HOW TO: Set up pdf printer

[anil_robo]

NOTE: This how-to is for Breezy users. For Dapper Drake users, please refer to this thread: http://www.ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=188860

1. Install cups-pdf package

sudo apt-get install cups-pdf
2. Open Terminal
sudo gedit /etc/cups/cupsd.conf
Search for line RunAsUser Yes
Change it in RunAsUser No

3. Now restart your computer or do a virtual reset of cups driver by
sudo /etc/init.d/cupsys restart 4. Then go to System--> Administration--> Printing
Add printer
Select "Local Printer" and use a "detected printer--> PDF printer".
Manufacturer--> Generic,
Model-->PostScript Color Printer,
Driver-->Should come preselected with a green dot (rev3a)
Apply

Your pdf printer should be up and running by now... test it by printing a page from firefox or openoffice. Here is a sample: 7241

Tip: To further enhance the printing experience, you can follow the following steps:
1. In firefox, click File menu--> Page setup.
2. Select "Print Background (colors and images), then close it.
3. Open your printers setup by System--> Administration--> Printing
4. Right click the pdf printer and select properties (this may take some time to show up)
5. Set resolution to 1200 dpi if you want good quality (=bigger filesize) pdfs
6. In the paper tab, set paper size to A4
7. In the advanced tab, set PageRegion to A4 as well.

NOTE1: The printed files go to your home/PDF/ folder.
NOTE2: You can configure the printing options by System--> Administration--> Printing --> Right click on your printer, and select "properties"

[Insanely]

Awsome!

It won't take my username for CUPS web administration.

http://localhost:631

Was trying to get into their to rename it.

[neoflight]

nice...

i already had cups installed.. i didnt know that...

and still i follwed this howto and it works.....one question tho...

is it supposed to print it to ps? or it should directly give us a pdf?

and iam not getting all the color fields in this page for instance.... but its color i can see...but not all fields for eg, the brown color bar with 'reply to thread' text on it....

any idea?

[arnieboy]

The pdf printer got installed and everything went smoothly till I actually tried to print a document (convert it into pdf). It said that its printing and seemed to "spool" all the pages but after that the printing icon came into the system tray with the paused sign and it would keep going back into paused mode every time I would try to resume it. I checked the spool list and the document is listed there with the printer in paused mode(tried resuming it from there too but it went back into paused mode). Also, the "PDF" folder does not get created in the home folder. I tried creating it manually but even then it does not work...
any ideas?

[Insanely]

Yeah I had the same arnieboy.

[desperado666]

Cups-PDF needs to be run in root mode. So you have to edit file /etc/cups/cupsd.conf

Open Terminal

sudo gedit /etc/cups/cupsd.conf

Search for line RunAsUser Yes
Change it in RunAsUser No

Oringinal Howto can be found here
http://wiki.ubuntuusers.de/Druckwerkzeuge?highlight=%28cups-pdf%29#head-568bc3e9ced669d8b5b7a125f987a288ae4c1286
Its in german language.

After printing your pdf file is in your home directory.
New versions of Cups-pdf are available here
http://cip.physik.uni-wuerzburg.de/~vrbehr/cups-pdf/

If you install new version the pdf file can be found in user/home/pdf
Edit : New Version of cups-pdf can be foudn here for various architecture types
http://packages.debian.org/unstable/graphics/cups-pdf

[anil_robo]

Awsome!

It won't take my username for CUPS web administration.

http://localhost:631

Was trying to get into their to rename it.

Im sorry I forgot to mention a little editing in the cups config file. The how-to has now been updates. Try it and lemme know if it works well. Thanks! :)

[anil_robo]

is it supposed to print it to ps? or it should directly give us a pdf?

It gives you a pdf file, not the postscript. This pdf file is compatible with acrobat and all pdf readers.


and iam not getting all the color fields in this page for instance.... but its color i can see...but not all fields for eg, the brown color bar with 'reply to thread' text on it....

These forums are not the best pages to try printing. Open some other website. (I tried www.buy.com and it prints well). Complex pages do not print well in web browsers I believe - its been my experience over the last 11 years. For your reference, I am attaching few pdf files generated using cups printer to this reply (bz archive). Take a look. 6880

[anil_robo]

Also look at this pdf file - its the default test page printed by cups pdf printer.
6881

[Jedeye]

worked great thanks!

