[For CUPS ver.] Photo Image Print System Lite for Linux Description

Copyright (C) SEIKO EPSON CORPORATION 2005,2006.

Note:
     About the latest information, please refer to our Web page.
     http://www.avasys.jp/

Contents
1   License Agreement
2   Version Up Record
3   Products Description
4   How to Install
5   Print
    5.1  Settings
    5.2  Setting Details
    5.3  How to Set
    5.4  How to Print
6  Other Software
    6.1  ekpd
    6.2  ekpstm
    6.3  pipslite-install
7  Handling Instructions
8  Acknowledgement 


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1  License Agreement
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This package contains source code covered by the GNU General Public
License and the GNU Library General Public License (see ./COPYING and
./COPYING.LIB for their terms) and object code distributed under the
terms of the EPSON AVASYS Public License (see ./EAPL.en.txt for details).

All object code contained in the sources are Copyright EPSON AVASYS
Corporation and SEIKO EPSON Corporation.


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2  Version Up Record
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Contents moved to ./ChangeLog.


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3  Products Description
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This software is a filter program used with Common UNIX Printing System
(CUPS) from the Linux. This can supply the high quality print with
SEIKO EPSON Color Ink Jet Printers.

This product supports only EPSON ESC/P-R printers. Its function is 
same as Photo Image Print System.
Unlike Photo Image Print System, which requires different pakage for 
each printer model, only one pipslite package can be used for all 
EPSON ESC/P-R printers.

For detail list of supported printer, please refer to our Web page: 
http://www.avasys.jp/


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4  How to Install
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*  Before installing this software, check if the following CUPS software
   has been installed. This software does not work correctly without CUPS.

   Common UNIX Printing System (CUPS) <http://www.cups.org>


(1).... Installing a rpm file
Execute the rpm command to complete the installation.

rpm -i pipslite-cups-1.0.0-1.i386.rpm


Depends on the distribution, dependent errors may occur.
Execution of the rpm command shown below may help you to avoid the error.

rpm -i --nodeps pipslite-cups-1.0.0-1.i386.rpm


(2).... Setting after the installation

To use Photo Image Print System Lite, CUPS must be set.
Be sure to set it up before you print first.

[ Restart CUPS ]
To make the installed filter active, restart CUPS.

(Ex.)
kill -HUP `pidof cupsd`


[ Add a Printer ]

- Add by command
  Execute the following command:
  
  lpadmin -p printer_name -E -v ekplp:/var/ekpd/ekplp0 -m ppd_file
  
  Option Script:         p      Specify the setting name of the printer
                         E      Make the printer active
                         v      Specify driver and the destination to connect
                         m      Specify the setting file(PPD)
  
  Refer to lpadmin(8) for details of lpadmin.

- Add by using browser
  CGI is available in CUPS, so that printer setting is possible by using browser.
  To add a printer, follow the steps below.

  (1) Connect to CUPS Server(Port:631) from browser
      * (EX.)
      When CUPS is on the localhost, access to "http://localhost:631/"
  (2) Choose "Manage Printers"
  (3) Choose "Add Printer"
  (4) Enter a printer setting name in "Name", and choose "Continue"
      (set other items if required)
  (5) Set "EPSON Inkjet Printer #1 (Photo Image Print System)" for "Device",
      and choose "Continue"
  (6) Set "EPSON" for "Make", and choose "Continue"
  (7) Set "Photo Image Print System Lite (en)" for "Model",
      and choose "Continue"
      (Ex. : Set "Photo Image Print System PM-A950 (en)" for "Model" when 
      setting for PM-A950 printer)


A printer is added for Photo Image Print System Lite.


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5  Print
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5.1  Settings

Following items can be set in Photo Image Print System Lite for CUPS.

- Ink

        Choose monochrome or color print.


- Paper Size 

        Choose the paper size for your document.


- Print Quality

        Choose the media and print quality for your document.


5.2  Setting Details 

Options which can be specified in Photo Image Print System Lite are listed below.
"Setting name by the optional specification" is not case sensitive.

