I have several pdf files which I want to print, and Xreader in mint 20.3
doesn't send the data to my Brother printer.
I then tried Okular, and neither does that send the data to the printer.

What am I doing wrong, and is there some special cmd to use to send the
data

Rob H wrote:
> I have several pdf files which I want to print, and Xreader in mint 20.3
> doesn't send the data to my Brother printer.
> I then tried Okular, and neither does that send the data to the printer.
>
> What  am I doing wrong, and is there some special cmd to use to send the
> data

What works?

Can you print (otherwise) from the Mint? Such as from a text editor or
word processor?

--
Mike Easter

On 22/04/2022 17:37, Mike Easter wrote:
> Rob H wrote:
>> I have several pdf files which I want to print, and Xreader in mint
>> 20.3 doesn't send the data to my Brother printer.
>> I then tried Okular, and neither does that send the data to the printer.
>>
>> What  am I doing wrong, and is there some special cmd to use to send
>> the data
>
> What works?
>
> Can you print (otherwise) from the Mint?  Such as from a text editor or
> word processor?
>

Yes I can print data from a text file and a web page, but with a pdf
file , although the printer is sending the paper through, not data is
printed on the paper.

On Fri, 22 Apr 2022 17:16:30 +0100
Rob H <rob@despammer.com> wrote:

> I have several pdf files which I want to print, and Xreader in mint 20.3
> doesn't send the data to my Brother printer.
> I then tried Okular, and neither does that send the data to the printer.
>
> What am I doing wrong, and is there some special cmd to use to send the
> data

How about opening it in gimp and [printing from there.
I have gutenprint installed which gives more contril.

HTH, Alan

--
Mint 20.3, kernel 5.4.0-104-generic, Cinnamon 5.2.7
running on an AMD Phenom II X4 Black edition processor with 16GB of DRAM.

On 22/04/2022 18:08, pinnerite wrote:
> On Fri, 22 Apr 2022 17:16:30 +0100
> Rob H <rob@despammer.com> wrote:
>
>> I have several pdf files which I want to print, and Xreader in mint 20.3
>> doesn't send the data to my Brother printer.
>> I then tried Okular, and neither does that send the data to the printer.
>>
>> What am I doing wrong, and is there some special cmd to use to send the
>> data
>
> How about opening it in gimp and [printing from there.
> I have gutenprint installed which gives more contril.
>
> HTH, Alan
>

When I open the pdf in gimp, then zoom it to 200% it becomes unreadable.
It is a document with 100 lines of text and numbers on.

Thanks anyway

Rob H wrote:
> Yes I can print data from a text file and a web page, but with a pdf
> file , although the printer is sending the paper through, not data is
> printed on the paper.

I see a similar problem in the Mint forum:

https://forums.linuxmint.com/viewtopic.php?t=342733 [SOLVED] PDF print
fail from Xviewer (actually Xreader)

It wasn't actually solved from xreader. He used Evince or alternatively
converting to postscript and then printing.

--
Mike Easter

On 22/04/2022 19:08, Mike Easter wrote:
> Rob H wrote:
>> Yes I can print data from a text file and a web page, but with a pdf
>> file , although the printer is sending the paper through, not data is
>> printed on the paper.
>
> I see a similar problem in the Mint forum:
>
> https://forums.linuxmint.com/viewtopic.php?t=342733  [SOLVED] PDF print
> fail from Xviewer (actually Xreader)
>
> It wasn't actually solved from xreader.  He used Evince or alternatively
> converting to postscript and then printing.
>
>

Yes, thanks, evince worked ok here, but when I zoom the pdf file in
evince and print it, the data printed is not zoomed, ie not half as big
as it is in evince. bummer!

Rob H wrote:
> evince worked ok here, but when I zoom the pdf file in evince and print
> it, the data printed is not zoomed, ie not half as big as it is in
> evince. bummer!

