HP LaserJet P1005 prints stripes (regression) with foo2xqx with 600x600 dpi

[magelan]

Evince and LibreOffice, when "PDF" is chosen in the settings menu (Postscript works), only print a "matrix" of pdf documents. You see only stripes on the printed paper. All pdf documents are printed correctly with Adobe Reader for Linux on the same system.

Similar to this bug https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/cups/+bug/748271 , but:
-you had it fixed in between!
-the pattern of the stripes is different than before

ProblemType: Bug
DistroRelease: Ubuntu 11.10
Package: cups 1.5.0-8ubuntu5
ProcVersionSignature: Ubuntu 3.0.0-13.22-generic-pae 3.0.6
Uname: Linux 3.0.0-13-generic-pae i686
NonfreeKernelModules: wl fglrx
ApportVersion: 1.23-0ubuntu4
Architecture: i386
Date: Tue Nov 29 19:44:12 2011
InstallationMedia: Ubuntu 10.04 LTS "Lucid Lynx" - Release i386 (20100427.1)
MachineType: LENOVO 3389
Papersize: a4
ProcKernelCmdLine: BOOT_IMAGE=/vmlinuz-3.0.0-13-generic-pae root=/dev/mapper/lvmlen-root ro text video=uvesafb:mode_option=1024x768-32@60,mtrr=3,scroll=ywrap
SourcePackage: cups
UdevDb: Error: [Errno 2] No such file or directory
UpgradeStatus: Upgraded to oneiric on 2011-10-19 (40 days ago)
dmi.bios.date: 01/20/2010
dmi.bios.vendor: LENOVO
dmi.bios.version: 22CN35WW(V2.02)
dmi.board.name: NITU1
dmi.board.vendor: LENOVO
dmi.board.version: REFERENCE
dmi.chassis.asset.tag: No Asset Tag
dmi.chassis.type: 10
dmi.chassis.vendor: No Enclosure
dmi.chassis.version: N/A
dmi.modalias: dmi:bvnLENOVO:bvr22CN35WW(V2.02):bd01/20/2010:svnLENOVO:pn3389:pvrLenovoIdeaPadU450p:rvnLENOVO:rnNITU1:rvrREFERENCE:cvnNoEnclosure:ct10:cvrN/A:
dmi.product.name: 3389
dmi.product.version: Lenovo IdeaPad U450p
dmi.sys.vendor: LENOVO
mtime.conffile..etc.cups.cupsd.conf: 2011-11-29T19:17:22.457172

[Till Kamppeter (till-kamppeter)]

I have investigated the problem and found out that everythinh including the Ghostscript call works. So the only cause of the problem can be the printer driver itself, foo2xqx, which is part of the foo2zjs package. Moving ...

[Till Kamppeter (till-kamppeter)]

As a workaround try the following:

- Set the "Halftone Algorithm" option to "Standard" (in system-config-printer and/or the application's print dialogs)
- Try also to change other option settings, like "Quality" or "Resolution".
- Try to change the driver to HP's driver. If this driver does not work, run "sudo hp-plugin -i" to install the proprietary part of the driver.

Please tell which of these measures work.

[magelan (magelan)]

-Interesting! It works when I change "Resolution" to "1200x600dpi", always. Never with 600x600dpi. Other combinations of "Printing Quality" and "Print Density" could not help the buggy 600x600 dpi option. I have tested the resolution options in evince, Adobe Reader and LibreOffice with PDF. Adobe Reader does not work either when 600x600dpi is selected. LibreOffice works with the PDF option and 1200x600dpi resolution.
Thank you!
-I did not find the "Halftone Algorithm".
-In between, I had already installed the proprietary plugin (did not help).

You probably still want to find out what is going on there on 600x600dpi. The printer is a HP Laserjet P1005.

[Till Kamppeter (till-kamppeter)]

magelan, can you attach your PPD file (from /etc/cups/ppd/)? For me "Halftone Algorithm" is in the "Adjustment" group. So check whether there is an "Adjustment" tab or subtree in your print dialogs. You can also change the default setting with system-config-printer (Gear button at upper right -> Printers). If you really do not have this option try to remove and re-create your print queue (and also try whether 600x660 dpi now works with the new queue).

Only installing the proprietary plug-in of HPLIP does nothing to your existing print queue. You need to create an additional print queue using the HP driver. Either create a second queue for your printer with system-config-printer and switch its driver (right-click icon -> "Properties" -> "Change" for make and model) to "hpcups" or install the hplip-gui package, start "hp-setup" and create a print queue for your printer with this tool. This queue will use HP's driver with the proprietary plug-in.

[magelan (magelan)]

Ok, adding a new queue means deleting the printer and adding a new one?
I now tried foomatic, hpcups and hpjis. I therefore added the printer as a new one and changed the driver. hpcups does not work when printing with the "Printing Quality" "Normal", it prints a different "smeared" stripe. It does when chosing "Draft" though. hpjis works (no options that I could set "wrong" there).
I add the ppd file of foomatics. In none of the three drivers did I find the halftone option. There is no "Adjustement" heading.
You wrote "600x660 dpi". You know that it is really "600x600 dpi" on my system?
No, it does not work with new queue/printer with foomatics, either.

[Till Kamppeter (till-kamppeter)]

Your attached PPD file is identical with the one which I get on my Oneiric system and itr contains the "Halftone Algorithm" in the "Adjustment" group.

The GTK printing dialog (of evince, Firefox, Thunderbird, ...) seems to be completely broken (which is another bug which needs to get reported). It indeed does not show the "Halftone Algorithm" option, not even an "Adjustment tab" with your Foomatic/foo2xqx PPD file. To test my suggestion of setting this option to "Standard" you need to use system-config-printer and there set its default to "Standard".

The HP drivers do not have a halftone option. To make sure to see all their options, use also system-config-printer.

"600x660 dpi" is indeed a typo. It must read "600x600 dpi".

[magelan (magelan)]

I finally found the halftone option in system-config-printer, I am sorry.

I tried all four options (changed from "Default" to "Standard", then "best" and "better"). No luck, still the stripes.

[Till Kamppeter (till-kamppeter)]

magelan, so the problem is solely dependent on the resolution choice and all other options have no influence. So as a workaround for the time being set 1200x600 dpi as default with system-config-printer and do not change the resolution in the application's print dialog. This way you will be able to print normally.

The bug is a broken 600x600-dpi mode in the Foomatic/foo2xqx driver of foo2zjs, a bug in the upstream code of the foo2zjs package.

[Till Kamppeter (till-kamppeter)]

Rick, it seems that in your code the 600x600-dpi mode of the foo2xqx driver (HP LaserJet P1005) is broken. The printer prints only with 1200x600 dpi. Can you have a look into this. I have already looked into your upstream ChangeLog but this driver does not seem to have changed after I have packaged it for Oneiric. I have also checked that your driver gets fed with correct data by calling the chain of foo2zjs-pstops, psnup, and Ghostscript manually and the resulting bitmap data is OK.

[Rick Richardson (rick-richardson)]

1200x600 is the default. 600x600 does not work on P1005 because 600x600 is really 600x400.

See:
http://foo2zjs.rkkda.com/forum/read.php?43,1251

[Till Kamppeter (till-kamppeter)]

Rick, can you tell which models exactly do not work in 600x600 dpi? Then I could make an update for Ubuntu Oneiric with appropriately patched PPD files. Please also fix the driver upstream by either making a 600x400-dpi mode or removing the 600x600-dpi mode for these printers. Thanks.