[Intrepid] Xerox Phaser 6100 driver 2.0.0 does not work causing SpliX error

any news?

This looks like a problem in SpliX itself. Moving the bug to SpliX.

Can you go to the following two pages

http://openprinting.org/show_driver.cgi?driver=splix
http://openprinting.org/show_driver.cgi?driver=splix2

and download the DEB packages of the two versions of the SpliX driver from there? Take care to download the packages for your system architecture and LSB 3.2.

Then install at first the driver version 2.0.0 rc2 (with "sudo dpkg -i ..."), remove your print queue(s) for your Samsung printer(s) and recreate them, selecting the driver entry in system-config-printer with "OpenPrinting". Now try again to print. Does the problem go away?

If not, try the same thing with version 1.1.1. Does this work?

Can you also try the following?

First, download this file:

http://www.openprinting.org/download/printing/ghostscript-cups-patches/pdftoraster.c

This is an alternative Ghostscript-based pdftoraster filter.

Install packages needed to compile it:

sudo apt-get install libcups2-dev libcupsimage2-dev

Compile it:

gcc `cups-config --image --libs` -DBINDIR=/usr/bin -DGS=gs -o pdftoraster pdftoraster.c

Install it:

sudo mv /usr/lib/cups/filter/pdftoraster /usr/lib/cups/filter/pdftoraster.orig
sudo cp pdftoraster /usr/lib/cups/filter/
sudo chmod 755 /usr/lib/cups/filter/pdftoraster

Now try to print again. Does the garbage go away?

Please use the following command line for compiling and not the one shown above:

gcc -lcups -lcupsimage -o pdftoraster pdftoraster.c

Reported problem upstream.

I could reproduce the bug creating a print queue pointing to a file (Unfortunately, I do not get test printers from Xerox). There I tried my suggestion of comments 5 and 6. And it works. With my Ghostscript-based pdftoraster filter the Xerox Phaser 6100 with the Ubuntu-provided package of SpliX 2.0.0rc2 works!

Problem was that this printer requires a certain color mode (via the PPD file) which the Poppler-based pdftoraster (the one which comes as part of Ubuntu's CUPS package) does not support (see the messages in the error_log).

This means that the Poppler-based pdftoraster is not feature-complete and therefore unsuitable for daily use.

The easiest fix is to replace it by the Ghostscript-based pdftoraster.

As the Ghostscript-based pdftoraster is upstream a part of Ghostscript, this has to be fixed in both the CUPS and Ghostscript packages in Jaunty. Therefore these tasks are added now.

As SRU for Intrepid the easiest way would be to simply put the Ghostscript-based filter into the CUPS package, replacing the Poppler-based one.

To keep the impact low on Intrepid, the SRU for Intrepid will be done as follows:

The new pdftoraster filter will be added to the SpliX package, renamed to pdftosplixraster. In addition there will be created a splixraster.types file defining application/vnd.cups-splixraster without auto-detection rule and a splixraster.convs file telling that pdftosplixraster converts application/vnd.cups-pdf to application/vnd.cups-splixraster. The SpliX PPDs will be patched to only accept application/vnd.cups-splixraster as input.

This bug was fixed in the package cups - 1.3.9-4

---------------
cups (1.3.9-4) experimental; urgency=low

  [ Till Kamppeter ]
  * debian/local/filters/pdf-filters/conf/pdftoraster.convs,
    debian/local/filters/pdf-filters/filter/pdftoraster.cxx,
    debian/local/filters/pdf-filters/README,
    debian/local/filters/pdf-filters/addtocups,
    debian/local/filters/pdf-filters/removefromcups, debian/rules,
    debian/copyright: Removed Poppler-based pdftoraster filter. It will be
    replaced by a Ghostscript-based pdftoraster filter filter provided by the
    Ghostscript package, requested via Debian bug #505282 (fixes LP: #290395).

  * debian/filters/pstopdf: Fixed debug output.

 -- Martin Pitt <email address hidden> Tue, 11 Nov 2008 13:46:55 +0100

This bug was fixed in the package ghostscript - 8.63.dfsg.1-0ubuntu7

---------------
ghostscript (8.63.dfsg.1-0ubuntu7) jaunty; urgency=low

  * debian/local/pdftoraster/pdftoraster.c,
    debian/local/pdftoraster/pdftoraster.convs, debian/rules: Added pdftoraster
    filter from the Ghostscript SVN repository (LP: #290395).

  * debian/control: Added conflict with cups < 1.3.9-4 because the pdftoraster
    filter was there before.

  * debian/patches/50_lips4-floating-point-exception: Fixed floating-point
    exception in "lips4" and other drivers (Upstream bug #690122).

 -- Till Kamppeter <email address hidden> Tue, 11 Nov 2008 10:33:22 +0200

Lex Ross, I have uploaded a fixed SpliX package for Intrepid into -proposed. As soon as it arrives please test this package. At first try whether you can print in color, to see whether this bug is fixed. Then try also to print in grayscale as I have also added a patch from upstream which fixes grayscale printing.

