Provided by: netpbm_11.01.00-2build1_amd64 bug

NAME

       pbmtoppa - convert PBM image to HP Printer Performance Architecture (PPA)

SYNOPSIS

       pbmtoppa [pbm_file [ppa_file]]

DESCRIPTION

       This program is part of Netpbm(1).

       pbmtoppa  converts page images in PBM format to Hewlett Packard's PPA (Printer Performance
       Architecture) format, which is the data stream format expected by some  HP  "Windows-only"
       printers  including  the  HP  Deskjet  820C  series, the HP DeskJet 720 series, and the HP
       DeskJet 1000 series.

       pbm_file is the file specification of the input file or - for Standard Input.  The default
       is Standard Input.

       The  input  file contains one or more PBM images, with each one being a single page.  Each
       image must have the  exact  dimensions  of  a  page  (at  600  pixels  per  inch  in  both
       directions).  Significantly, this is the format that Ghostscript produces.

       ppa_file  is  the  file  specification  of  the output file or - for Standard Output.  The
       default is Standard Output.

       To print Postscript on an HP PPA printer, just use Ghostscript with the  pbmraw  (or  pbm)
       device driver.

       You can generate a test page for use with this program with pbmpage.

       You  can  also  set up a printer filter so you can submit PBM input directly to your print
       queue.  See the documentation for your print spooler for information on how to do that, or
       look in hp820install.doc for an example lpd print filter for Postscript and text files.

       Sometimes,  pbmtoppa generates a file which the printer will not print (because pbmtoppa's
       input is unprintable).  When this happens, all three lights blink  to  signal  the  error.
       This  is  usually  because  there is material outside of the printer's printable area.  To
       make the file print, increase the margins via pbmtoppa options or  a  configuration  file.
       See the section on calibration ⟨#calibration⟩  below.

   About PPA
       The  PPA  printer  language  is  a far lower level language than most.  When you use a PPA
       printer, most of the processing that a conventional printer does is done  instead  on  the
       computer  end  of the wire.  In particular, pbmtoppa has to do "swath cutting," and "sweep
       formatting," which other printers do themselves.  There is very little intelligence inside
       a PPA printer; pbmtoppa generates direct controls for the printer's hardware.

       The  design  goal  of  PPA  was  to  reduce  the cost of a printer by exploiting computing
       resources already present in the computer that requests the printing.  CPU power, ROM, and
       RAM requirements inside the printer are all reduced compared to a conventional printer.

       PPA  was new in 1997.  It was preceded by Hewlett Packard's PCL (Printer Control Language)
       language.  HP manufactured PPA printers for only a few years, and no one else ever did.

OPTIONS

       In addition to the options common to all programs based on libnetpbm (most notably -quiet,
       see
        Common  Options  ⟨index.html#commonoptions⟩  ), pbmtoppa recognizes the following command
       line options:

       -v version
              printer version (720, 820, or 1000)

       -x xoff
              horizontal offset adjustment in 1/600 inches.

       -y yoff
              vertical offset adjustment in 1/600 inches.

       -t topmarg
              top margin in 1/600 inches    (default: 150 = 0.25 inch)

       -l leftmarg
              left margin in 1/600 inches   (default: 150 = 0.25 inch)

       -r rightmarg
              right margin in 1/600 inches (default: 150 = 0.25 inch)

       -b botmarg
              bottom margin in 1/600 inches (default: 150 = 0.25 inch)

       -s paper
              paper size: us or a4.  Default is us.

       -d dpi Print resolution in dots per inch.

       -f cfgfile
              Read parameters from the configuration file named cfgfile.  See CONFIGURATION FILES
              ⟨#configfile⟩

       The  offset  adjustments  you specify with -x and -y accumulate.  I.e. if you specify them
       multiple times, the total offset adjustment is the sum of the adjustments you specify.  -x
       60 -x 120 is the same as -x 180.

       The  -v option undoes any preceding -x and -y options, leaving the horizontal and vertical
       adjustments their default values.

CONFIGURATION FILES

       You can use a configuration file to specify parameters rather than use invocation options.
       pbmtoppa  processes  the  file  /etc/pbmtoppa.conf,  if  it  exists, before processing any
       options.  It then processes each configuration  file  named  by  a  -f  option  in  order,
       applying  the  parameters  from  the configuration file as if they were invocation options
       used in the place of the -f option.

