Beyond Linux® From Scratch (System V Edition) - Version r12.4-426

Chapter 46. Printing

Gutenprint-5.3.5

Introduction to Gutenprint

The Gutenprint (formerly Gimp-Print) package contains high quality drivers for many brands and models of printers for use with Cups-2.4.14. See a list of supported printers at https://gutenprint.sourceforge.net/p_Supported_Printers.php.

[Note]

Note

Development versions of BLFS may not build or run some packages properly if LFS or dependencies have been updated since the most recent stable versions of the books.

Package Information

Gutenprint Dependencies

Recommended

Cups-2.4.14

Recommended (at runtime)

Two families of DyeSub photo printers each require another library at runtime. Unless you have one of these devices you will not want these libraries.

For the Sinfonia S6145 and the Ciaat Brava 21, libS6145ImageReProcess, see Peachy Photos (Sinfonia) for instructions on how to build and test this.

For the Mitsubishi D70 family and the similar Kodak 305, libMitsuD70ImageReProcess, see Peachy Photos (Mitsubishi CP-D70) for instructions on how to build and test this.

Optional (to Regenerate Documentation)

ImageMagick-7.1.2-1, texlive-20250308 (or install-tl-unx), Doxygen-1.15.0, and DocBook-utils-0.6.14

Kernel Configuration

If you intend to use escputil with a USB-connected Epson Stylus printer for commands such as --ink-level which need to access the raw device, you must enable the kernel's usblp driver. Enable the following options in your kernel configuration and recompile the kernel: 

Device Drivers --->
  [*] USB support --->                                             [USB_SUPPORT]
    <*/M> USB Printer support                                      [USB_PRINTER]

Installation of Gutenprint

Install Gutenprint by running the following commands: 

sed -i 's|$(PACKAGE)/doc|doc/$(PACKAGE)-$(VERSION)|' \
       {,doc/,doc/developer/}Makefile.in &&

./configure --prefix=/usr    \
            --disable-static \
            --without-gimp2  \
            --without-gimp2-as-gutenprint &&
make

To test the results, issue: make check. The tests take a very long time and use a lot of disk space. When last tested (version 5.3.5 in March 2025) this needed 292 SBU and 3.8 GB to complete the tests. Note that the tests used only one CPU.

Now, as the root user: 

make install &&
install -v -m755 -d /usr/share/doc/gutenprint-5.3.5/api/gutenprint{,ui2} &&
install -v -m644    doc/gutenprint/html/* \
                    /usr/share/doc/gutenprint-5.3.5/api/gutenprint &&
install -v -m644    doc/gutenprintui2/html/* \
                    /usr/share/doc/gutenprint-5.3.5/api/gutenprintui2

Command Explanations

sed -i '...' ...Makefile.in: This command is used so that the package documentation is installed in the conventional /usr/share/doc directory structure instead of /usr/share/gutenprint/doc.

--disable-static: This switch prevents installation of static versions of the libraries.

--without-gimp2: This switch disables support for GIMP because it has not been updated to support GIMP3 yet.

Configuring Gutenprint

Configuration Information

For CUPS to see newly installed print drivers, it has to be restarted (as the root user): 

/etc/rc.d/init.d/cups restart

Then point your web browser to http://localhost:631/ to add a new printer to CUPS.

Contents

Installed Programs: cups-calibrate, cups-genppd.5.3, cups-genppdupdate, escputil, and testpattern
Installed Libraries: libgutenprint.so and optionally, various CUPS filters and backend drivers under /usr/lib/gutenprint/5.3/modules/
Installed Directories: /usr/{include,lib,share}/gutenprint and /usr/share/doc/gutenprint-5.3.5

Short Descriptions

cups-calibrate

calibrates the color output of printers using the Gutenprint, CUPS or ESP Print Pro drivers

cups-genppd.5.3

generates Gutenprint PPD files for use with CUPS

cups-genppdupdate

regenerates the Gutenprint PPD files in use by CUPS

escputil

is a command line utility to perform various maintenance tasks on Epson Stylus inkjet printers

testpattern

is a test program to learn how to use libgutenprint