I confess that my preferred .pdf viewer for 'tricky' tasks including
printing selected graphics or text to size/scale is a Win app,
PDFXChange viewer. I just view .pdf/s in linux.

--
Mike Easter

On 4/22/22 3:18 PM, Mike Easter wrote:
> Rob H wrote:
>> evince worked ok here, but when I zoom the pdf file in evince and
>> print it, the data printed is not zoomed, ie not half as big as it is
>> in evince. bummer!
>
> I confess that my preferred .pdf viewer for 'tricky' tasks including
> printing selected graphics or text to size/scale is a Win app,
> PDFXChange viewer.  I just view .pdf/s in linux.
>
Nice program, very similar to Master PDF Editor4

Nic wrote:
> Mike Easter wrote:
>> Rob H wrote:
>>> evince worked ok here, but when I zoom the pdf file in evince and
>>> print it, the data printed is not zoomed, ie not half as big as it is
>>> in evince. bummer!
>>
>> I confess that my preferred .pdf viewer for 'tricky' tasks including
>> printing selected graphics or text to size/scale is a Win app,
>> PDFXChange viewer.  I just view .pdf/s in linux.
>>
> Nice program, very similar to Master PDF Editor4
>
That raises the subject of 'pdf editor'.

Personally my philosophy of .pdf is that it is a format for 'printing'
to screen or printer, not a format for 'editing', except from the
perspective of creating a document in something (or some thing/s) else
and then 'publishing' that document in a .pdf format for someone else to
view or print, not edit.

--
Mike Easter

Mike Easter wrote:
> Personally my philosophy of .pdf is that it is a format for 'printing'
> to screen or printer, not a format for 'editing', except from the
> perspective of creating a document in something (or some thing/s) else
> and then 'publishing' that document in a .pdf format for someone else to
> view or print, not edit.

If one has plans or intentions to further revise or edit said document,
it should also be retained in the original (non-pdf) format in which it
was created and that other format can be edited or revised and a 'new'
..pdf generated.

I wouldn't 'edit' a .pdf, altho' I understand it can be done.

--
Mike Easter

On 4/22/2022 12:16 PM, Rob H wrote:
> I have several pdf files which I want to print, and Xreader in mint 20.3 doesn't send the data to my Brother printer.
> I then tried Okular, and neither does that send the data to the printer.
>
> What  am I doing wrong, and is there some special cmd to use to send the data

The helpers here, give examples of displaying
a few things about the current printing setup.

But eventually, the user just sets up the printer again
at CUPS URL http://localhost:631

https://forums.linuxmint.com/viewtopic.php?p=2067980

Paul

On 22/04/2022 23:09, Paul wrote:
> On 4/22/2022 12:16 PM, Rob H wrote:
>> I have several pdf files which I want to print, and Xreader in mint
>> 20.3 doesn't send the data to my Brother printer.
>> I then tried Okular, and neither does that send the data to the printer.
>>
>> What  am I doing wrong, and is there some special cmd to use to send
>> the data
>
> The helpers here, give examples of displaying
> a few things about the current printing setup.
>
> But eventually, the user just sets up the printer again
> at  CUPS URL http://localhost:631
>
> https://forums.linuxmint.com/viewtopic.php?p=2067980
>
>    Paul
>

Thanks, so do I have to install cups, as I thought? it was already
installed. Maybe not tho'

Rob H wrote:
> I have several pdf files which I want to print, and Xreader in mint 20.3
> doesn't send the data to my Brother printer.
> I then tried Okular, and neither does that send the data to the printer.
>
> What  am I doing wrong, and is there some special cmd to use to send the
> data

