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.
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
*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: 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 value is true.
Example:
*% Don't swap the top and bottom margins for the back side *APDuplexRequiresFlippedMargin: false
Also see the related cupsFlipDuplex attribute.
*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
*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: boolean
This boolean attribute notifies the RIP filters that the
destination printer requires an upside-down image for the back
page. 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.
*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: "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_FR", etc.)
Example:
*% Specify Canadian, UK, and US English, and Candian and French French *cupsLanguages: "en_CA en_UK en_US fr_CA fr_FR"
*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: 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
*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"
*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"
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:
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 2 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 3 1>>setpagedevice" *ParamCustomGammaDensity Gamma: 1 curve 0.1 10 *ParamCustomGammaDensity Density: 2 real 0 2
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 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 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"
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
CUPS 1.2 and higher adds support for PPD files containing multiple languages by following the following additional rules:
*ll.Translation MainKeyword/translation
text: ""
*ll_CC.Translation MainKeyword/translation
text: ""
*ll.MainKeyword OptionKeyword/translation
text: ""
*ll_CC.MainKeyword OptionKeyword/translation
text: ""
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_DE fr_FR" *ModelName: "Foobar Laser 9999" *% Localize ModelName for French and German *fr_FR.Translation ModelName/La Foobar Laser 9999: "" *de_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_FR.cupsIPPReason com.vendor-error/Une erreur sèrieuse s'est produite: "/help/com.vendor/error.html" *de_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_FR.Translation InputSlot/Papier source: "" *de_DE.Translation InputSlot/Papiereinzug: "" *InputSlot Auto/Default: "<</ManualFeed false>>setpagedevice" *% Localize InputSlot=Auto for French and German *fr_FR.InputSlot Auto/Par Defaut: "" *de_DE.InputSlot Auto/Standard: "" *InputSlot Manual/Manual Feed: "<</ManualFeed true>>setpagedevice" *% Localize InputSlot=Manual for French and German *fr_FR.InputSlot Manual/Manuel mecanisme de alimentation: "" *de_DE.InputSlot Manual/Manueller Einzug: "" *CloseUI: *InputSlot