[anil_robo]

The pdf printer got installed and everything went smoothly till I actually tried to print a document (convert it into pdf). It said that its printing and seemed to "spool" all the pages but after that the printing icon came into the system tray with the paused sign and it would keep going back into paused mode every time I would try to resume it. I checked the spool list and the document is listed there with the printer in paused mode(tried resuming it from there too but it went back into paused mode). Also, the "PDF" folder does not get created in the home folder. I tried creating it manually but even then it does not work...
any ideas?

Arnav please edit the cups configuration file to allow non-root users to use this pdf printing system. (Refer to the starter thread again - I have included this information now). My apologies for the mistake.

[KillerKiwi]

Why is this not installed by default???

[arnieboy]

Arnav please edit the cups configuration file to allow non-root users to use this pdf printing system. (Refer to the starter thread again - I have included this information now). My apologies for the mistake.
yes it worked with the correction suggested by desperado666. Thanks for updating your howto.

[anil_robo]

Why is this not installed by default???

I don't know!
But I want it installled by default! It's so handy!
Take a look at this (http://www.ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=140848)

[froggay]

thanks for the howto,
everything work great on my local machine.

I tried to share pdf virtual printer via samba to use it on windows.

I can see the job in the spool when i print from samba share but where is the pdf file ? i can't see it in /home/$user.

The job seems to be stuck, it doesn't dissappear from the spool

thanks for your help

[anil_robo]

thanks for the howto,
everything work great on my local machine.

I tried to share pdf virtual printer via samba to use it on windows.

I can see the job in the spool when i print from samba share but where is the pdf file ? i can't see it in /home/$user.

The job seems to be stuck, it doesn't dissappear from the spool

thanks for your help
Froggay,
I'm not in front of my Ubuntu Machine right now. So more details later. For now, see what level of security have you set for Samba (security=user, or security=share). If you have set security=user, you need to create user accounts on samba before others can use this.

To check, try accessing your ubuntu shared folders from the windows computer. If you can access them without entering username and password, security level is "share" and the printer should work fine from there.

More info is found in these threads:
http://www.ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=106807
http://www.ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=95123
http://www.ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=89824
https://wiki.ubuntu.com/NetworkPrintingFromWin2000
http://www.ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=61863
http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=20384
http://www.ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=10609

[froggay]

thanks a lot for your links anil_robo

my share works fine now with a HPlaserjet printer and folder share.

but the virtual pdf printer installed with cup-pdf doesn't work on windows throuh
g samba share.

on winodws when i connect to the "postscript-color-printer-(rev3)" i don't now which driver to use .

a idea ?

thanks a lot

[anil_robo]

but the virtual pdf printer installed with cup-pdf doesn't work on windows throuhg samba share.

on winodws when i connect to the "postscript-color-printer-(rev3)" i don't now which driver to use .

I am sorry, but my knowledge of Linux fails here! Maybe someone more competent can find a way of sharing virtual pdf printer through samba. There is a lot of information in the links I gave above, but many of them still elude me :(

[Ancalagon]

Sweet HowTo!

As it turned out I needed to download, build and install the latest cups-pdf to get 'PDF printer' to show up in the 'detected printer' window, but after that it worked ... after I also install gcc.

Has anyone found a way to PDF pages like these forum pages? When I do they just come out all messed up.

I can print them to ps files, but was hoping to archive them as PDFs.

Thanks

[akiro.yamamoto]

Nice Job anil_robo ;)

[GMachine_24]

Hi: Actually, I can print Ubuntu forum pages to a PDF file and they come out perfect. I use Acrobat Reader 7 to read the file - perhaps it depends on the reader you use..??

My problem is I'd like to be able to NAME the file before it shows up in my PDF folder labeled with incomprehensible gibberish.

Is there a way to do this before the pages are *printed* to PDF?

Thanks.

[anil_robo]

Sweet HowTo! Thanks Ancalagon! :)


Has anyone found a way to PDF pages like these forum pages? When I do they just come out all messed up. I can print them to ps files, but was hoping to archive them as PDFs.
1. In firefox, click File menu--> Page setup.
2. Select "Print Background (colors and images)
3. Open your printers setup by System--> Administration--> Printing
4. Right click the pdf printer and select properties (this may take some time to show up)
5. Set resolution to 1200 dpi if you want good quality (=bigger filesize) pdfs
6. In the paper tab, set paper size to A4
7. In the advanced tab, set PageRegion to A4 as well.

Now test it by File--> Print Preview. You can play around with these settings to suit your needs. And post your experiences here, so that I can update my how-to to make this even more useful to everyone! :) Thanks!

