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<title>PostScript Printer Description</title>

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<span id="openzim-page-title" class="mw-page-title-main"><span class="mw-page-title-main">PostScript Printer Description</span></span>

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</style><table class="infobox"><tbody><tr><th colspan="2" class="infobox-above" style="padding-bottom: 0.15em;background-color:#e0e0e0;">PostScript Printer Description</th></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label" style="line-height: 1.2; padding-right: 0.65em;"><a href="Filename_extension" title="Filename extension">Filename extension</a></th><td class="infobox-data" style="line-height: 1.35;"><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r886049734">

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.ppd</div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label" style="line-height: 1.2; padding-right: 0.65em;"><a href="Media_type" title="Media type">Internet media type</a></th><td class="infobox-data" style="line-height: 1.35;"><div class="monospaced">

text/plain, application/vnd.cups-ppd</div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label" style="line-height: 1.2; padding-right: 0.65em;"><a href="File_format#Magic_number" title="File format">Magic number</a></th><td class="infobox-data" style="line-height: 1.35;">*PPD-Adobe</td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label" style="line-height: 1.2; padding-right: 0.65em;">Developed by</th><td class="infobox-data" style="line-height: 1.35;"><a href="Adobe_Systems" class="mw-redirect" title="Adobe Systems">Adobe Systems</a></td></tr></tbody></table>

<p><b>PostScript Printer Description</b> (<b>PPD</b>) files are created by vendors to describe the entire set of features and capabilities available for their <a href="PostScript" title="PostScript">PostScript</a> printers.

</p><p>A PPD also contains the PostScript code (commands) used to invoke features for the <a href="Print_job" title="Print job">print job</a>. As such, PPDs function as drivers for all PostScript printers, by providing a unified interface for the printer's capabilities and features. For example, a generic PPD file for all models of HP Color LaserJet contains:

</p>

<span class="nf">*</span><span class="c1">% Basic Device Capabilities</span>

<span class="nf">*LanguageLevel:</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="nf">"2"</span>

<span class="nf">*ColorDevice:</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="nf">True</span>

<span class="nf">*DefaultColorSpace:</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="nf">CMYK</span>

<span class="nf">*TTRasterizer:</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="nf">Type42</span>

<span class="nf">*FileSystem:</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="nf">False</span>

<span class="nf">*Throughput:</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="nf">"10"</span>

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<p>which specifies that the printer understands PostScript Level 2, is a color device, and so forth. The PPD can describe allowable paper sizes, memory configurations, the minimum font set for the printer, and even specify a tree-based user interface for printer-specific configuration.

</p><p>A PPD is also often called <i>PostScript Page Description</i> instead of <i>Printer Description</i>, this is because PostScript has the concept of <i>Page Devices</i> where the PostScript page description configuration is read from or saved as a PPD file.<sup id="cite_ref-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-1"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>1<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup>

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<p><a href="CUPS" title="CUPS">CUPS</a> uses PPD drivers for all of its PostScript printers, and has even extended the concept to allow for PostScript printing to non-PostScript printing devices, by directing output through a CUPS filter. Such a file is no longer a standard PPD, but rather a "CUPS-PPD".

CUPS clients usually read the current PPD file from the server every time a new print job is created. It is located in <code>/usr/share/ppd/</code> or <code>/usr/share/cups/model/</code>.

</p>

<pre>/usr/share/ppd

├── cupsfilters

│   ├── Fuji_Xerox-DocuPrint_CM305_df-PDF.ppd

│   ├── Generic-PDF_Printer-PDF.ppd

│   ├── HP-Color_LaserJet_CM3530_MFP-PDF.ppd

│   ├── pxlcolor.ppd

│   ├── pxlmono.ppd

│   └── Ricoh-PDF_Printer-PDF.ppd

├── cups-pdf

│   ├── CUPS-PDF_noopt.ppd

│   └── CUPS-PDF_opt.ppd

└── custom

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<div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Windows">Windows</h2></div>

<p><a href="Microsoft_Windows" title="Microsoft Windows">Microsoft Windows</a> also uses PPD files but converts these to a binary .BPD <a href="File_format" title="File format">file format</a> before using them. These, both PPD and BPD, are normally stored in <code>%WINDIR%\system32\spool\drivers\w32x86\3</code> on an x86 system, or <code>%WINDIR%\System32\spool\drivers\x64\3</code> on a 64 bit system.

</p><p>Updating a PPD file requires four steps:

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<ol><li>stop the <a href="Spooling" title="Spooling">spooling</a> service;</li>

<li>edit the existing PPD file in place or replace it by an updated version;</li>

<li>remove the old BPD file;</li>

<li>restart the spooling service.</li></ol>

<p>This will automatically generate a new BPD from the updated PPD.

</p>

<p>The MIME type for the CUPS variant of PPD is application/vnd.cups-ppd.<sup id="cite_ref-2" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-2"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>2<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup>

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<div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="References">References</h2></div>

<li id="cite_note-1"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-1">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">PostScript Language Reference Manual Chapter 6.1 Using Page Devices page 393.</span>

</li>

<li id="cite_note-2"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-2">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">IANA: <a rel="nofollow" class="external free" href="https://www.iana.org/assignments/media-types/application/vnd.cups-ppd">https://www.iana.org/assignments/media-types/application/vnd.cups-ppd</a></span>

</li>

</ol></div>

<div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="External_links">External links</h2></div>

<ul><li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20160901200541/http://partners.adobe.com/public/developer/ps/index_specs.html">Adobe PostScript Language Specifications</a>

<ul><li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.mit.edu/PostScript/Adobe/Documents/5003.PPD_Spec_v4.3.pdf">Adobe Tech Note 5003: PostScript Printer Description (PPD) File Format Specification, hosted on MIT</a></li>

<li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.mit.edu/PostScript/Adobe/Documents/5645.PPD_Update.pdf">Adobe Tech Note 5645: Update to PPD Specification Version 4.3, hosted on MIT</a></li></ul></li></ul>

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