Introduction

This specification describes the attributes and extensions that CUPS adds to Adobe TechNote #5003: PostScript Printer Description File Format Specification Version 4.3. PostScript Printer Description ("PPD") files describe the capabilities of each printer and are used by CUPS to support printer-specific features and intelligent filtering.

PPD File Syntax

The PPD format is text-based and uses lines of up to 255 characters terminated by a carriage return, linefeed, or combination of carriage return and line feed. The following ABNF definition [RFC2234] defines the general format of lines in a PPD file:

PPD-FILE = HEADER +(DATA / COMMENT / LINE-END)

HEADER   = "*" 0x50.50.44.2D.41.64.6F.62.65 ":"   ; *PPD-Adobe:
           *WSP DQUOTE "4.3" DQUOTE LINE-END

COMMENT  = "*%" *TCHAR LINE-END

DATA     = "*" 1*KCHAR [ WSP 1*KCHAR [ "/" 1*TCHAR ] ] ":"
           1*(*WSP VALUE) LINE-END

VALUE    = 1*TCHAR / DQUOTE 1*SCHAR DQUOTE

KCHAR    = ALPHA / DIGIT / "_" / "." / "-"

SCHAR    = LINE-END / WSP / %x21 / %x23-7E / %xA0-FF

TCHAR    = %x20-7E / %xA0-FF

LINE-END = CR / LF / CR LF

General Attributes

APBookFile

*APBookFile: "file URL"

This string attribute specifies the Apple help book file to use for this printer driver.

Example:

*APBookFile: "file:///Library/Printers/vendor/Help/filename"

APDuplexRequiresFlippedMargin

*APDuplexRequiresFlippedMargin: boolean

This boolean attribute notifies the RIP filters that the destination printer does not require the top and bottom margins of the ImageableArea swapped for the back page. The default is true when cupsFlipDuplex is true and false otherwise.

Example:

*% Flip the back side images
*cupsFlipDuplex: true

*% Don't swap the top and bottom margins for the back side 
*APDuplexRequiresFlippedMargin: false

Also see the related cupsFlipDuplex attribute.

APPrinterPreset

*APPrinterPreset name/text: "*Option Choice ..."

This attribute defines presets for multiple options that show up in the print dialog on Mac OS X. Each preset maps to one or more pairs of PPD options and choices.

Examples:

*APPrinterPreset Text/Text Printing on Plain Paper: "
  *MediaType Plain
  *ColorModel Gray
  *Resolution 600dpi"
*End

*APPrinterPreset Photo/Photo Printing on Glossy Paper: "
  *MediaType Glossy
  *ColorModel RGB
  *Resolution 300dpi"
*End

APRemoteQueueID

*APRemoteQueueID: "string"

This string attribute notifies the scheduler that this PPD is for a remote CUPS printer, typically shared via Bonjour.

Example:

*APRemoteQueueID: "myprinter"

cupsEvenDuplex

*cupsEvenDuplex: boolean

This boolean attribute notifies the RIP filters that the destination printer requires an even number of pages when 2-sided printing is selected. The default value is false.

Example:

*% Always send an even number of pages when duplexing 
*cupsEvenDuplex: true

cupsFax

*cupsFax: boolean

This boolean attribute specifies whether the PPD defines a facsimile device. The default is false.

Examples:

*cupsFax: true

cupsFilter

*cupsFilter: "source/type cost program"

This string attribute provides a conversion rule from the given source type to the printer's native format using the filter "program". If a printer supports the source type directly, the special filter program "-" may be specified.

Examples:

*% Standard raster printer driver filter 
*cupsFilter: "application/vnd.cups-raster 100 rastertofoo"

*% Plain text filter 
*cupsFilter: "text/plain 10 texttofoo"

*% Pass-through filter for PostScript printers 
*cupsFilter: "application/vnd.cups-postscript 0 -"

cupsFlipDuplex

*cupsFlipDuplex: boolean

Note: The cupsFlipDuplex attribute is not supported on Mac OS X 10.5.x or earlier.

This boolean attribute specifies the coordinate system of the back side of the media when doing 2-sided printing using a CUPS raster driver. Table 1 shows how cupsFlipDuplex interacts with the Tumble page attribute. The default value is false.

Example:

*% Flip the page image for the back side of duplexed output 
*cupsFlipDuplex: true

Also see the related APDuplexRequiresFlippedMargins attribute.

cupsIPPFinishings

*cupsIPPFinishings number/text: "*Option Choice ..."

This attribute defines a mapping from IPP finishings values to PPD options and choices.

