Cups-pdf Prints Blank Page

Bug #1236120 reported by Don Myers
36
This bug affects 8 people
Affects Status Importance Assigned to Milestone
cups-pdf (Ubuntu)
Won't Fix
Undecided
Unassigned

Bug Description

In 13.10, cups-pdf returns a blank page for the putput. It was working perfectly in 13.04. In researching old bug reports on cups-pdf, this issue has arisen before, with the soultion being to purge the system of cups-pdf, and then doing a new install of cups-pdf. I have done that, and it didn't fix the issue.

ProblemType: Bug
DistroRelease: Ubuntu 13.10
Package: cups-pdf 2.6.1-9
ProcVersionSignature: Ubuntu 3.11.0-11.17-generic 3.11.3
Uname: Linux 3.11.0-11-generic x86_64
ApportVersion: 2.12.5-0ubuntu1
Architecture: amd64
Date: Sun Oct 6 21:11:01 2013
InstallationDate: Installed on 2013-10-01 (5 days ago)
InstallationMedia: Ubuntu 13.10 "Saucy Salamander" - Beta amd64 (20130925.1)
Lpstat:
 device for HP-Color-LaserJet-2605dn: hp:/net/HP_Color_LaserJet_2605dn?ip=192.168.0.102
 device for HP-Officejet-Pro-8000-A809: hp:/net/Officejet_Pro_8000_A809?zc=HP2DD57A
 device for PDF: cups-pdf:/
MarkForUpload: True
Papersize: letter
PpdFiles:
 HP-Color-LaserJet-2605dn: HP Color LaserJet 2605dn Foomatic/Postscript
 HP-Officejet-Pro-8000-A809: HP Officejet Pro 8000 a809, hpcups 3.13.9
SourcePackage: cups-pdf
UpgradeStatus: No upgrade log present (probably fresh install)

Revision history for this message
Don Myers (donmyers) wrote :
Revision history for this message
Till Kamppeter (till-kamppeter) wrote :

Does the same job print correctly on your real printers?

Can you follow the instructions of the sections "CUPS error_log" and "Capturing print job data" on https://wiki.ubuntu.com/DebuggingPrintingProblems.

Changed in cups-pdf (Ubuntu):
status: New → Incomplete
Revision history for this message
Don Myers (donmyers) wrote :

Hi Till,

I'm sorry for the delay in getting back to you. The physical printers on the network work fine. I have Ubuntu 13.10 on three machines. They all do the same thing. I will send the error log, printout, and the output from cups showuing the same file which did print properly in the printout attachment. I get no data in any pdfs from cups-pdf in any application, including Firefox, Thunderbird, GEdit, LO Writer, LO Calc. But there is one exception. Do you remember this bug:
https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/cups/+bug/1066932
OpenJDK 7 and OpenJDK 8 do not work yet. Open JDK 6 does work yet in 13.10. From your comments in that bug report:
"Don, your captured print job data is a PostScript file without the images, so the "Getting the data which would go to the printer" step is not needed any more as the images already get lost by the desktop application. In this case it is the Java engine. To print you have to click a button supplied by the Java application, not the usual "File"/"Print" of the browser, which means that the Java app generates the output stream (the stream would also be PDF if it comes from the browser)." If I print using the print button supplied by the java application, in any of the three computers with 13.10, the output of cups-pdf is fine. But that is the only time I get any output other than a blank page.

Revision history for this message
Don Myers (donmyers) wrote :

Error Log

Revision history for this message
Don Myers (donmyers) wrote :

Printout - opens fine in document viewer.

Revision history for this message
Don Myers (donmyers) wrote :

This is the same file as in the printout in the last attachement. When I open Nautilus to look for the created pdf files, it almost looks like there is something in it for an instance and then the icon goes blank.

Revision history for this message
Zoom (duntra80) wrote :

I confirm that cups doesn't work in my Ubuntu 13.10 beta version either. My system is Acer Aspire S7-391.

Revision history for this message
Till Kamppeter (till-kamppeter) wrote :

Can you attach your /etc/cups/ppd/PDF.ppd file? Thanks.