       Configuration files have the following format:

       #Comment
       key1 value1
       key2 value2
       [etc.]

       Valid  keys  are  version,   xoffset,   yoffset,   topmargin,   leftmargin,   rightmargin,
       bottommargin, papersize, or any non-null prefix of these words.  Valid values are the same
       as with the corresponding invocation parameters.

EXAMPLES

       Print a test pattern:
       pbmpage | pbmppa >/dev/lp1

       Print three pages:
       cat page1.pbm page2.pbm page3.pbm | pbmppa >/dev/lp1

       Print the Postscript file myfile.ps:
       gs -sDEVICE=rawpbm -q -dNOPAUSE -r600 \
          -sOutputFile=- myfile.ps ;\
       | pbmtoppa | lpr

CALIBRATION

       To be able to print successfully and properly, you need to tell pbmtoppa  an  X  and  a  Y
       offset  appropriate  for  your  printer  to use when generating the page.  You can specify
       these offsets with the -x and -y invocation options or with the xoff and  yoff  parameters
       in a pbmtoppa configuration file.

       To determine the correct offsets, use the pbmpage program.

       If  while  trying  to  do  this calibration, the printer refuses to print a page, but just
       blinks all three lights, specify large margins (e.g. 600 pixels -- one inch)  via  pbmpage
       invocation options while doing the calibration.

       For example:
       pbmpage | pbmtoppa >/dev/lp1

       or
       pbmpage | pbmtoppa | lpr -l

       (if your printer filter recognizes the '-l' (direct output) parameter).

       In  the  test pattern, the grid is marked off in pixel coordinate numbers.  Unfortunately,
       these coordinates are probably cut off before the edge of the paper.  You'll have to use a
       ruler  to  estimate  the pixel coordinate of the left and top edges of the actual sheet of
       paper (should be within +/- 300, may be negative; there are 600 pixels per inch).

       Add these coordinates to the X and Y offsets by either editing the configuration  file  or
       using the -x  and -y command-line parameters.

       When  pbmtoppa  is  properly  calibrated,  the  center mark should be in the center of the
       paper.  Also, the margins should be able to be as small as 1/4 inch  without  causing  the
       printer to choke with 'blinking lights syndrome'.

RED HAT LINUX INSTALLATION

       RedHat  users  may  find the following tip from Panayotis Vryonis <vrypan@hol.gr> helpful.
       The same should work for the 820 and 1000, but it  hasn't  been  tested.   Also,  use  the
       pbmraw GSDriver if you have it; it's faster.

       Here is a tip to integrate HP720C capability in RedHat's printtool:

       Install pbmtoppa. Copy pbmtoppa to /usr/bin.

       Edit  "printerdb"  (in my system it is found in /usr/lib/rhs/rhs-printfilters ) and append
       the following lines:


       ----------------------Cut here-----------------------
       StartEntry: DeskJet720C
         GSDriver: pbm
         Description: {HP DeskJet 720C}
         About: { \
               This driver drives the HP DeskJet 720C \
               inkjet printer. \
               It cannot do color printing. \
               IMPORTANT! Insert \
                  "- | pbm2ppa -" \
               in the "Extra GS Options " field.\
             }

         Resolution: {600} {600} {}

       EndEntry
       ----------------------------------------------------

       Now you can add an HP720C printer just like any other, using printtool.

SEE ALSO

       pbmpage(1), pstopnm(1), pbm(1)

       This program was derived from pbm2ppa.  pbm2ppa is  obsolete  and  has  been  replaced  by
       pnm2ppa,  which  does  the same things as pbmtoppa except it also works with color and has
       lots more features.  See http://pnm2ppa.sourceforge.nethttp://pnm2ppa.sourceforge.net⟩
       for  more  information  about  the  PPA  protocol  and  the separately distributed pnm2ppa
       program.

       The file INSTALL-MORE in the  pbmtoppa  directory  of  the  Netpbm  source  code  contains
       detailed  instructions on setting up a system to use pbmtoppa to allow convenient printing
       on HP PPA printers.  It was written by Michael Buehlmann.

AUTHOR

       Tim Norman.  Copyright (C) 1998.  Licensed under GNU Public License

       Manual page by Bryan Henderson, May 2000.

DOCUMENT SOURCE

       This manual page was generated by the Netpbm tool 'makeman' from HTML source.  The  master
       documentation is at

              http://netpbm.sourceforge.net/doc/pbmtoppa.html