Examples:

*cupsIPPFinishings 4/staple: "*StapleLocation SinglePortrait"
*cupsIPPFinishings 5/punch: "*PunchMedia Yes *PunchLocation LeftSide"
*cupsIPPFinishings 20/staple-top-left: "*StapleLocation SinglePortrait"
*cupsIPPFinishings 21/staple-bottom-left: "*StapleLocation SingleLandscape"

cupsIPPReason

*cupsIPPReason reason/Reason Text: "optional URIs"

This optional attribute maps custom printer-state-reasons keywords that are generated by the driver to human readable text. The optional URIs string contains zero or more URIs separated by a newline. Each URI can be a CUPS server absolute path to a help file under the scheduler's DocumentRoot directory, a full HTTP URL ("http://www.domain.com/path/to/help/page.html"), or any other valid URI which directs the user at additional information concerning the condition that is being reported.

Examples:

*% Map com.vendor-error to text but no page
*cupsIPPReason com.vendor-error/A serious error occurred: ""

*% Map com.vendor-error to text and a local page
*cupsIPPReason com.vendor-error/A serious error occurred: "/help/com.vendor/error.html"

*% Map com.vendor-error to text and a remote page
*cupsIPPReason com.vendor-error/A serious error occurred: "http://www.vendor.com/help"

*% Map com.vendor-error to text and a local, Apple help book, and remote page
*APHelpBook: "file:///Library/Printers/vendor/Help/filename"
*cupsIPPReason com.vendor-error/A serious error occurred: "/help/com.vendor/error.html
help:anchor='com.vendor-error'%20bookID=Vendor%20Help
http://www.vendor.com/help"
*End

cupsLanguages

*cupsLanguages: "locale list"

This attribute describes which language localizations are included in the PPD. The "locale list" string is a space-delimited list of locale names ("en", "en_US", "fr_CA", etc.)

Example:

*% Specify Canadian, UK, and US English, and Candian and French French 
*cupsLanguages: "en_CA en_UK en_US fr_CA fr_CA"

cupsManualCopies

*cupsManualCopies: boolean

This boolean attribute notifies the RIP filters that the destination printer does not support copy generation in hardware. The default value is false.

Example:

*% Tell the RIP filters to generate the copies for us 
*cupsManualCopies: true

cupsModelNumber

*cupsModelNumber: number

This integer attribute specifies a printer-specific model number. This number can be used by a filter program to adjust the output for a specific model of printer.

Example:

*% Specify an integer for a driver-specific model number 
*cupsModelNumber: 1234

cupsPJLCharset

*cupsPJLCharset: "ISO character set name"

This string attribute specifies the character set that is used for strings in PJL commands. If not specified, US-ASCII is assumed.

Example:

*% Specify UTF-8 is used in PJL strings
*cupsPJLCharset: "UTF-8"

cupsPortMonitor

*cupsPortMonitor urischeme/Descriptive Text: "port monitor"

This string attribute specifies printer-specific "port monitor" filters that may be used with the printer. The CUPS scheduler also looks for the Protocols attribute to see if the BCP or TBCP protocols are supported. If so, the corresponding port monitor ("bcp" and "tbcp", respectively) is listed in the printer's port-monitor-supported attribute.

The "urischeme" portion of the attribute specifies the URI scheme that this port monitor should be used for. Typically this is used to pre-select a particular port monitor for each type of connection that is supported by the printer. The "port monitor" string can be "none" to disable the port monitor for the given URI scheme.

Examples:

*% Specify a PostScript printer that supports the TBCP protocol
*Protocols: TBCP PJL

*% Specify that TBCP should be used for socket connections but not USB
*cupsPortMonitor socket/AppSocket Printing: "tbcp"
*cupsPortMonitor usb/USB Printing: "none"

*% Specify a printer-specific port monitor for an Epson USB printer 
*cupsPortMonitor usb/USB Status Monitor: "epson-usb"

cupsPreFilter

*cupsPreFilter: "source/type cost program"

This string attribute provides a pre-filter rule. The pre-filter program will be inserted in the conversion chain immediately before the filter that accepts the given MIME type.

Examples:

*% PDF pre-filter
*cupsPreFilter: "application/pdf 100 mypdfprefilter"

*% PNG pre-filter
*cupsPreFilter: "image/png 0 mypngprefilter"

cupsVersion

*cupsVersion: major.minor

This required attribute describes which version of the CUPS PPD file extensions was used. Currently it must be the string "1.0", "1.1", or "1.2".