Brother printers: how to install them in Linux Mint

https://easylinuxtipsproject.blogspot.com/p/brother-printers.html

On 4/23/2022 3:07 AM, Rob H wrote:
> On 22/04/2022 23:09, Paul wrote:
>> On 4/22/2022 12:16 PM, Rob H wrote:
>>> I have several pdf files which I want to print, and Xreader in mint 20.3 doesn't send the data to my Brother printer.
>>> I then tried Okular, and neither does that send the data to the printer.
>>>
>>> What  am I doing wrong, and is there some special cmd to use to send the data
>>
>> The helpers here, give examples of displaying
>> a few things about the current printing setup.
>>
>> But eventually, the user just sets up the printer again
>> at  CUPS URL http://localhost:631
>>
>> https://forums.linuxmint.com/viewtopic.php?p=2067980
>>
>>     Paul
>>
>
>
> Thanks, so do I have to install cups, as I thought? it was already installed. Maybe not tho'

If the URL works, it might be present. They put
a web server on localhost (127.0.0.1) and put it on a
weird port (631) so that it would not conflict with a
user having a webserver of their own on port 80 or port 8080.

http://localhost:631

You'd have to review what you did to use it the
first time, to have some idea what to look for.

Paul

On 4/23/2022 8:19 AM, Paul wrote:
> On 4/23/2022 3:07 AM, Rob H wrote:
>> On 22/04/2022 23:09, Paul wrote:
>>> On 4/22/2022 12:16 PM, Rob H wrote:
>>>> I have several pdf files which I want to print, and Xreader in mint 20.3 doesn't send the data to my Brother printer.
>>>> I then tried Okular, and neither does that send the data to the printer.
>>>>
>>>> What  am I doing wrong, and is there some special cmd to use to send the data
>>>
>>> The helpers here, give examples of displaying
>>> a few things about the current printing setup.
>>>
>>> But eventually, the user just sets up the printer again
>>> at  CUPS URL http://localhost:631
>>>
>>> https://forums.linuxmint.com/viewtopic.php?p=2067980
>>>
>>>     Paul
>>>
>>
>>
>> Thanks, so do I have to install cups, as I thought? it was already installed. Maybe not tho'
>
> If the URL works, it might be present. They put
> a web server on localhost (127.0.0.1) and put it on a
> weird port (631) so that it would not conflict with a
> user having a webserver of their own on port 80 or port 8080.
>
>    http://localhost:631
>
> You'd have to review what you did to use it the
> first time, to have some idea what to look for.
>
>    Paul

The download page at Brother, has notations like this.

LPR printer driver (deb package) This is LPR printer driver.
16/08/2012 (3.0.1-1) 0.03 MB

CUPSwrapper printer driver (deb package) This is CUPSwrapper printer driver.
16/08/2012 (3.0.1-1) 0.01 MB

Paul

On 23/04/2022 13:27, Paul wrote:
> On 4/23/2022 8:19 AM, Paul wrote:
>> On 4/23/2022 3:07 AM, Rob H wrote:
>>> On 22/04/2022 23:09, Paul wrote:
>>>> On 4/22/2022 12:16 PM, Rob H wrote:
>>>>> I have several pdf files which I want to print, and Xreader in mint
>>>>> 20.3 doesn't send the data to my Brother printer.
>>>>> I then tried Okular, and neither does that send the data to the
>>>>> printer.
>>>>>
>>>>> What  am I doing wrong, and is there some special cmd to use to
>>>>> send the data
>>>>
>>>> The helpers here, give examples of displaying
>>>> a few things about the current printing setup.
>>>>
>>>> But eventually, the user just sets up the printer again
>>>> at  CUPS URL http://localhost:631
>>>>
>>>> https://forums.linuxmint.com/viewtopic.php?p=2067980
>>>>
>>>>     Paul
>>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Thanks, so do I have to install cups, as I thought? it was already
>>> installed. Maybe not tho'
>>
>> If the URL works, it might be present. They put
>> a web server on localhost (127.0.0.1) and put it on a
>> weird port (631) so that it would not conflict with a
>> user having a webserver of their own on port 80 or port 8080.
>>
>>     http://localhost:631
>>
>> You'd have to review what you did to use it the
>> first time, to have some idea what to look for.
>>
>>     Paul
>
> The download page at Brother, has notations like this.
>
> LPR printer driver (deb package)          This is LPR printer driver.
> 16/08/2012  (3.0.1-1) 0.03 MB
>
> CUPSwrapper printer driver (deb package)  This is CUPSwrapper printer
> driver.
> 16/08/2012  (3.0.1-1) 0.01 MB
>
>    Paul
>

I have the printer drivers, and installed them a couple of days ago.
Do I need cups as well as the printer drivers, as the printer will print
everything apart from pdf file data onto the actual paper.

