1Pbmtoppa User Manual(0) Pbmtoppa User Manual(0)
2
6 pbmtoppa - convert PBM image to HP Printer Performance Architecture
7 (PPA)
8
11 pbmtoppa [pbm_file [ppa_file]]
12
15 This program is part of Netpbm(1).
16 pbmtoppa converts page images in PBM format to Hewlett Packard's PPA
18 (Printer Performance Architecture) format, which is the data stream
19 format expected by some HP 'Windows-only' printers including the HP
20 Deskjet 820C series, the HP DeskJet 720 series, and the HP DeskJet 1000
21 series.
22 pbm_file is the file specification of the input file or - for Standard
24 Input. The default is Standard Input.
25 The input file contains one or more PBM images, with each one being a
27 single page. Each image must have the exact dimensions of a page (at
28 600 pixels per inch in both directions). Significantly, this is the
29 format that Ghostscript produces.
30 ppa_file is the file specification of the output file or - for Standard
32 Output. The default is Standard Output.
33 To print Postscript on an HP PPA printer, just use Ghostscript with the
35 pbmraw (or pbm) device driver.
36 You can generate a test page for use with this program with pbmpage.
38 You can also set up a printer filter so you can submit PBM input
40 directly to your print queue. See the documentation for your print
41 spooler for information on how to do that, or look in hp820install.doc
42 for an example lpd print filter for Postscript and text files.
43 Sometimes, pbmtoppa generates a file which the printer will not print
45 (because pbmtoppa's input is unprintable). When this happens, all
46 three lights blink to signal the error. This is usually because there
47 is material outside of the printer's printable area. To make the file
48 print, increase the margins via pbmtoppa options or a configuration
49 file. See the section on calibration ⟨#calibration⟩ below.
50 About PPA
53 The PPA printer language is a far lower level language than most. When
54 you use a PPA printer, most of the processing that a conventional
55 printer does is done instead on the computer end of the wire. In par‐
56 ticular, pbmtoppa has to do 'swath cutting,' and 'sweep formatting,'
57 which other printers do themselves. There is very little intelligence
58 inside a PPA printer; pbmtoppa generates direct controls for the
59 printer's hardware.
60 The design goal of PPA was to reduce the cost of a printer by exploit‐
62 ing computing resources already present in the computer that requests
63 the printing. CPU power, ROM, and RAM requirements inside the printer
64 are all reduced compared to a conventional printer.
65 PPA was new in 1997. It was preceded by Hewlett Packard's PCL (Printer
67 Control Language) language. HP manufactured PPA printers for only a
68 few years, and no one else ever did.
69
72 -v version
73 printer version (720, 820, or 1000)
74 -x xoff
77 horizontal offset adjustment in 1/600 inches.
78 -y yoff
81 vertical offset adjustment in 1/600 inches.
82 -t topmarg
85 top margin in 1/600 inches (default: 150 = 0.25 inch)
86 -l leftmarg
89 left margin in 1/600 inches (default: 150 = 0.25 inch)
90 -r rightmarg
93 right margin in 1/600 inches (default: 150 = 0.25 inch)
94 -b botmarg
97 bottom margin in 1/600 inches (default: 150 = 0.25 inch)
98 -s paper
101 paper size: us or a4. Default is us.
102 -d dpi Print resolution in dots per inch.
105 -f cfgfile
108 Read parameters from the configuration file named cfgfile. See
109 CONFIGURATION FILES ⟨#configfile⟩
110 The offset adjustments you specify with -x and -y accumulate. I.e. if
114 you specify them multiple times, the total offset adjustment is the sum
115 of the adjustments you specify. -x 60 -x 120 is the same as -x 180.
116 The -v option undoes any preceding -x and -y options, leaving the hori‐
118 zontal and vertical adjustments their default values.
119
123 You can use a configuration file to specify parameters rather than use
124 invocation options. pbmtoppa processes the file /etc/pbmtoppa.conf, if
125 it exists, before processing any options. It then processes each con‐
126 figuration file named by a -f option in order, applying the parameters
127 from the configuration file as if they were invocation options used in
128 the place of the -f option.
