, Quality, Ink Type, Media Type" to something other than "Controlled by 'Printout Mode'".

MadEgg · Post by **MadEgg** » Sun Jun 24, 2007 8:30 pm

Yup. There too I cannot find any print quality related settings. Only in hp-toolbox.

I know that I can change the quality thingy, but the default is set to 'Controlled by print-out mode' and I was wondering what the default cartridge configuration is for that.

didymos · Post by **didymos** » Sun Jun 24, 2007 8:41 pm

Don't know if it has any standard default. Might depend on the printer/driver combo. Normally, that's also selectable. Something is wrong with either CUPS, KDE, or hplip, as all that should be configurable. I'd check the CUPS web interface, and see if all that functions as it should. Sounds like hplip is alright.

MadEgg · Post by **MadEgg** » Mon Jun 25, 2007 8:45 am

Using cups webinterface I can also set the printout mode and the quality settings, so apparently it works in cups.

The printout mode only mentions either 'black cartridge' or 'color cartridge', while the quality setting also has options like 'black + color cartridge'. Still not clear what the default is though.

didymos · Post by **didymos** » Mon Jun 25, 2007 9:57 am

I think what I should be asking is: what exactly has changed? You said you couldn't select the printout mode from your applications, but how exactly did you do that before? With the latest KDE, taking konqueror as an example, to print and set the mode I would:

Drop the Location Menu down, select "Print".
The print dialog appears, with my hp printer listed in the "Name" drop-down.
So, I want to set dpi and whatnot. I click the "Properties" button next to "Name".
Then, I select the "Driver Settings" tab.
Then I highlight the "Resolution,Quality,Ink Type,Media Type" entry that's under "Printout Mode".
It currently is set to "Controlled by Printout Mode".
At the bottom is a scrollable list with all the various dpi, ink, paper, et cetera combinations.
I highlight the one I want, click "OK", then click "Print".

Now, I don't notice any difference between how it works now and how it has worked previously, so I'm wondering where it is in that sequence of actions you're running into trouble. Is it not allowing you to do one of those steps, or is something actually missing from the print dialog?

MadEgg · Post by **MadEgg** » Mon Jun 25, 2007 10:10 am

Trying what you are doing:

From location menu, select "Print" - CHECK
Print dialog appears, with my HP printer listed in the "Name" drop-down. CHECK
I click the "Properties" button next to "Name". CHECK
Then, I select the "Driver Settings" tab. FAILURE

That step is impossible. When I open the Properties screen I get a window titled: Configuration of HP Deskjet 3420. It has 3 tabs: General, Margins and Filters. On none of those I can find any reference to print-out mode.

Might be that the tabs are named slightly different; I'm running with the Dutch language and tried to translate.

didymos · Post by **didymos** » Mon Jun 25, 2007 10:27 am

OK, well I don't know how to fix it, but at least we know where it's going off the rails. The translations, by the way, are exact. It's strange the tab isn't there. The only thing that comes to mind is that kdeprint somehow was compiled without the cups USE flag, but if that were the case, then you shouldn't be able to do anything. Wait a sec. Maybe it's the printer URI. Does the URI start with hp:/ or usb:/ ? (grasps at straws...)

MadEgg · Post by **MadEgg** » Mon Jun 25, 2007 10:32 am

Also found this. If I run 'kprinter' from the console and I open the properties window, I get this message at the console:

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kdeprint: WARNING: PPD syntax error, PPD parse failed

I tried cupstestppd on the PPD file I set up in CUPS:

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eggie@Daedalus /usr/share/cups/model/foomatic-ppds/HP $ cupstestppd HP-DeskJet_3420-hpijs.ppd.gz
HP-DeskJet_3420-hpijs.ppd.gz: PASS
        WARN    DefaultResolution has no corresponding options!
        WARN    Obsolete PPD version 4,0!
                REF: Page 42, section 5.2.

It seems cups thinks all my PPD's are 'obsolete', as I installed the gutenprint PPD's and cupstestppd also says these are obsolete version 4.0. But nevertheless it says 'pass' so that should be allright, right?

On your last post: the printer URI in KControl starts with ipp://; the 'station' field is: hp:/usb/deskjet_3420?serial=TH33R3D30Y41

[update]
I tried resetting the printer driver in KControl. I selected the PPD manually(from /usr/share/cups/model/foomatic-ppds/HP/HP-DeskJet_3420.hpijs.ppd.gz) and then I get this message:

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/usr/share/cups/model/foomatic-ppds/HP/HP-DeskJet_3420-hpijs.ppd.gz(regel 160): parser stack overflow

If I select it from the list by manufacturer/model, I get this message:

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/usr/share/cups/model/foomatic-ppds/HP/HP-DeskJet_3420-hpijs.ppd.gz(regel 167): parser stack overflow

[update2] I tried a couple of times doing the same thing but I get different errors. Seems there is a problem with the parser, rather than with the file. But I don't have a clue what parses it.

[update3] Found a similar problem on this forum by reformulating my question now: http://forums.gentoo.org/viewtopic-t-543746.html which links it to kde-libs being compiled with -O3 which I have also set up in make.conf. So I'm now changing that to O2 and recompiling kdelibs, see if that helps.

didymos · Post by **didymos** » Mon Jun 25, 2007 10:48 am

I found one old bug with those errors:

[bug=155922]PPD parsing failure in kdeprint from 3.5.2[/bug]

If you read it, turns out it's happened with kde 3.5.5 and 3.5.6, and it's linked to having "-O3" in CFLAGS.
Later, it was marked a duplicate of this bug:

[bug=148180]kde-base/kdelibs breaks KDE printing when compiled w/ -O3[/bug]

MadEgg · Post by **MadEgg** » Mon Jun 25, 2007 10:53 am

Ya, found that too, forgot to press 'Update' button when I added it.

Seems like the added the replace-flags for amd64 while the bug also occurs on x86. Added a comment to the bug requesting the replace-flags for x86 as well. I'm still compiling, will update when it's done but I've got good hopes that this will get it fixed. Thanks a lot!

MadEgg · Post by **MadEgg** » Mon Jun 25, 2007 12:34 pm

And, indeed, this does fix it. The driver settings tab has returned! Thanks!