On 4/23/2022 8:44 AM, Rob H wrote:
> On 23/04/2022 13:27, Paul wrote:
>> On 4/23/2022 8:19 AM, Paul wrote:
>>> On 4/23/2022 3:07 AM, Rob H wrote:
>>>> On 22/04/2022 23:09, Paul wrote:
>>>>> On 4/22/2022 12:16 PM, Rob H wrote:
>>>>>> I have several pdf files which I want to print, and Xreader in mint 20.3 doesn't send the data to my Brother printer.
>>>>>> I then tried Okular, and neither does that send the data to the printer.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> What  am I doing wrong, and is there some special cmd to use to send the data
>>>>>
>>>>> The helpers here, give examples of displaying
>>>>> a few things about the current printing setup.
>>>>>
>>>>> But eventually, the user just sets up the printer again
>>>>> at  CUPS URL http://localhost:631
>>>>>
>>>>> https://forums.linuxmint.com/viewtopic.php?p=2067980
>>>>>
>>>>>     Paul
>>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> Thanks, so do I have to install cups, as I thought? it was already installed. Maybe not tho'
>>>
>>> If the URL works, it might be present. They put
>>> a web server on localhost (127.0.0.1) and put it on a
>>> weird port (631) so that it would not conflict with a
>>> user having a webserver of their own on port 80 or port 8080.
>>>
>>>     http://localhost:631
>>>
>>> You'd have to review what you did to use it the
>>> first time, to have some idea what to look for.
>>>
>>>     Paul
>>
>> The download page at Brother, has notations like this.
>>
>> LPR printer driver (deb package)          This is LPR printer driver.
>> 16/08/2012  (3.0.1-1) 0.03 MB
>>
>> CUPSwrapper printer driver (deb package)  This is CUPSwrapper printer driver.
>> 16/08/2012  (3.0.1-1) 0.01 MB
>>
>>     Paul
>>
>
> I have the printer drivers, and installed them a couple of days ago.
> Do I need cups as well as the printer drivers, as the printer will print everything apart from pdf file data onto the actual paper.
>

There's a backgrounder here.

https://www.computerhope.com/unix/ulpr.htm

"Linux lpr command"

"Installing lpr, lpd, and CUPS"

"Now go back to the CUPS web administration panel, and under the administration tab,
select "Add Printer." You will be prompted for your username and password, and you
can set up a new printer."

Obviously, at some point, a translation is happening. A printer
with only PCL6, cannot "eat" any arbitrary file. It cannot open
a Postscript or a PDF by itself. Something has to know that
it needs PCL6.

https://www.cups.org/doc/spec-design.html

https://www.cups.org/images/cups-block-diagram.png

"CUPS provides filters for printing text, PostScript, PDF, HP-GL/2,
and many types of image files.

CUPS also provides printer driver filters for HP-PCL, ESC/P, and
several types of label printers.

Additional filters can be registered with CUPS via mime.convs and PPD files."

https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/CUPS/Troubleshooting

"Gutenprint"

"foomatic-rip" where a RIP is a Raster Image Processor in print shop nomenclature

"ghostscript (/usr/lib/cups/filter/gstoraster needs it to run)"

The CUPS error log (by default /var/log/cups/error_log) should record which filter failed and why.

So those are a few keywords I can see.

If one of the filters is off its oats, you'd have to figure out
whether some configuration file for it has been modified by
a recent update. Maybe the problem is even subtly related
to systemd and systemctl. You never know.

Paul