129 Configuration files have the following format:
131 #Comment
133 key1 value1
134 key2 value2
135 [etc.]
136 Valid keys are version, xoffset, yoffset, topmargin, leftmargin, right‐
138 margin, bottommargin, papersize, or any non-null prefix of these words.
139 Valid values are the same as with the corresponding invocation parame‐
140 ters.
141
144 Print a test pattern:
145 pbmpage | pbmppa >/dev/lp1
146 Print three pages:
148 cat page1.pbm page2.pbm page3.pbm | pbmppa >/dev/lp1
149 Print the Postscript file myfile.ps:
151 gs -sDEVICE=rawpbm -q -dNOPAUSE -r600 -sOutputFile=- myfile.ps ;| pbmtoppa | lpr
152
155 To be able to print successfully and properly, you need to tell pbm‐
156 toppa an X and a Y offset appropriate for your printer to use when gen‐
157 erating the page. You can specify these offsets with the -x and -y
158 invocation options or with the xoff and yoff parameters in a pbmtoppa
159 configuration file.
160 To determine the correct offsets, use the pbmpage program.
162 If while trying to do this calibration, the printer refuses to print a
164 page, but just blinks all three lights, specify large margins (e.g. 600
165 pixels -- one inch) via pbmpage invocation options while doing the cal‐
166 ibration.
167 For example:
169 pbmpage | pbmtoppa >/dev/lp1
170 or
171 pbmpage | pbmtoppa | lpr -l
172 (if your printer filter recognizes the '-l' (direct output) parameter).
174 In the test pattern, the grid is marked off in pixel coordinate num‐
176 bers. Unfortunately, these coordinates are probably cut off before the
177 edge of the paper. You'll have to use a ruler to estimate the pixel
178 coordinate of the left and top edges of the actual sheet of paper
179 (should be within +/- 300, may be negative; there are 600 pixels per
180 inch).
181 Add these coordinates to the X and Y offsets by either editing the con‐
183 figuration file or using the -x and -y command-line parameters.
184 When pbmtoppa is properly calibrated, the center mark should be in the
186 center of the paper. Also, the margins should be able to be as small
187 as 1/4 inch without causing the printer to choke with 'blinking lights
188 syndrome'.
189
192 RedHat users may find the following tip from Panayotis Vryonis <vry‐
193 pan@hol.gr> helpful. The same should work for the 820 and 1000, but it
194 hasn't been tested. Also, use the pbmraw GSDriver if you have it; it's
195 faster.
196 Here is a tip to intergrate HP720C support in RedHat's printtool:
198 Install pbmtoppa. Copy pbmtoppa to /usr/bin.
200 Edit 'printerdb' (in my system it is found in /usr/lib/rhs/rhs-print‐
202 filters ) and append the following lines:
203 ----------------------Cut here-----------------------
205 StartEntry: DeskJet720C
207 GSDriver: pbm
208 Description: {HP DeskJet 720C}
209 About: { This driver supports the HP DeskJet 720C inkjet printer. It does does not support color printing. IMPORTANT! Insert '- | pbm2ppa -' in the 'Extra GS Otions' field. }
210 Resolution: {600} {600} {}
212 EndEntry
214 ----------------------------------------------------
215 Now you can add an HP720C printer just like any other, using printtool.
217
220 pbmpage(1), pstopnm(1), pbm(1)
221 This program was derived from pbm2ppa. pbm2ppa is obsolete and has
223 been replaced by pnm2ppa, which does the same things as pbmtoppa except
224 it also works with color and has lots more features. See
225 http://pnm2ppa.sourceforge.net ⟨http://pnm2ppa.sourceforge.net⟩ for
226 more information about the PPA protocol and the separately distributed
227 pnm2ppa program.
228 The file INSTALL-MORE in the pbmtoppa directory of the Netpbm source
230 code contains detailed instructions on setting up a system to use pbm‐
231 toppa to allow convenient printing on HP PPA printers. It was written
232 by Michael Buehlmann.
233
236 Tim Norman. Copyright (C) 1998. Licensed under GNU Public License
237 Manual page by Bryan Henderson, May 2000.
239netpbm documentation 01 May 2005 Pbmtoppa User Manual(0)