Best way to print photos

[Greg Barniskis]

M. Warner Losh wrote:
> OK.  I got bordered photo printing working.  I haven't gotten
> borderless printing working, alas.
> 
> The key points I learned:
> 
> (1) Install print/cups.
> (2) Install graphics/hpijs.	This filters .ps -> goo the printer groks
> (3) Install graphics/gimp.	This makes .ps files
> (4) Kill lpr/lpd before starting cups.
> (5) Make sure you configure lpr/lpd not to startup on boot
> (6) Remove lp* binaries
> (7) Setup buildworld /etc/make.conf so it doesn't build lpr with
>     NO_LPR or WITHOUT_LPR
> (8) Add printer via localhost:631 web interface.
> (8) Set printer to draft mode via cups for testing
> (9) Use firefox to generate test prints.
> (10) To print from gimp, I have to remove the '-l' from the command
>      line every time I print in the printer setup.  This causes the
>      raw .ps file to go to the printer, rather than via cups'
>      postscript filter for the printer.
> (11) To get photos, one must set photo quality via cups setup
>      interface.
[snip]

Thanks very much for posting back a solution summary. I tried to
monitor this thread but it got to be more verbose than I could
digest. This is most helpful.

> I'd love to know how to print borderless prints (right now I get 1/4"
> (8mm) boarder on the prints).  

Perhaps I'm not reading you right, but if you mean you want to print
your images all the way to the physical edge of the paper, I think
you are out of luck.

As I understand it, most consumer model printers simply do not
(physically cannot) support that. In PDF terminology, you've got the
MediaBox (paper size) is one thing and the Bleedbox (printable area)
is another, smaller thing. Then there's the Trimbox, an even smaller
area where printing is thought to be reliably accurate.

Of course, if you can print "borderless" on your particular printer
via Windows, then you should have a reasonable expectation of being
able to do that in FreeBSD as well. However, if you regressed your
setup I think you'd find that the hardware is the limiting factor.


-- 
Greg Barniskis, Computer Systems Integrator
South Central Library System (SCLS)
Library Interchange Network (LINK)
<gregb at scls.lib.wi.us>, (608) 266-6348