[Foomatic] Using usb IDs for autodetection

Joe Shaw joe at ximian.com
Thu Apr 15 08:10:22 PDT 2004


On Thu, 2004-04-15 at 09:54, Johannes Meixner wrote:
> Which Suse Linux version do you use - it seems before 9.0?
>
> Since 9.0 YaST chooses the recommended Foomatic PPD file and you must
> explicitely use [Edit] to get a list of the other available PPDs.

Either 9.0 or a 9.1 beta, I don't remember.  It's definitely possible
that I clicked on "Edit" or that my printer wasn't autodetected.  I
don't really remember.

> This shows that automated setup makes the users more and more dumb
> and if it was not set up as the user has in mind then there is of
> course an error in the printing system.

I don't think this is a fair characterization.  And even if it were,
those "dumb" users are your customers and it's your job to adapt the
interfaces to their needs, not the other way around.

> You don't care but "it" should make the "best" for you?
> If so then shame on you!

Why?  I just want to print.  I've learned an awful lot about how
printing works (in Linux at least) over the past 2 or 3 weeks.  Before
that I was just a regular dumb user, so the experience is still fresh in
my mind.

Other than make and model (which I argue also *shouldn't* be necessary,
but unfortunately it is...) I don't think I should need to know anything
about my printer in order to use it.  To me, that's the bottom line.

> For DeskJet 550C the GimpPrint driver is recommended
> but for black and white only printing other drivers don't
> need so much resources and therefore result faster output.
> 
> For DeskJet 990C the HPIJS driver is recommended
> but only the GimpPrint driver lets you adjust the amount of ink
> and for fast black and white only printing other drivers are better.

As I mentioned before, it's a tradeoff, but I'd probably pick "color"
over "faster".

If I were a normal user, how would I know these things?

> So what do you think is the "best" PPD for an automated setup?
> * The PPD which prints in a maximum number of cases?
>   - This would be the ljet4 driver for the above LaserJets.
>     But it is limited to 600 dpi black and white only printing.
> * The PPD which results the best quality and a maximum
>   number of printer features?
>   - This would be the manufacturer PPD for the above LaserJets.
>     But it fails for PostScript level 3 (e.g. for Mozilla).

It's tough but I think you just need to bite the bullet and pick one. 
Especially considering I don't think the average person has enough
domain knowledge based on the above information to make an informed
decision.

I don't have enough domain knowledge to make the right answer... is
Mozilla the only thing that does PostScript level 3?  If so, maybe it
makes more sense to fix Mozilla and go with the second option.  If not,
I'd probably go with the first.  But I don't know for sure.

> In Suse Linux 9.1 we do some magic regarding PPDs from printer
> manufacturers:
> 
> If the Foomatic Postscript PPD is recommended then it is a real
> PostScript printer which is supposed to work well in PostScript mode
> and if in this case a PPD from the manufacturer is available
> then we use the manufacturer PPD.

Ok, so this means that printing from Mozilla likely won't work?  (Based
on your earlier example)

The magic seems fine, and in fact I think we might be arguing in
agreement on this.

Joe





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