Revision history for this message
Don Myers (donmyers) wrote :

Hi Till

There isn't any. Only the two networked printers show up. Attached is a screenshot.

One other tidbit. Last week I purged and reinstalled cups-pdf a couple of time trying to get it to work. I had gone into Localhost 631 and noticed in the PDF Printer it listed the driver as Local Raw Printer (grayscale). I assume if it says grayscale, it will not print in color. I'm 99% sure that it used to print in color.

Revision history for this message
Yuv (yuv) wrote :

I am experiencing the exact same symptoms since about three weeks.

Uninstalling and reinstalling does not help:

  sudo dpkg -P cups-pdf
  sudo apt-get install cups-pdf

It says:
Setting up cups-pdf (2.6.1-9)

but when I print, no matter from what application, the result is an empty 2.2KiB file ~/PDF/PDF.pdf

/etc/cups/ppd/PDF.ppd does not exist on the system, the only file in /etc/cups/ppd is the one for my physical printer

Changed in cups-pdf (Ubuntu):
status: Incomplete → New
Revision history for this message
Launchpad Janitor (janitor) wrote :

Status changed to 'Confirmed' because the bug affects multiple users.

Changed in cups-pdf (Ubuntu):
status: New → Confirmed
Revision history for this message
Yuv (yuv) wrote :

*** WORKAROUND ***
* point your browser to <http://localhost:631/printers/PDF>
* Administration dropdown, select Modify printer
* enter admin credentials
* select radio button CUPS-PDF (Virtual PDF Printer) next to Local Printers and click Continue
* on the next page click Continue
* click on Browse... button next to Provide a PPD File
* navigate to /usr/share/ppd/cups-pdf/CUPS-PDF.ppd
* click Modify Printer

result:
* now there is /etc/cups/ppd/PDF.ppd file
* printing to PDF works

This seem to be a missing file problem. How the file in /etc/cups/ppd went missing is beyond me, I suspect an update.

Revision history for this message
Don Myers (donmyers) wrote :

Yes, this workaround does work!!!!!! Thank you. I had read about a PPD file for cups-pdf in the cups-pdf site, but didn't know where to find it.

I think the issue is that the PPD file never gets installed as the driver for cups-pdf when cups-pdf in installed, not that some upgrade wipes it out.

Revision history for this message
Javi (javi-h) wrote :

Hi,

I confim same behaviour running kubuntu 13.10, clean install.
I was not able to log in to cups via http://localhost:631
I was not able to get any working credentials. I tried lppasswd -a user, lppasswd -a root, etc. None worked.

I was finally able to do the workaround using system-preferences->select printer-> PDF ->select driver,
then providing the suggested /usr/share/ppd/cups-pdf/CUPS-PDF.ppd file.

Workaround fixes this.

Revision history for this message
Don Myers (donmyers) wrote : Re: [Bug 1236120] Re: Cups-pdf Prints Blank Page

Hi Javi,

I just set up Ubuntu 13.10 on a new system the end of last week. The
install, including cups-pdf, went fine, and cups-pdf worked as it should.

The password that is being asked for in localhost:631 is the same one
you use when you enter your password for updates.

Don

On 12/04/2013 07:17 AM, Javi wrote:
> Hi,
>
> I confim same behaviour running kubuntu 13.10, clean install.
> I was not able to log in to cups via http://localhost:631
> I was not able to get any working credentials. I tried lppasswd -a user, lppasswd -a root, etc. None worked.
>
> I was finally able to do the workaround using system-preferences->select printer-> PDF ->select driver,
> then providing the suggested /usr/share/ppd/cups-pdf/CUPS-PDF.ppd file.
>
> Workaround fixes this.
>

--

**

Revision history for this message
Martin-Éric Racine (q-funk) wrote :

Does this issue still affect cups-pdf 3.0.1 packages?

Revision history for this message
Martin-Éric Racine (q-funk) wrote :

This report seems to involve upgrading from an older release that used the old PPD file. The package's maintainer scripts do not attempt to automatically change the PPD to the new one. This must be done manually as per https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/cups-pdf/+bug/1236120/comments/12

Changed in cups-pdf (Ubuntu):
status: Confirmed → Won't Fix
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