Example:

*% Specify a CUPS 1.2 driver 
*cupsVersion: "1.2"

Custom Options

CUPS supports custom options using an extension of the CustomPageSize and ParamCustomPageSize syntax:

*CustomFoo True: "command"
*ParamCustomFoo Name1/Text 1: order type minimum maximum
*ParamCustomFoo Name2/Text 2: order type minimum maximum
...
*ParamCustomFoo NameN/Text N: order type minimum maximum

When the base option is part of the JCLSetup section, the "command" string contains JCL commands with "\order" placeholders for each numbered parameter. The CUPS API handles any necessary value quoting for HP-PJL commands. For example, if the JCL command string is "@PJL SET PASSCODE=\1" and the first option value is "1234" then CUPS will output the string "@PJL SET PASSCODE=1234".

For non-JCLSetup options, the "order" value is a number from 1 to N and specifies the order of values as they are placed on the stack before the command. For example, if the PostScript command string is "<</cupsReal1 2 1 roll>>setpagedevice" and the option value is "2.0" then CUPS will output the string "2.0 <</cupsReal1 2 1 roll>>setpagedevice".

The "type" is one of the following keywords:

• curve - a real value from "minimum" to "maximum" representing a gamma correction curve using the function: f(x) = x ^value
• int - an integer value from "minimum" to "maximum"
• invcurve - a real value from "minimum" to "maximum" representing a gamma correction curve using the function: f(x) = x ^{1 / value}
• passcode - a string of numbers value with a minimum of "minimum" numbers and a maximum of "maximum" numbers ("minimum" and "maximum" are numbers and passcode strings are not displayed in the user interface)
• password - a string value with a minimum of "minimum" characters and a maximum of "maximum" characters ("minimum" and "maximum" are numbers and password strings are not displayed in the user interface)
• points - a measurement value in points from "minimum" to "maximum"
• real - a real value from "minimum" to "maximum"
• string - a string value with a minimum of "minimum" characters and a maximum of "maximum" characters ("minimum" and "maximum" are numbers)

Examples:

*% Base JCL key code option 
*OpenUI JCLPasscode/Key Code: PickOne
*OrderDependency: 10 JCLSetup *JCLPasscode
*DefaultJCLPasscode: None
*JCLPasscode None/No Code: ""
*JCLPasscode 1111: "@PJL SET PASSCODE = 1111<0A>"
*JCLPasscode 2222: "@PJL SET PASSCODE = 2222<0A>"
*JCLPasscode 3333: "@PJL SET PASSCODE = 3333<0A>"
*JCLCloseUI: *JCLPasscode

*% Custom JCL key code option 
*CustomJCLPasscode True: "@PJL SET PASSCODE = \1<0A>"
*ParamCustomJCLPasscode Code/Key Code: 1 passcode 4 4


*% Base PostScript watermark option
*OpenUI WatermarkText/Watermark Text: PickOne
*OrderDependency: 10 AnySetup *WatermarkText
*DefaultWatermarkText: None
*WatermarkText None: ""
*WatermarkText Draft: "<</cupsString1(Draft)>>setpagedevice"
*CloseUI: *WatermarkText

*% Custom PostScript watermark option
*CustomWatermarkText True: "<</cupsString1 3 -1 roll>>setpagedevice"
*ParamCustomWatermarkText Text: 1 string 0 32


*% Base PostScript gamma/density option 
*OpenUI GammaDensity/Gamma and Density: PickOne
*OrderDependency: 10 AnySetup *GammaDensity
*DefaultGammaDensity: Normal
*GammaDensity Normal/Normal: "<</cupsReal1 1.0/cupsReal2 1.0>>setpagedevice"
*GammaDensity Light/Lighter: "<</cupsReal1 0.9/cupsReal2 0.67>>setpagedevice"
*GammaDensity Dark/Darker: "<</cupsReal1 1.1/cupsReal2 1.5>>setpagedevice"
*CloseUI: *GammaDensity

*% Custom PostScript gamma/density option 
*CustomGammaDensity True: "<</cupsReal1 3 -1 roll/cupsReal2 5 -1>>setpagedevice"
*ParamCustomGammaDensity Gamma: 1 curve 0.1 10
*ParamCustomGammaDensity Density: 2 real 0 2

Color Profiles

CUPS supports two types of color profiles. The first type is based on sRGB and is used by the standard CUPS raster filters and ESP Ghostscript. The second type is based on ICC profiles and is used by the Core Graphics-based filters on MacOS X.