Please see https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Testing/EnableProposed for documentation how to enable and use -proposed. Thank you in advance!

To reproduce the bug or verify the fix without having an appropriate printer do

cupsctl FileDevice=yes
cupsctl LogLevel=debug
lpadmin -p x -E -v file:/tmp/printout -P /usr/share/ppd/splix/xerox/ph6100.ppd -o PageSize=A4
lpr -P x /usr/share/cups/data/testprint.ps

Check /tmp/printout and /var/log/cups/error_log. See also the output of "lpstat -o" and "lpstat -p".

/tmp/printout should grow to something like 300 or 500 kB. I should start with something like

<ESC>%-12345X@PJL DEFAULT SERVICEDATE=20081111
@PJL SET USERNAME="till"
@PJL SET JOBNAME="testprint.ps"
@PJL DEFAULT POWERSAVE=ON
@PJL DEFAULT POWERSAVETIME=5
@PJL SET JAMRECOVERY=OFF
@PJL SET COLORMODE=COLOR
@PJL SET DUPLEX=OFF
@PJL SET PAPERTYPE=OFF
@PJL SET ALTITUDE=LOW
@PJL SET DENSITY=3
@PJL SET RET=NORMAL
@PJL ENTER LANGUAGE = QPDL

and end with

<ESC>%-12345X

Accepted into intrepid-proposed, please test and give feedback here. Please see https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Testing/EnableProposed for documentation how to enable and use -proposed. Thank you in advance!

Fix in jaunty is done in cups/ghostscript, fix for intrepid in splix (too intrusive to change the filter for all printer drivers).

Lex Ross, please remove and recreate your print queue after installing the fixed package from -proposed. Otherwise the fix will not work.

The patch for grayscale printing in the new Intrepid package is confirmed to work in this posting of the upstream forum of SpliX:

https://sourceforge.net/forum/message.php?msg_id=5630217

Hello,
I installed splix from proposed and removed my print queue(s) and printer and recreated them.
Now I get
Unsupported format 'application/postscript'!
did i missed something?

Can you re-create your print queue and restart CUPS and try again?

I have uploaded a new package version, version 2.0.0~rc2-0ubuntu2.2 to -proposed. This version automatically restarts CUPS when installing, updating, or removing. As soon as this version gets approved, try it out. Then your printer should work out of the box, without needing to restart CUPS manually. Everyone who did not try 2.0.0~rc2-0ubuntu2.1 yet still needs to remove and recreate his print queue.

Accepted 2.0.0~rc2-0ubuntu2.2. Till, please also upload the maintainer scripts to jaunty.

Daniel, can you please test 2.0.0~rc2-0ubuntu2.2 from intrepid-proposed? Thanks!

Hi guys,
I tried it today with splix_2.0.0~rc2-0ubuntu2.2_i386.deb and it worked perfect.
Thanks!
best regards
Daniel

Sorry for delayed response - my laptop was in for repairs. Re-installed it with Intrepid
and splix_ 2.0.0~rc2-0ubuntu2.3_i386.deb from intrepid-proposed. Worked like a charm until recent system update. Now I am getting the same error message "SpliX Error while rendering the request. Check the previous message". Installing cups_1.3.9-2ubuntu4 from intrepid-proposed did not help.

Added entire intrepid-proposed into my sources list and upgraded the system. Now printing is working.

Just noticed in Ubuntu 9.04 64-bit that printing multiple copies of the document triggers double sided printing ignoring single sided printing driver setting. Just wondering if it's a CUPS bug or is it related specifically to Xerox Phaser 6100 and its PPD. To reproduce: open any PDF or OpenOffice document, print to Xerox Phaser 6100 printer, select single side printing and check multiple copies checkbox with say 3 copies. For a single page document you'll get 2 pages rather than 3: one page with the document printed on both sides, and the one with the third copy of the document.

Lex Ross, I have checked and I see nothing in the error_log that any filter activates duplex. It seems that the wrong duplex setting happens in the SpliX driver executable.

If you print one copy af a job with more than one page, does this come out single-sided?

Can you provide your error_log of a failing job (3 copies of a one-page document)? Please follow the instructions in the "CUPS error_log" section in https://wiki.ubuntu.com/DebuggingPrintingProblems.

Dear Till, thank you for your prompt response! I am terribly sorry, there was indeed no problem with the driver. What fooled me was printing from PDF file where "Global" settings in print dialogue (number of copies, collate copies etc.) are document specific (are being stored on per document basis) whereas "Page settings" are in fact global. I foolishly believed page settings to be specific to the document and haven't double checked it until recently.

So if there is a problem, it should be with the print dialogue being inconsistent (all settings in my opinion should be either global (preferred) or document specific). I apologize once again for giving you trouble. Thank you so much for your time and co-operation!