Re: Why is Firefox printing in Linux so slow?

From: Stefan Patric (not_at_thisaddress.com)
Date: 10/14/05

  • Next message: Reverend Duck: "Re: Can't install Debian 3.1 on HP Pavilion 7955 computer" 
    Date: Thu, 13 Oct 2005 20:10:45 -0700

    On Thu, 13 Oct 2005 07:50:45 -0700, usenet.1.massysett wrote:

    > I am wondering why printing in Firefox in Linux on a PostScript printer
    > takes so long.
    >
    > Here is my setup: SuSE 10.0 using CUPS; Brother HL-5150D laser printer
    > (which is a native PostScript printer) hooked up via USB; recent Firefox
    > (either 1.0.6 or 1.0.7); PPD file from the Brother CD that comes with the
    > printer.
    >
    > When I used this printer from Windows XP to print pages from Firefox,
    > pages would start emerging from the printer within seconds after I clicked
    > "print." This was true with both the Brother PCL Windows driver and the
    > Brother PostScript Windows driver. After printing started, the pages would
    > continue to emerge at top speed until all the pages were printed.
    >
    > Then I tried the new SuSE. Firefox printing is extremely slow. Even when
    > printing relatively simple webpages (e.g. a newspaper article from
    > washingtonpost.com after clicking on "Print this article" in the webpage,
    > which leaves only one ad in the printout) it can take over two minutes for
    > printing to even begin. After I click on "Print" in Firefox, Firefox
    > quickly completes its printing process, handing the job off to the print
    > spooler and allowing me to continue web browsing. (This process is
    > complete in, say, two seconds.) This also causes the light on the printer
    > to turn from green to amber (indicating that it is receiving data.) The
    > light will flash, indicating data is coming in, and the printer will make
    > some warming-up sounds.
    >
    > The delay comes in at this step. The printer will sit there for several
    > minutes, with the light flashing, but printing nothing. After printing
    > begins, the printer will print a single page, and then there is another
    > pause of a minute or so until the next page comes out. These pauses
    > continue until printing is complete.
    >
    > [snip]

    I would first check that ALL your printer, CUPS and Firefox config files
    are correct. I would access CUPS through its native HTML interface
    (http://localhost:631) instead of KDE's printer tools, just to be sure.
    Also, check that Firefox's Postscript output isn't being sent to
    Ghostscript or some printer filters. The output should go directly to the
    printer, unchanged.

    As a last resort, uninstall your printer and, then, reinstall it using
    CUPS' interface. Maybe, KDE's got a bug.

    Stefan

  • Next message: Reverend Duck: "Re: Can't install Debian 3.1 on HP Pavilion 7955 computer"

    Relevant Pages

    • Re: Why is Firefox printing in Linux so slow?
      ... mime.types had a different file type for "mozilla-ps" than for regular ... Thus Firefox printouts were getting typed at ... > When I used this printer from Windows XP to print pages from Firefox, ... After printing started, the ...
      (comp.os.linux.setup)
    • Re: printers for UBUNTU?
      ... for basic printing. ... will likely print things wrong in Windows as well. ... certainly compatible as most of them do Postscript and IPP natively ... There are several files which seem to be parts of the Windows XP driver ...
      (Ubuntu)
    • Re: The Death of Carbon
      ... Windows was better still, however. ... That's why the lion's share of the prepress industry belongs to ... from a poor printing architecture anyway, because *other*, non-PostScript ... company that I have helped out because they couldn't get PostScript ...
      (comp.sys.mac.advocacy)
    • Why is Firefox printing in Linux so slow?
      ... I am wondering why printing in Firefox in Linux on a PostScript printer ... When I used this printer from Windows XP to print pages from Firefox, ...
      (comp.os.linux.setup)
    • Re: The Death of Carbon
      ... Windows was better still, however. ... That's why the lion's share of the prepress industry belongs to Macs. ... and the apps solved the problems of generating working PostScript. ... But they still suffered from a poor printing architecture anyway, because *other*, non-PostScript printers were mostly unsupported. ...
      (comp.sys.mac.advocacy)