[teataster]

Thanks for all your efforts on this!

I have installed the printer on a Ubuntu machine acting as a print server and can print remotely, but the pdf file created is created on the network server- is there a way that I can save it on the local machine?

Also per the previous post, it would be useful if you could name the file when created, rather like pdf995 in Windows.

[WoodyMahan]

Followed Directions as noted and all worked great. Thanks.

[towsonu2003]

printed files go to /home/username instead of /home/username/PDF

other than that, excellent howto. I was tired of ps2pdf (although it's a perfect converter).

[dnccnd]

I have been looking into other threads in order to find out how to print web pages as PDF. I played a little with gs, gs-esp, gs-gpl, gs-common... but without success.

Now I have followed the instruction in this HowTo and everything seems to work, apart from the fact that my PDFs are wierd, with no text in it. I tried to print a simple page like www.google.com and there I can't see any text.

I can see though that the driver installed with the postscript-color-printer is "rev3" and not "rev3a". Could it be this the problem?

Thank you for helping...

[towsonu2003]

I can see though that the driver installed with the postscript-color-printer is "rev3" and not "rev3a".
mine is "rev3" as well. try enabling printing of background images in the Firefox>File>Page Setup dialog.

[dnccnd]

I tried but it doesn't work! When I open the pdf files with Document Viewer the text is still missing.

But then I installed Acrobat Reader and when I open the same files with Acrobat everything looks fine!!! Apart from some small details...

Thank you!

[anil_robo]

I tried but it doesn't work! When I open the pdf files with Document Viewer the text is still missing.

But then I installed Acrobat Reader and when I open the same files with Acrobat everything looks fine!!! Apart from some small details...

I'm glad it worked. Some of the documents do not look alright in the document viewer - for everyone. So don't worry much.


Thank you!

You're welcome :)

[Jergar]

I've tried your Howto in Dapper and it works great. Thanks a lot!

Wolf

[rogerioferro]

I had cups-pdf installed and working very well in Dapper. But this weekend I update the system and its stoped work.
When I Select "Local Printer" doesn't have a "detected printer--> PDF printer" to choice.
Anybody know what happen?

[shuttleworthwannabe]

same here dapper kernel 2.6.15-21 todays update. Could not find the local printer. What happened??? Please help. This is what I was looking for all along!! I want it to work!

[imagineit]

By looking at the Debian changelog for cupsys it looks like the devs completely disabled the capability to run as root, which makes cups-pdf stop working. Cupsys-pdf must be run as root so it can set file permissions. The non-optimum solution I found to get it working again was to setuid root the cups-pdf binary. I definitely would not do this on a multi-user system, but here is the solution anyways:


sudo chmod +s /usr/lib/cups/backend/cups-pdf

[hentaidan]

Why is it just when I have a need for something the updates go and break it :rolleyes:

imagineit, that command works great, but how do you reverse it? I guess using:


sudo chmod -s /usr/lib/cups/backend/cups-pdf

Is that correct?

[gpw1]

1. Install cups-pdf package

sudo apt-get install cups-pdf
2. Open Terminal
sudo gedit /etc/cups/cupsd.conf
Search for line RunAsUser Yes
Change it in RunAsUser No

3. Now restart your computer or do a virtual reset of cups driver by
sudo /etc/init.d/cupsys restart 4. Then go to System--> Administration--> Printing
Add printer
Select "Local Printer" and use a "detected printer--> PDF printer".
Manufacturer--> Generic,
Model-->PostScript Color Printer,
Driver-->Should come preselected with a green dot (rev3a)
Apply

Your pdf printer should be up and running by now... test it by printing a page from firefox or openoffice. Here is a sample: 7241

Tip: To further enhance the printing experience, you can follow the following steps:
1. In firefox, click File menu--> Page setup.
2. Select "Print Background (colors and images), then close it.
3. Open your printers setup by System--> Administration--> Printing
4. Right click the pdf printer and select properties (this may take some time to show up)
5. Set resolution to 1200 dpi if you want good quality (=bigger filesize) pdfs
6. In the paper tab, set paper size to A4
7. In the advanced tab, set PageRegion to A4 as well.

