pbmtoppa(1)						      General Commands Manual						       pbmtoppa(1)

NAME

       pbmtoppa - convert PBM image to HP Printer Performance Architecture (PPA)

SYNOPSIS

       pbmtoppa

       [pbm_file [ppa_file]]

DESCRIPTION

       pbmtoppa  converts  page  images in PBM format to Hewlett Packard's PPA (Printer Performance Architecture) format, which is the data stream
       format expected by some HP "Windows-only" printers including the HP Deskjet 820C series, the HP DeskJet 720 series, and the HP DeskJet 1000
       series.

       pbm_file is the file specification of the input file or - for Standard Input.  The default is Standard Input.

       The input file contains one or more PBM images, with each one being a single page.  Each image must have the exact dimensions of a page (at
       600 pixels per inch in both directions).  Significantly, this is the format the Ghostscript produces.

       ppa_file is the file specification of the output file or - for Standard Output.	The default is Standard Output.

       To print Postscript on an HP PPA printer, just use Ghostscript with the pbmraw (or pbm) device driver.

       You can generate a test page for use with this program with pbmpage.

       You can also set up a printer filter so you can submit PBM input directly to your print	queue.	 See  the  documentation  for  your  print
       spooler for information on how to do that, or look in hp820install.doc for an example lpd print filter for Postscript and text files.

       Sometimes,  pbmtoppa  generates	a file which the printer will not print (because pbmtoppa's input is unprintable).  When this happens, all
       three lights blink to signal the error.	This is usually because there is material outside of the printer's printable area.   To  make  the
       file print, increase the margins via pbmtoppa options or a configuration file.  See the CALIBRATION section below.

OPTIONS

       -v version
	      printer version (720, 820, or 1000)

       -x xoff
	      vertical offset adjustment in 1"/600

       -y yoff
	      horizontal offset adjustment in 1"/600

       -t topmarg
	      top margin in 1"/600    (default: 150 = 0.25")

       -l leftmarg
	      left margin in 1"/600   (default: 150 = 0.25")

       -r rightmarg
	      right margin in 1"/600  (default: 150 = 0.25")

       -b botmarg
	      bottom margin in 1"/600 (default: 150 = 0.25")

       -s paper
	      paper size: us or a4.  Default is us.

       -f cfgfile
	      read parameters from configuration file cfgfile

       The -x and -y options accumulate.

       The -v option resets the horizontal and vertical adjustments to an internal default.

CONFIGURATION FILES

       You  can use configuration files to specify parameters rather than use invocation options.  pbmtoppa processes the file /etc/pbmtoppa.conf,
       if it exists, before processing any options.  It then processes each configuration file named by a -f option in order, applying the parame-
       ters from the configuration file as if they were invocation options used in the place of the -f option.

       Configuration files have the following format:

       #Comment
       key1 value1
       key2 value2
       [etc.]

       Valid  keys  are  version,  xoffset,  yoffset, topmargin, leftmargin, rightmargin, bottommargin, papersize, or any non-null prefix of these
       words.  Valid values are the same as with the corresponding invocation parameters.

EXAMPLES

       Print a test pattern:

       pbmpage | pbmppa >/dev/lp1

       Print three pages:

       cat page1.pbm page2.pbm page3.pbm | pbmppa >/dev/lp1

       Print the Postscript file myfile.ps:

       gs -sDEVICE=rawpbm -q -dNOPAUSE -r600 
	  -sOutputFile=- myfile.ps 
       | pbmtoppa | lpr

CALIBRATION

       To be able to print successfully and properly, you need to tell pbmtoppa an X and a Y offset appropriate for your printer to use when  gen-
       erating	the  page.  You can specify these offsets with the -x and -y invocation options or with the xoff and yoff parameters in a pbmtoppa
       configuration file.

       To determine the correct offsets, use the pbmpage program.

       If while trying to do this calibration, the printer refuses to print a page, but just blinks all three lights, specify large margins  (e.g.
       600 pixels -- one inch) via pbmpage invocation options while doing the calibration.

       For example:

       pbmpage | pbmtoppa >/dev/lp1
       or
       pbmpage | pbmtoppa | lpr -l
       (if your printer filter recognizes the '-l' (direct output) parameter).

       In  the test pattern, the grid is marked off in pixel coordinate numbers.  Unfortunately, these coordinates are probably cut off before the
       edge of the paper.  You'll have to use a ruler to estimate the pixel coordinate of the left and top edges of  the  actual  sheet  of  paper
       (should be within +/- 300, may be negative; there are 600 pixels per inch).

       Add these coordinates to the X and Y offsets by either editing the configuration file or using the -x and -y command-line parameters.

       When  pbmtoppa  is  properly  calibrated,  the center mark should be in the center of the paper.  Also, the margins should be able to be as
       small as 1/4 inch without causing the printer to choke with 'blinking lights syndrome'.

REDHAT LINUX INSTALLATION

       RedHat users may find the following tip from Panayotis Vryonis <vrypan@hol.gr> helpful.	The same should work for the 820 and 1000, but	it
       hasn't been tested.  Also, use the pbmraw GSDriver if you have it; it's faster.

       Here is a tip to intergrate HP720C support in RedHat's printtool:

       Install pbm2ppa. Copy pbm2ppa to /usr/bin.

       Edit "printerdb" (in my system it is found in /usr/lib/rhs/rhs-printfilters ) and append the following lines:

       ----------------------Cut here-----------------------
       StartEntry: DeskJet720C
	 GSDriver: pbm
	 Description: {HP DeskJet 720C}
	 About: { 
	       This driver supports the HP DeskJet 720C 
	       inkjet printer. 
	       It does does not support color printing. 
	       IMPORTANT! Insert 
		    "- | pbm2ppa -" 
	       in the "Extra GS Otions" field.
	     }
	 Resolution: {600} {600} {}
       EndEntry ----------------------------------------------------

       Now you can add an HP720C printer just like any other, using printtool.

SEE ALSO

       pbmpage(1), pstopnm(1), pbm(5)

       pnm2ppa	is  not  part  of  Netpbm,  but  does the same things as pbmtoppa except it also works with color and has lots more features.  See
       <http://sourceforge.net/project/?group_id=1322>.

       The file INSTALL-MORE in the pbmtoppa directory of the Netpbm source code contains detailed instructions on setting up a system to use pbm-
       toppa to allow convenient printing on HP PPA printers.  It was written by Michael Buehlmann.

       For  information  about	the  PPA  protocol  and  the  separately  distributed  pbm2ppa	program  from  which  pbmtoppa	was  derived,  see
       <http://www.httptech.com/ppa>.

AUTHOR

       Tim Norman.  Copyright (C) 1998.  Licensed under GNU Public License

       Manual page by Bryan Henderson, May 2000.

								    01 May 2000 						       pbmtoppa(1)