Preface

This software users manual provides a step-by-step guide for using the CUPSTM Driver Development Kit ('DDK'), version 1.1.

Software Overview

The CUPS Driver Development Kit ('DDK') provides a suite of standard drivers, a PPD file compiler, and other utilities that can be used to develop printer drivers for CUPS and other printing environments. CUPS provides a portable printing layer for UNIX®-based operating systems. The CUPS DDK provides the means for mass-producing PPD files and drivers/filters for CUPS-based printer drivers.

The CUPS DDK is licensed under the GNU General Public License. Free support is available by posting messages to the cups.ddk newsgroup at:

    http://www.cups.org/newsgroups.php

The cups.ddk newsgroup is monitored by volunteers, so your message may go unanswered for days or weeks. Please be patient.

Document Overview

This software users manual is organized into the following sections:

Notation Conventions

Various font and syntax conventions are used in this guide. Examples and their meanings and uses are explained below:

Example     Description
 
lpstat
lpstat(1)
    The names of commands; the first mention of a command or function in a chapter is followed by a manual page section number.
 
/var
/usr/share/cups/data/testprint.ps
    File and directory names.
 
Request ID is Printer-123     Screen output.
 
lp -d printer filename ENTER     Literal user input; special keys like ENTER are in ALL CAPS.
 
12.3     Numbers in the text are written using the period (.) to indicate the decimal point.

Abbreviations

The following abbreviations are used throughout this manual:

CMYK
Cyan Magenta Yellow Black
 
DDK
Driver Development Kit
 
ESC/P
Epson Standard Code for Printers
 
Gb
Gigabytes, or 1073741824 bytes
 
HP-PCL
Hewlett Packard Page Control Language
 
K
Black
 
kb
Kilobytes, or 1024 bytes
 
Mb
Megabytes, or 1048576 bytes
 
PJL
Printer Job Language
 
PPD
PostScript Printer Description
 
RGB
Red Green Blue
 

Other References

Adobe PostScript Language Reference Manual, Third Edition
The official reference manual for the PostScript language.
 
Adobe Technote #5003: PostScript Printer Description File Format Specification
The official reference manual for the PPD file format.
 
CUPS PPD Extensions
The official reference manual for CUPS extensions to the PPD format.
 

Providing Feedback

Feedback and bug reports for this manual and the DDK as a whole are welcome. Please use the cups.ddk newsgroup to discuss potential problems and report all confirmed problems and documentation errors using the form at the following URL:

    http://www.cups.org/ddk/str.php