xenial (1) pbmtoppa.1.gz

NAME

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

SYNOPSIS

       pbmtoppa

       [pbm_file [ppa_file]]

DESCRIPTION

       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 the 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 CALIBRATION section below.

OPTIONS

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

       -x xoff
              vertical offset adjustment in 1"/600

       -y yoff
              horizontal offset adjustment in 1"/600

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

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

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

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

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

       -f cfgfile
              read parameters from configuration file cfgfile

       The -x and -y options accumulate.

       The -v option resets the horizontal and vertical adjustments to an internal default.

CONFIGURATION FILES

       You can use configuration files 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'.

REDHAT 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 intergrate HP720C support in RedHat's printtool:

       Install pbm2ppa. Copy pbm2ppa 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 supports the HP DeskJet 720C \
               inkjet printer. \
               It does does not support color printing. \
               IMPORTANT! Insert \
                    "- | pbm2ppa -" \
               in the "Extra GS Otions" 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(5)

       pnm2ppa is not part of Netpbm, but does the same things as pbmtoppa except it also works with  color  and
       has lots more features.  See <http://sourceforge.net/project/?group_id=1322>.

       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.

       For information about the PPA protocol and the separately distributed pbm2ppa program from which pbmtoppa
       was derived, see <http://www.httptech.com/ppa>.

AUTHOR

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

       Manual page by Bryan Henderson, May 2000.

                                                   01 May 2000                                       pbmtoppa(1)