NOTE1: The printed files go to your home/PDF/ folder.
NOTE2: You can configure the printing options by System--> Administration--> Printing --> Right click on your printer, and select "properties"
1. Install cups-pdf package
Code:

sudo apt-get install cups-pdf


2. Open Terminal
sudo gedit /etc/cups/cupsd.conf
Search for line RunAsUser Yes
Change it in RunAsUser No


I can't find "RunASUser" per your instructions. The first install worked fine. There is no "text as you stated, tried "Find" nothing there. Only been using Linus a few weeks:(

gpw1

[hentaidan]

I can't find "RunASUser" per your instructions. The first install worked fine. There is no "text as you stated, tried "Find" nothing there. Only been using Linus a few weeks:(

Yeah I noticed that as well, but I added it the end for luck :rolleyes:

Can't say whether it helped because the updates broke it (see above msg).

I noticed today that there have been some more updates to cupsys; the details say something about fixing permissions?

[anil_robo]

1. Install cups-pdf package
Code:

sudo apt-get install cups-pdf


2. Open Terminal
sudo gedit /etc/cups/cupsd.conf
Search for line RunAsUser Yes
Change it in RunAsUser No


I can't find "RunASUser" per your instructions. The first install worked fine. There is no "text as you stated, tried "Find" nothing there. Only been using Linus a few weeks:(

gpw1
Click on this screenshot to see where runasuser lies.

8745

If it doesn't exist, you might create it as well. Remember Dapper is going through changes, so don't mind if something breaks. But this should work well in Breezy.

[orev]

Sweet. I needed this feature. Thanks.

[Norppa]

Does this work on Gimp? Has anybody tested?


- UBUNTU 4 LIFE -

[Parkotron]

I'm kind of surprised that this isn't included by default. Kubuntu comes with a PDF printer set up, so I assumed Ubuntu would to. It's definately a key feature.

[towsonu2003]

Does this work on Gimp? Has anybody tested?

not in my breezy. seems like it works, but it doesn't actually save the file..

[dj1120]

Thank you. Followed your instructions and it worked -on the first try

[Norppa]

It looks as it would be printing it, the progress bar shows the printing, but I can't find the file. In other words it does not create it (like townsonu2003 pointed out). Does anybody know a printer for Gimp (if indeed this Cups does not work with Gimp) that produces/converts the files to PDF-files?


UBUNTU 4 LIFE

[timczer]

I tried to get this to work, but it didn't. I had the problem mentioned earlier, that the pdf option was not available when setting up a printer. I tried the permission modification mentioned earlier as well.

Now, here is my real problem, printing doesn't work at all anymore. I have restarted cups, removed the cups-pdf software, still no printing. Everything seems to be still setup, my printer is still the default, but no print. Can anyone help with this?

[hentaidan]

Does this work on Gimp? Has anybody tested?

Yes it works fine. You need the gimp-print plugin installed from Synaptic.

[Norppa]

Yes it works fine. You need the gimp-print plugin installed from Synaptic.

How do I install this (I am very new to Ubuntu..)? I downloaded the package from the net but do not know how to install it. How do I do it through code?

[towsonu2003]

How do I install this (I am very new to Ubuntu..)? I downloaded the package from the net but do not know how to install it. How do I do it through code?
Connect to net, open System>Administration>Synaptic, hit "Reload", search for gimp, find the proper plugin (I'm not using ubuntu here, so I donno), select it to install, click "apply" (this is the way to install anything)

PS. didn't test it w/ gimp-print yet, will test it later. let us know :)

[hentaidan]

find the proper plugin (I'm not using ubuntu here, so I donno)

gimp-print is the one you want.

Once its installed, open up an image in gimp, and go file > print. Click on "setup printer", select "standard command", and click on the drop down box. I get 3 printers listed: (Default printer); HP_PSC1210 and postscrip-color-printer (i.e. the pdf printer).

Select the one you want, go OK, and click print.

[Norppa]

I installed gimp-print, but I still could not get Gimp to print PDF-files. Actually the package/plugin name was gimpprint-locales (locale data files for Gimp-print) (version 4.2.7-10) that I installed. Could not find anything else. What to do?

I never thought I would want to produce PDFs this much...

[towsonu2003]

I installed gimp-print, but I still could not get Gimp to print PDF-files.
same here (just to confirm) -breezy-

[Norppa]

gimp-print is the one you want.

Once its installed, open up an image in gimp, and go file > print. Click on "setup printer", select "standard command", and click on the drop down box. I get 3 printers listed: (Default printer); HP_PSC1210 and postscrip-color-printer (i.e. the pdf printer).

Select the one you want, go OK, and click print.

Have you actually got this to work? I really could use this (PDF-printing). Does anybody know a separate program to accomplish this?

[anil_robo]

I tried to get this to work, but it didn't. I had the problem mentioned earlier, that the pdf option was not available when setting up a printer.