     * The meaning of the list items
       keyword          setting string to specify an option
       browser display  strings appear in browser window of CUPS setting
       description      description of the setting


[ Ink ]
  Setting name for optional settings : Ink
  Setting name appears on browser: Ink

  keyword  | description
  -------- + -------------
  COLOR    | Color
  MONO     | Monochrome


[Paper Size]
 Setting name for optional settings: PageSize or media
 Setting name appears on browser: MediaSize

   * When describing multiple settings in the media option,
     put Paper Size at the beginning.
     Details of the media option can be found in the user's manual of CUPS

[ Print Quality ]
  Setting name for optional settings : Quality
  Setting name appears on browser : Quality


5.3  How to Set

There are three method of print setting.
- Setting by Command

        Use lpoptions. Refer to the manual pages for lpoptions(1) for detail.
        (Ex. : ink=COLOR, Page Size=A4, quality=PLAIN_NORMAL)
        lpoptions -p lite -o ink=COLOR -o media=A4 -o quality=PLAIN_NORMAL


- Setting by Browser
        Choose "Configure Printer" from the printer window to view the
        setting window.


- Specifying Options when Printing.

        Set by -o option as well as lpoptions.
        Refer to the manual pages for lpr(1) and lp(1) for details.


5.4  How to Print

Same as the existing LPR, execute the lpr or lp command to print.
Formats which can be printed are listed below.
        -Postscript
        -PDF
        -Text
        -Various image files

        (Command Ex.)
        When printing by default:

        lpr -P printer_name <file>
        lp -d printer_name <file>

        (Command Ex.) printer_name=a950, ink=MONO, media=LGL

        lpr -P a950 -o ink=MONO -o media=LGL <file>
        lp -d a950 -o ink=MONO -o media=LGL <file>


The print method varies depending on the implementation of CUPS.
Refer to the CUPS document for more information.


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6  Other Software
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6.1  ekpd

[ Description ]
ekpd is the communication daemon for bidirectional communication with
a printer.  It is necessary to start ekpd to use printer. Usually ekpd
automatically starts when starting Linux. If it is not running,
execute the following command with the root authority.


(Ex.  Redhat system of Linux)
/etc/rc.d/init.d/ekpd start


Following optional commands are available.

    start       start ekpd
    stop        stop ekpd
    restart     restart ekpd


[ Setup ]
The ekpd setting is described in /etc/ekpdrc. Setting items are as
follows (the defaults are shown in parentheses)

PrinterName
    The printer name described in CUPS  

PrinterDevicePath
    Path to the target device driver of a printer (/dev/usb/lp0)

DummyDevicePath
    Path to FIFO file for inputting a print data (/var/ekpd/ekplp0)

CommandServerPort
    The port number for communication       (35586)

Interactive setting can also be used with setting script
(/usr/local/EPAva/LITE/setup).


6.2  ekpstm

ekpstm is a printer status monitor. It can display the status, and can
properly remove errors occurred in the printer.

Be sure to execute ekpd to use ekpstm.

6.3  pipslite-install
[Description]
This is a tool provided to support EPSON ESC/P-R printer's settings in CUPS, 
by generating PPD file compatible with the printer's capabilities.
After installation, this tool is located at the following path:
/usr/local/EPAva/LITE/pipslite-install
 
[How to use]
To launch the tool, from command line, execute the following command
# pipslite-install
To generate a PPD file, the printer is required to be connected to the 
host, and turned on, otherwise, an error message will display and 
Continue button will be disabled.
If an printer is connected and turned on, Continue button will be 
enabled and after it is pushed, a PPD file will be generated and 
another message will display informing that the file was created at 
'/usr/share/cups/model'. 

[Privilege]
Since the tool interacts with system directories, the user must have 
root priviledge to be able to use it.

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7  Handling Instructions
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When you print using Photo Image Print System for CUPS, you may
encounter the problems listed below.

1. PostScript cannot be output in Japanese.
2. Print result differs from the document displayed on the application
you use.
    e.g.) A line feed is inserted where it should not be.
3. Vertical lines are printed on the left side of printouts.

This occurs when the rendering program of CUPS (which converts printing
documents into image data that Photo Image Print System can use)
converts PostScript files into image data, and it cannot be avoided with
this product.

We appreciate your understanding.
For your information, aforementioned problems have been found in CUPS
version 1.1.14.


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8  Acknowledgement
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    We express our appreciation to the following people for cooperating
    with us in developing this product.

    Nobby N Hirano <nobby@nmail.hiug.ne.jp>
    Toshihiro Yamagishi <toshihiro@turbolinux.co.jp>
    Nozomi Satou <nozomi@esd.spr.epson.co.jp>

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