GSoC’13 Project Preview

Hey, everyone.

Just wanted to post a little teaser of my Google Summer of Code 2013 project.

I wrote some documentation to describe the new extensions to the CUPS web interface (1.6.1), and added some screenshots below.

Soon I will post information on how to obtain all of this on my blog.

–Joe

Using the Per-Queue Interface

This version of CUPS has been enhanced with an interface for per-queue color management, allowing a much easier way for color-savvy users to test and distribute printer drivers in order to produce precise results.

In addition to a new interface, a means to disable color management for a given queue has been included as well. This makes it so that target printing can be achieved on individual queues.

How Do I Use It?

Click on the Printers tab at the top of this page. There you will see the usual interface for managing your printers, along with an additional “Settings” column for each of your queues.

There are two buttons available for each printer. Download simply lets you save the PPD file currently associated with a queue (where available) to your computer. If want to change the currently associated driver, use Replace to upload a PPD file from your hard drive. This will update the queue and mark a time stamp in the “Last Modified” column. Note that if you added a queue, the time stamp will simply display an asterisk (*).

Modifying any queue requires administrative privileges.

Color Management

A feature to enable/disable color management has been implemented. To use it, you will need to select a queue in Printers (listed below “Queue Name”). Once selected, click on the “Administration” combo box located below the header, and select “Modify Printer”.

You will be asked to make the usual changes to a queue, but you will also see a “Color Management” check box option, where a check will enable color management for a printer. Un-check if you wish to use the queue for duties such as target printing.

Color management is enabled by default whenever you add a new queue.

Per-Queue Interface

Color Management ‘Switch’