Are you using Dapper? I'm noticing even my cups-pdf is not working for the last few days... Dapper is going through heavy editions each day and that may explain some of this. I hope it'll be fixed soon.

[hentaidan]

gimp-print is the one you want.

My apologies, it appears that gimp-print is only present in Dapper, not Breezy.

Just as a side note, a few programs (e.g. gedit/evince) use a common print dialog with an option to "Create PDF Document".

[fparri]

Cool, this saved my day on Dapper, Now, let's hope in a different, more secure, solution soon.

Thanks a bunch again :)
I definitely would not do this on a multi-user system, but here is the solution anyways:


sudo chmod +s /usr/lib/cups/backend/cups-pdf

[LordMau]

Can cups-pdf set security level for created PDF? If yes, how? TIA.

[timczer]

Sorry, anil_robo. I haven't had a chance to get back to this thread for a few days. I got printing to work again. I am using a compiled kernel (2.6.16) in Breezy. I am guessing that the using the compiled kernel is the reason I do not get the pdf option. I am wondering if there is anyone out there who is using a compiled kernel and got this to work?

[WrathofthePenguin]

Alright, I've got it all set up so that I can print directly to a pdf file. However, I'm not able to view the document correctly with Evince. If I print this page, for example, I can see the page layout and a lot of the graphics, but no text. If I transfer the document to my Windows machine and open it with Acrobat Reader it looks fine.

What else do we have that will allow us to view pdf files?

Also, is there a way to name the pdf file before it's written?

[orev]

I tend to use Adobe Acrobat on Ubuntu to view PDFs. The probable most simple way to install this would be using Automatix, which you can find here (http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=138405).

To my knowledge, there is no way to name the files before they print using this printer setup.

[WrathofthePenguin]

I tend to use Adobe Acrobat on Ubuntu to view PDFs. The probable most simple way to install this would be using Automatix, which you can find here (http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=138405).

To my knowledge, there is no way to name the files before they print using this printer setup.

I'm a little torn between starting a new thread for this problem and just continuing the discussion here, but since you're already familiar with the issue...

I've installed Adobe Acrobat Reader by downloading it directly from Adobe (rather than using Automatix). When I run it I get the Adobe banner on the screen for a second, which disappears quickly. Then nothing. I ran acroread directly from the command line with exactly the same result and no error message. Any ideas?

[WrathofthePenguin]

I'm a little torn between starting a new thread for this problem and just continuing the discussion here, but since you're already familiar with the issue...

I've installed Adobe Acrobat Reader by downloading it directly from Adobe (rather than using Automatix). When I run it I get the Adobe banner on the screen for a second, which disappears quickly. Then nothing. I ran acroread directly from the command line with exactly the same result and no error message. Any ideas?

Ok, I've got a good solution (which I did not come up with on my own). I posted about the above problem in the Gnome Desktop Support forum, and somebody had a very good suggestion. Instead of trying to install Acrobat using what I downloaded directly from Adobe, use Synaptic. It worked like a charm. My pdfs now open up in Acrobat, and they display correctly. Apparentely, the problem is not with the pdf printing driver, but with Evince.

[faulkner132]

By looking at the Debian changelog for cupsys it looks like the devs completely disabled the capability to run as root, which makes cups-pdf stop working. Cupsys-pdf must be run as root so it can set file permissions. The non-optimum solution I found to get it working again was to setuid root the cups-pdf binary. I definitely would not do this on a multi-user system, but here is the solution anyways:


sudo chmod +s /usr/lib/cups/backend/cups-pdf
Just confirmed it, this fixes it on Dapper.
Thanks for the update.

[chajuram]

Hi,

I could not fine "RunAsUser" in the cups.conf file in dapper. I wonder if I am making a mistake, I tried following the instructions.

Chajuram.

[digby280]

Hi,

I could not fine "RunAsUser" in the cups.conf file in dapper. I wonder if I am making a mistake, I tried following the instructions.

Chajuram.

I had the same problem. You need this thread:
http://www.ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=188860

[froggay]

Thanks for all your efforts on this!

I have installed the printer on a Ubuntu machine acting as a print server and can print remotely, but the pdf file created is created on the network server- is there a way that I can save it on the local machine?

Also per the previous post, it would be useful if you could name the file when created, rather like pdf995 in Windows.

please can you describe how did you manage to make a pdf virtual rinter server ?
i would like to use it from a basic unix distirb, like SUnOs

[mattheweast]

Nice guide! I've noticed somebody has put a version of it on the documentation wiki, can you confirm that this is ok?