Note: At this time, none of the CUPS raster filters support ICC profiles. This will be addressed as time and resources permit.

cupsColorProfile

*cupsColorProfile Resolution/MediaType: "density gamma m00 m01 m02 m10 m11 m12 m20 m21 m22"

This string attribute specifies an sRGB-based color profile consisting of gamma and density controls and a 3x3 CMY color transform matrix.

The Resolution and MediaType values may be "-" to act as a wildcard. Otherwise they must match one of the Resolution or MediaType attributes defined in the PPD file.

The density and gamma values define gamma and density adjustment function such that:

f(x) = density * x gamma

The m00 through m22 values define a 3x3 transformation matrix for the CMY color values. The density function is applied after the CMY transformation:

| m00 m01 m02 |
| m10 m11 m12 |
| m20 m21 m22 |

Examples:

*% Specify a profile for printing at 360dpi on all media types 
*cupsColorProfile 360dpi/-: "1.0 1.5 1.0 0.0 -0.2 -0.4 1.0 0.0 -0.2 0.0 1.0"

*% Specify a profile for printing at 720dpi on Glossy media 
*cupsColorProfile 720dpi/Glossy: "1.0 2.5 1.0 0.0 -0.2 -0.4 1.0 0.0 -0.2 0.0 1.0"

*% Specify a default profile for printing at all other resolutions and media types 
*cupsColorProfile -/-: "0.9 2.0 1.0 0.0 -0.2 -0.4 1.0 0.0 -0.2 0.0 1.0"

cupsICCProfile

*cupsICCProfile ColorModel.MediaType.Resolution/Description: "filename"

This attribute specifies an ICC color profile that is used to convert the document colors to the device colorspace. The ColorModel, MediaType, and Resolution keywords specify a selector for color profiles. If omitted, the color profile will match any option keyword for the corresponding main keyword.

The Description specifies human-readable text that is associated with the color profile. The filename portion specifies the ICC color profile to use; if the filename is not absolute, it is loaded relative to the /usr/share/cups/profiles directory.

Examples:

*% Specify a profile for CMYK printing at 360dpi on all media types 
*cupsICCProfile CMYK..360dpi/360dpi CMYK: "vendor/foo-360-cmyk.icc"

*% Specify a profile for RGB printing at 720dpi on Glossy media 
*cupsColorProfile RGB.Glossy.720dpi/720dpi Glossy: "vendor/foo-720-glossy-rgb.icc"

*% Specify a default profile for printing at all other resolutions and media types 
*cupsICCProfile ../Default: "vendor/foo-default.icc"

Customizing the Profile Selection Keywords

The MediaType and Resolution keywords can be reassigned to different main keywords, allowing drivers to do color profile selection based on different parameters. The cupsICCQualifier2 and cupsICCQualifier3 attributes define the mapping from selector to main keyword:

*cupsICCQualifier2: MainKeyword2
*cupsICCQualifier3: MainKeyword3

The default mapping is as follows:

*cupsICCQualifier2: MediaType
*cupsICCQualifier3: Resolution

Globalized PPD Support

CUPS 1.2 and higher adds support for PPD files containing multiple languages by following the following additional rules:

1. The LanguageVersion MUST be English
2. The LanguageEncoding MUST be ISOLatin1
3. The cupsLanguages attribute MUST be provided and list each of the supported locales in the PPD file
4. Main and option keywords MUST NOT exceed 34 (instead of 40) characters to allow room for the locale prefixes in translation attributes
5. The main keyword "Translation" MUST NOT be used
6. Translation strings included with the main and option keywords MUST NOT contain characters outside the ASCII subset of ISOLatin1 and UTF-8; developers wishing to use characters outside ASCII MUST provide a separate set of English localization attributes for the affected keywords.
7. Localizations are specified using a locale prefix of the form "ll" or "ll_CC." where "ll" is the 2-letter ISO language code and "CC" is the 2-letter ISO country code
   • A generic language translation ("ll") SHOULD be provided with country-specific differences ("ll_CC") provided only as needed
   • For historical reasons, the "zh" and "zh_CN" locales map to Simplified Chinese while the "zh_TW" locale maps to Traditional Chinese
8. Locale-specific translation strings MUST be encoded using UTF-8.
9. Main keywords MUST be localized using one of the following forms:

   *ll.Translation MainKeyword/translation text: ""
   *ll_CC.Translation MainKeyword/translation text: ""

10. Option keywords MUST be localized using one of the following forms:

    *ll.MainKeyword OptionKeyword/translation text: ""
    *ll_CC.MainKeyword OptionKeyword/translation text: ""

11. Localization attributes MAY appear anywhere after the first line of the PPD file

Note: We use a LanguageEncoding value of ISOLatin1 and limit the allowed base translation strings to ASCII to avoid character coding issues that would otherwise occur. In addition, requiring the base translation strings to be in English allows for easier fallback translation when no localization is provided in the PPD file for a given locale.

