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LAOS CUPS driver » History » Revision 5

Revision 4 (Anonymous, 2012-07-15 22:33) → Revision 5/9 (Anonymous, 2012-07-15 22:36)

h1. LAOS CUPS driver 

 {{>toc}} 

 This page describes the CUPS printer driver installation. 

 h2. How it works 

 The printer driver translates standard Postscript into LAOS codes. 
 This is done in the following steps 

 * Application generates a postscript file (by pressing print) 
 * The printer dialog shows the configuration dialog based on PPD. The user selects the appropriate settings  
 * Postscript printer data captured in file, along with the selected settings 
 * File is received by the LaOS cups printer driver.  
 * LaOS cups printer driver uses pstoedit to convert the file into LaOS [SimpleCode] 
 * LaOS cups printer driver transfers the file to the laser cutter using the TFTP protocol 

 h2. OS Support 

 The goal is to write platform-independent printer driver, based on CUPS. 

 Our test environment is Linux. However: it should be possible to compile the driver on Windows or Mac. Another option is to work from a Windows or MAC workstation and send the data to the CUPS printer on a Linux system. (the cups driver for windows could help: http://www.cups.org/articles.php?L376 ). The PPD file can be used on Windows and Mac.  

 The backend conversion (pstoedit) is also usable as a stand-alone program, and sending the files to the actual printer can be done with a standard TFTP program. 

 h2. Installation 

 h3. Linux 

 This is how you install the driver on Linux. 

 Tested on: 
 * Debian Squeeze 
 * Ubuntu 10.10, 11.04, 11.10, 12.04 LTS 
 Please add your distro or let us know problems you encounter! 

 *Downloading software* 
 Before installing the CUPS driver, install [[pstoedit with laos support]]. 

 Get Debian/Ubuntu packages needed: 

     apt-get 
 @apt-get install bison flex tftp-hpa tftp-hpa@ 

 From SVN download the cups-laos: 

     svn 
 @svn co https://tuxic.nl/laos/cups-laos 

 
 Some svn programs will complain if they don't know the CA, (ssl error), in that case, add this line to the file ~/.subversion/servers: 

     ssl-trust-default-ca 
 @ssl-trust-default-ca = no no@ 

 Installing the cups driver: 

     cd (where-ever 
 @cd <where-ever you installed)/cups-laos/src installed> cups-laos/src 
 make 
 sudo make install 

 install@ 
 (if make fails, rename or copy one of the personal makefiles in that folder and call it 'Makefile') 

 Now it's time to install the laser cutter using your CUPS printer interface.  
 * On Debian, go to System -> Administration -> Printing  
 ** Choose: Add Printer (the arrow next to add) 
 ** Choose: Devices: Generic CUPS-LAOS Printer 
 ** Change the device URI to match your device IP and PORT, as configured in the firmware of the laser. For the SUDA laser, it's:  
  cups-laos://192.168.13.111:69/minimal 
 ** Choose a name for your laser and press apply 
 ** You might need to select the PPD (Postscript Printer Description). It's located in cups-laos/src-tftp/ 
 ** Do NOT print a test page!!! 
 ** Now you can right-click on the new printer and go to '''Printer Options''' to adapt the defaults for your laser. 

 h3. Windows 

 
 Installing the CUPS driver on Windows. 

 Tested on Windows 7 Ultimate 32-bit 

 *Downloading software* 

 Download the cups-windows files from SVN: https://tuxic.nl/laos/cups-windows/ 
 @https://tuxic.nl/laos/cups-windows/@ 

 *Installing the 'printer'* 
 * On Windows 7, go to 'Start' -> Control Panel -> Devices and Printers 
 ** Click Add Printer (or right click then Add Printer) 
 ** Add a local printer 
 ** Create a new port - Standard TC/IP Port 
 ** Stick in the IP address (and port - ie. 192.168.1.2:69) 
 ** Give the port a name (LAOS [ip address] or something maybe) 
 ** Untick 'Query the printer and automatically select the driver to use' 
 ** Click Next and wait for Windows to try and detect the device. 
 ** Select Generic Network Card and click Next 
 ** Select 'Have Disk' and browse to the .inf file from the files you just downloaded. 
 ** Click Next and ignore/accept any warnings. 
 ** Give your laser cutter (printer) a name. 
 ** Share the printer if you want to, set it as default if you want to but DO NOT print a test page. 
 ** Default preferences can be selected under Printer Preferences - Preferences - Advanced.