See https://help.ubuntu.com/community/forum/software/cups-pdf

Thanks,

Matt

[anil_robo]

is it supposed to print it to ps? or it should directly give us a pdf?


I apologize for a long delay in answering this question, but this virtual pdf printer stopped working ever since I upgraded to Dapper. However, now I have managed to get it working again.

Yes, cups-pdf can print to postscript files. To do this, use a little "print to file" checkbox during the printing confirmation dialogue box. It'll ask you where to save the file (default location is home directory) and you will see the postscript file there. Works excellent for me!

12354

[froggay]

NOTE1: [B]The printed files go to your home/PDF/ folder.
select "properties"


Can someone explain how to change the default pdf location ?

thanks

[Eric DANE]

A good (complete & working for me :cool: ) documentation is available in wiki mode at :
https://help.ubuntu.com/community/PDFPrinting

[Mikesco3]

I had an issue with it not prompting me for a file name to where it would create the pdf.
So I checked the configuration file suggested a few threads above

sudo gedit /etc/cups/cupsd.conf
And in one part the configuration file suggests that users of the group lpadmin would be allowed to print, so I thought I might point that out.
You can add your username to the lpadmin group by going on the menu to

System \ Administration \ Users and Groups
on the screen called User Settings click on Manage Groups
on the screen called Groups Settings scroll down and select lpadmin
click Properties put a check mark next to your username and click OK and close out of all the boxes

[riyasmp]

hi

guys this is the result what i am gettig when i run the command sudo gedit /etc/cups/cupsd.conf

i don get Runas user Yes line at all, can you help please



# Show troubleshooting information in error_log.
LogLevel debug
SystemGroup lpadmin
# Only listen for connections from the local machine.
Listen localhost:631
Listen /var/run/cups/cups.sock
# Disable printer sharing and shared printers.
Browsing Off
DefaultAuthType Basic
<Location />
# Restrict access to the server...
Order allow,deny
Allow localhost
</Location>
<Location /admin>
# Restrict access to the admin pages...
Order allow,deny
Allow localhost
</Location>
<Location /admin/conf>
AuthType Default
Require user @SYSTEM
# Restrict access to the configuration files...
Order allow,deny
Allow localhost
</Location>
<Policy default>
<Limit Send-Document Send-URI Hold-Job Release-Job Restart-Job Purge-Jobs Set-Job-Attributes Create-Job-Subscription Renew-Subscription Cancel-Subscription Get-Notifications Reprocess-Job Cancel-Current-Job Suspend-Current-Job Resume-Job CUPS-Move-Job>
Require user @OWNER @SYSTEM
Order deny,allow
</Limit>
<Limit CUPS-Add-Modify-Printer CUPS-Delete-Printer CUPS-Add-Modify-Class CUPS-Delete-Class CUPS-Set-Default>
AuthType Default
Require user @SYSTEM
Order deny,allow
</Limit>
<Limit Pause-Printer Resume-Printer Enable-Printer Disable-Printer Pause-Printer-After-Current-Job Hold-New-Jobs Release-Held-New-Jobs Deactivate-Printer Activate-Printer Restart-Printer Shutdown-Printer Startup-Printer Promote-Job Schedule-Job-After CUPS-Accept-Jobs CUPS-Reject-Jobs>
AuthType Default
Require user @SYSTEM
Order deny,allow
</Limit>
<Limit CUPS-Authenticate-Job>
Require user @OWNER @SYSTEM
Order deny,allow
</Limit>
<Limit All>
Order deny,allow
</Limit>
</Policy>]

[riyasmp]

sorry to post the above message, i have sorted it myself. if at all it helps any newbie like me

i actually was trying to install pdf printer on 7.10 which is pretty straight forward.install cups pdf and the add a new printer.

i will tell you the mistake i was repeating myself.when u print anything with your newly added pdf printer it saves ur file into the pdf folder inside ur home folder by default (as a pdf file)

but i was trying to print the file onto my dektop/usb disk which gave me a ps file.i thought my installation was wrong. but anyway i have found out the trick now.

if it helps anybody

thanks

[atwin]

Hi, I just set the PDF pronter as outlined and its working. I can see the job processing but I am not getting any output file. Where does the PDF printer save the PDF file?

Thanks,
atwin

[anil_robo]

Hi, I just set the PDF pronter as outlined and its working. I can see the job processing but I am not getting any output file. Where does the PDF printer save the PDF file?