Examples:

*LanguageVersion: English
*LanguageEncoding: ISOLatin1
*cupsLanguages: "de fr_CA"
*ModelName: "Foobar Laser 9999"

*% Localize ModelName for French and German
*fr_CA.Translation ModelName/La Foobar Laser 9999: ""
*de.Translation ModelName/Foobar LaserDrucken 9999: ""

*cupsIPPReason com.vendor-error/A serious error occurred: "/help/com.vendor/error.html"
*% Localize printer-state-reason for French and German
*fr_CA.cupsIPPReason com.vendor-error/Une erreur sèrieuse s'est produite: "/help/com.vendor/error.html"
*de.cupsIPPReason com.vendor-error/Eine ernste Störung trat: "/help/com.vendor/error.html"

...

*OpenUI *InputSlot/Paper Source: PickOne
*OrderDependency: 10 AnySetup *InputSlot
*DefaultInputSlot: Auto
*% Localize InputSlot for French and German
*fr_CA.Translation InputSlot/Papier source: ""
*de.Translation InputSlot/Papiereinzug: ""
*InputSlot Auto/Default: "<</ManualFeed false>>setpagedevice"
*% Localize InputSlot=Auto for French and German
*fr_CA.InputSlot Auto/Par Defaut: ""
*de.InputSlot Auto/Standard: ""
*InputSlot Manual/Manual Feed: "<</ManualFeed true>>setpagedevice"
*% Localize InputSlot=Manual for French and German
*fr_CA.InputSlot Manual/Manuel mecanisme de alimentation: ""
*de.InputSlot Manual/Manueller Einzug: ""
*CloseUI: *InputSlot

Writing PostScript Option Commands for Raster Drivers

PPD files are used for both PostScript and non-PostScript printers. For CUPS raster drivers, you use a subset of the PostScript language to set page device attributes such as page size, resolution, and so forth. For example, the following code sets the page size to A4 size:

*PageSize A4: "<</PageSize[595 842]>>setpagedevice"

Custom options typically use other operators to organize the values into a key/value dictionary for setpagedevice. For example, our previous CustomWatermarkText option code uses the roll operator to move the custom string value into the dictionary for setpagedevice:

*CustomWatermarkText True: "<</cupsString1 3 -1 roll>>setpagedevice"

For a custom string value of "My Watermark", CUPS will produce the following PostScript code for the option:

(My Watermark)
<</cupsString1 3 -1 roll>>setpagedevice

The code moves the string value ("My Watermark") from the bottom of the stack to the top, creating a dictionary that looks like:

<</cupsString1(My Watermark)>>setpagedevice

The resulting dictionary sets the page device attributes that are sent to your raster driver in the page header.

Custom Page Size Code

There are many possible implementations of the CustomPageSize code. For CUPS raster drivers, the following code is recommended:

*ParamCustomPageSize Width:        1 points min-width max-width
*ParamCustomPageSize Height:       2 points min-height max-height
*ParamCustomPageSize WidthOffset:  3 points 0 0
*ParamCustomPageSize HeightOffset: 4 points 0 0
*ParamCustomPageSize Orientation:  5 int 0 0
*CustomPageSize True: "pop pop pop <</PageSize[5 -2 roll]/ImagingBBox null>>setpagedevice"

Supported PostScript Operators

CUPS supports the following PostScript operators in addition to the usual PostScript number, string (literal and hex-encoded), boolean, null, and name values:

• << - Start a dictionary.
• >> - End a dictionary.
• [ - Start an array.
• ] - End an array.
• copy - Copy the top N objects on the stack.
• dup - Copy the top object on the stack.
• index - Copy the Nth from the top object on the stack.
• pop - Pop the top object on the stack.
• roll - Shift the top N objects on the stack.
• setpagedevice - Set the page header values according to the key/value dictionary on the stack.

Note: Never use the unsupported dict or put operators in your option code. These operators are typically used in option code dating back to Level 1 PostScript printers, which did not support the simpler << or >> operators. If you have old option code using dict or put, you can rewrite it very easily to use the newer << and >> operators instead. For example, the following code to set the page size:

1 dict dup /PageSize [612 792] put setpagedevice

can be rewritten as:

<< /PageSize [612 792] >> setpagedevice