Thanks,
atwin

Look for a folder named "PDF" in your home directory.

[davidwhthomas]

you may need to actually create a folder in your home dir called 'PDF'


cd ~
mkdir PDF
chmod 777 PDF

that was the final step that got it working for me Kubuntu 8.10
I also use the Generic CUPS/PDF driver.

[n6yga]

you may need to actually create a folder in your home dir called 'PDF'


cd ~
mkdir PDF
chmod 777 PDF

that was the final step that got it working for me Kubuntu 8.10
I also use the Generic CUPS/PDF driver.

Yep. That did the trick for me as well.

Mark.

[nkjoep]

I'm running Ubuntu 9.04 jaunty and the cupd-pdf printer won't work until you create the PDF directory in your home.

Each user who will use the cups-pdf printer should have PDF directory under the own home.

My pdf printer wansn't working... so i created the the directory

cd

mkdir PDF

and everything work.

[dmp2010]

Only ran the first command and then went to add printer from the System -->Admin. It works great.

Thank you.

[dmp2010]

My pdf printer started print only first page for some reason. It has printed all pages in the past.

[nba_1234]

NOTE: This how-to is for Breezy users. For Dapper Drake users, please refer to this thread: http://www.ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=188860

1. Install cups-pdf package

sudo apt-get install cups-pdf2. Open Terminal
sudo gedit /etc/cups/cupsd.conf
Search for line RunAsUser Yes
Change it in RunAsUser No

3. Now restart your computer or do a virtual reset of cups driver by
sudo /etc/init.d/cupsys restart 4. Then go to System--> Administration--> Printing
Add printer
Select "Local Printer" and use a "detected printer--> PDF printer".
Manufacturer--> Generic,
Model-->PostScript Color Printer,
Driver-->Should come preselected with a green dot (rev3a)
Apply

Your pdf printer should be up and running by now... test it by printing a page from firefox or openoffice. Here is a sample: 7241

Tip: To further enhance the printing experience, you can follow the following steps:
1. In firefox, click File menu--> Page setup.
2. Select "Print Background (colors and images), then close it.
3. Open your printers setup by System--> Administration--> Printing
4. Right click the pdf printer and select properties (this may take some time to show up)
5. Set resolution to 1200 dpi if you want good quality (=bigger filesize) pdfs
6. In the paper tab, set paper size to A4
7. In the advanced tab, set PageRegion to A4 as well.

NOTE1: The printed files go to your home/PDF/ folder.
NOTE2: You can configure the printing options by System--> Administration--> Printing --> Right click on your printer, and select "properties"

I have the problem when i gedit /etc/cups/cupsd.conf
the runasuser yes do not appear and only come with this:
#
#
# Sample configuration file for the CUPS scheduler. See "man cupsd.conf" for a
# complete description of this file.
#

# Log general information in error_log - change "warn" to "debug"
# for troubleshooting...
LogLevel warn

# Deactivate CUPS' internal logrotating, as we provide a better one, especially
# LogLevel debug2 gets usable now
MaxLogSize 0

# Administrator user group...
SystemGroup lpadmin


# Only listen for connections from the local machine.
Listen localhost:631
Listen /var/run/cups/cups.sock

# Show shared printers on the local network.
Browsing Off
BrowseOrder allow,deny
BrowseAllow all
BrowseLocalProtocols CUPS dnssd
BrowseAddress @LOCAL

# Default authentication type, when authentication is required...
DefaultAuthType Basic

# Restrict access to the server...
<Location />
Order allow,deny
</Location>

# Restrict access to the admin pages...
<Location /admin>
Order allow,deny
</Location>

# Restrict access to configuration files...
<Location /admin/conf>
AuthType Default
Require user @SYSTEM
Order allow,deny
</Location>

# Set the default printer/job policies...
<Policy default>
# Job-related operations must be done by the owner or an administrator...
<Limit Send-Document Send-URI Hold-Job Release-Job Restart-Job Purge-Jobs Set-Job-Attributes Create-Job-Subscription Renew-Subscription Cancel-Subscription Get-Notifications Reprocess-Job Cancel-Current-Job Suspend-Current-Job Resume-Job CUPS-Move-Job CUPS-Get-Document>
Require user @OWNER @SYSTEM
Order deny,allow
</Limit>

# All administration operations require an administrator to authenticate...
<Limit CUPS-Add-Modify-Printer CUPS-Delete-Printer CUPS-Add-Modify-Class CUPS-Delete-Class CUPS-Set-Default CUPS-Get-Devices>
AuthType Default
Require user @SYSTEM
Order deny,allow
</Limit>

# All printer operations require a printer operator to authenticate...
<Limit Pause-Printer Resume-Printer Enable-Printer Disable-Printer Pause-Printer-After-Current-Job Hold-New-Jobs Release-Held-New-Jobs Deactivate-Printer Activate-Printer Restart-Printer Shutdown-Printer Startup-Printer Promote-Job Schedule-Job-After CUPS-Accept-Jobs CUPS-Reject-Jobs>
AuthType Default
Require user @SYSTEM
Order deny,allow
</Limit>

# Only the owner or an administrator can cancel or authenticate a job...
<Limit Cancel-Job CUPS-Authenticate-Job>
Require user @OWNER @SYSTEM
Order deny,allow
</Limit>

<Limit All>
Order deny,allow
</Limit>
</Policy>

# Set the authenticated printer/job policies...
<Policy authenticated>
# Job-related operations must be done by the owner or an administrator...
<Limit Create-Job Print-Job Print-URI>
AuthType Default
Order deny,allow
</Limit>

<Limit Send-Document Send-URI Hold-Job Release-Job Restart-Job Purge-Jobs Set-Job-Attributes Create-Job-Subscription Renew-Subscription Cancel-Subscription Get-Notifications Reprocess-Job Cancel-Current-Job Suspend-Current-Job Resume-Job CUPS-Move-Job CUPS-Get-Document>
AuthType Default
Require user @OWNER @SYSTEM
Order deny,allow
</Limit>

# All administration operations require an administrator to authenticate...
<Limit CUPS-Add-Modify-Printer CUPS-Delete-Printer CUPS-Add-Modify-Class CUPS-Delete-Class CUPS-Set-Default>
AuthType Default
Require user @SYSTEM
Order deny,allow
</Limit>

# All printer operations require a printer operator to authenticate...
<Limit Pause-Printer Resume-Printer Enable-Printer Disable-Printer Pause-Printer-After-Current-Job Hold-New-Jobs Release-Held-New-Jobs Deactivate-Printer Activate-Printer Restart-Printer Shutdown-Printer Startup-Printer Promote-Job Schedule-Job-After CUPS-Accept-Jobs CUPS-Reject-Jobs>
AuthType Default
Require user @SYSTEM
Order deny,allow
</Limit>

# Only the owner or an administrator can cancel or authenticate a job...
<Limit Cancel-Job CUPS-Authenticate-Job>
AuthType Default
Require user @OWNER @SYSTEM
Order deny,allow
</Limit>

<Limit All>
Order deny,allow
</Limit>
</Policy>

#
#

so i cannot go through the whole procedure i dont know why????

[attilab]

same here, I guess something to do with:

# Administrator user group...
SystemGroup lpadmin

on home laptop is working, I have a PDF folder created automaticaly, but not on this machine...:( and seem to me all ppl left this topic

[tim.hoeffel]

1. Install cups-pdf package

sudo apt-get install cups-pdf2. Open Terminal
sudo gedit /etc/cups/cupsd.conf
Search for line RunAsUser Yes
Change it in RunAsUser No
-------------------
Error message:
(gedit:2585): Gtk-WARNING **: Attempting to store changes into `/root/.local/share/recently-used.xbel', but failed: Failed to create file '/root/.local/share/recently-used.xbel.HMLNZV': No such file or directory

(gedit:2585): Gtk-WARNING **: Attempting to set the permissions of `/root/.local/share/recently-used.xbel', but failed: No such file or directory

line: RunAsUser Yes not found in cupsd.conf
running NN 11.04

Suggestions? Thanks in advance :)

[leopoldbirkholm]

@ tim.hoeffel, the OP. Thank you for this simple but still very useful tutorial on how to get an PDF-printer on Ubuntu.

Now I can save paper and be eco-friendly :-)

The code that worked for me:


sudo apt-get install cups-pdf

[Stanwilliamsmusic]

@ tim.hoeffel, the OP. Thank you for this simple but still very useful tutorial on how to get an PDF-printer on Ubuntu.

Now I can save paper and be eco-friendly :-)

The code that worked for me:


sudo apt-get install cups-pdf

It just worked for me on Lubuntu 11.10

I printed a page of my website and another webpage just now to test it.
The resulting .pdf files were in a directory it created in my home folder named PDF.
Thanks for the tip!