juergen
30c685e085
The HL-4150CDN emulates PostScript 3, so CUPS converts client documents to PostScript and forwards them to socket://<ip>:9100. The official BR-Script3 PPD turns device options (tray, duplex, colour, media type, toner save, ...) into setpagedevice instructions. This drops the i386 multiarch runtime and the broken Brother vendor filter chain, and removes the unused Brother Linux packages from the repo.
200 lines
7.4 KiB
Markdown
200 lines
7.4 KiB
Markdown
# Printserver
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A containerized CUPS print server that shares a **Brother HL-4150CDN** network
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printer over IPP and advertises it via AirPrint (mDNS/DNS-SD). It prints by
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sending **PostScript (BR-Script3)** straight to the printer, so no vendor driver
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and no 32-bit libraries run in the container.
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The container bundles:
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- CUPS (IPP + web admin on port 631) with cups-filters for format conversion
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- Avahi / DNS-SD for AirPrint discovery (UDP 5353)
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- Brother's official HL-4150CDN **BR-Script3 PPD** for device options
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## How it works
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The HL-4150CDN emulates PCL6 and BR-Script3 (PostScript 3), and accepts
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PostScript over raw AppSocket (port 9100). CUPS converts whatever a client
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sends into PostScript and the BR-Script3 PPD turns the selected queue options
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into PostScript `setpagedevice` instructions:
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```
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macOS / iOS / Windows / Linux container printer
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┌─────────────────┐ IPP/AirPrint ┌──────────────────────────┐ raw ┌────────────┐
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│ AirPrint (URF) │ ───────────────▶ │ CUPS │ ──────▶ │ HL-4150CDN │
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│ PDF / PostScript│ │ URF/PWG/PDF → PostScript│ :9100 │ BR-Script3 │
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└─────────────────┘ │ pstops → setpagedevice │ └────────────┘
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└──────────────────────────┘
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```
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For example, `Duplex=DuplexNoTumble BRPrintQuality=Color InputSlot=Tray2`
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becomes:
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```postscript
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<</Duplex true /Tumble false>>setpagedevice
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<</BRProcessColor 4 /BRHrc 0>>setpagedevice
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<</ManualFeed false /BRTraysw false /BRFeeder 1>> setpagedevice
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```
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## Layout
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| Path | Purpose |
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| --- | --- |
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| `Containerfile` | Image definition (Debian base, CUPS + cups-filters + Avahi, BR-Script3 PPD) |
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| `cupsd.conf` | Container CUPS configuration (listen on all interfaces, share printers) |
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| `entrypoint.sh` | Starts D-Bus, Avahi and CUPS, then registers the printer queue |
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| `assets/Brother HL-4150CDN/ppd/` | Official BR-Script3 PPD used for the queue |
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| `assets/Brother HL-4150CDN/Windows/` | Vendor Windows driver the PPD was extracted from |
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## Prerequisites
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- Podman (or a compatible builder such as Docker/Buildah)
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- The printer reachable on the network, with a known IP address or hostname
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## Build
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Run from the repository root:
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```sh
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podman build -t printserver:latest .
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```
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The image is architecture-independent (no i386 or other 32-bit binaries), so it
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builds natively on x86_64 and arm64 hosts alike.
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## Run
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mDNS does not work through a normal container network, so use **host
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networking**:
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```sh
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podman run -d --name printserver \
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--network host \
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-e PRINTER_IP=192.168.100.7 \
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-e PRINTER_NAME=HL-4150CDN \
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printserver:latest
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```
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### Environment variables
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| Variable | Default | Description |
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| --- | --- | --- |
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| `PRINTER_IP` | *(empty)* | IP address / host name of the network printer. A device URI is derived from it (see `PRINTER_PROTOCOL`). |
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| `PRINTER_URI` | *(empty)* | Full device URI. Overrides `PRINTER_IP` when set. |
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| `PRINTER_PROTOCOL` | `socket` | Protocol used with `PRINTER_IP`: `socket`, `lpd` or `ipp`. |
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| `PRINTER_NAME` | `HL4150CDN` | CUPS queue name. Also used as the name advertised via AirPrint/DNS-SD. |
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| `PRINTER_DESCRIPTION` | *(empty)* | CUPS printer description (`lpadmin -D`), shown in the CUPS web UI. |
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| `PPD_FILE` | `/usr/share/cups/model/BR4150_2.PPD` | PPD used for the queue. |
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No queue is created when neither `PRINTER_IP` nor `PRINTER_URI` is set.
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### Choosing the connection
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The HL-4150CDN accepts PostScript directly, so the default is raw AppSocket.
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Set `PRINTER_IP` and let the entrypoint build the URI:
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| `PRINTER_PROTOCOL` | Resulting URI |
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| --- | --- |
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| `socket` (default) | `socket://<ip>:9100` — raw AppSocket/JetDirect |
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| `lpd` | `lpd://<ip>/binary_p1` — LPR/LPD |
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| `ipp` | `ipp://<ip>/ipp/print` |
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For example, a printer at `192.168.100.7`:
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```sh
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-e PRINTER_IP=192.168.100.7
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```
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Or specify the URI explicitly for full control:
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```sh
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-e PRINTER_URI=socket://192.168.100.7:9100
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```
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### Advertised name
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`PRINTER_NAME` is used as the CUPS queue name and as the name clients see in
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AirPrint discovery. To show a descriptive label in the CUPS web interface,
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set `PRINTER_DESCRIPTION` (this does not change the advertised name):
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```sh
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-e PRINTER_NAME=HL4150CDN -e PRINTER_DESCRIPTION="Brother HL-4150CDN (Office)"
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```
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## Printing options
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The BR-Script3 PPD exposes the HL-4150CDN's hardware options. Common ones:
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| Option | PPD keyword | Values |
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| --- | --- | --- |
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| Paper source | `InputSlot` | `AutoSelect`, `Tray1`, `Tray2`, `MPTray` |
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| Two-sided printing | `Duplex` | `None`, `DuplexNoTumble` (long edge), `DuplexTumble` (short edge) |
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| Colour / mono | `BRPrintQuality` | `Auto`, `Color`, `Black` |
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| Colour mode | `BRColorMode` | `Normal`, `Vivid`, `None` |
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| Media type | `BRMediaType` | `Plain`, `Thin`, `Thick`, `Recycled`, `Glossy`, `Label`, envelopes, … |
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| Print quality | `CAPT` | `Fine` (600×600), `SuperFine` (2400 dpi class) |
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| Toner save | `TonerSaveMode` | `True`, `False` |
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| Secure print | `BRJobHold` | `None`, `Private` (+ `BRJobPIN`) |
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They can be selected per job, e.g.:
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```sh
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podman exec printserver lp -d HL4150CDN \
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-o Duplex=DuplexNoTumble -o BRPrintQuality=Color -o InputSlot=Tray1 report.pdf
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```
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## Client support
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| Platform | Path | Notes |
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| --- | --- | --- |
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| macOS | AirPrint / IPP Everywhere | Discovered via mDNS; no driver needed |
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| iOS / iPadOS | AirPrint | Discovered via mDNS; no driver needed |
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| Linux | IPP / IPP Everywhere | Native or with the shared PPD |
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| Windows | IPP or raw 9100 | Install Brother's **BR-Script3** Windows driver, pointed at the printer or the shared queue |
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Windows uses a client-side Brother driver; the server does not share via SMB.
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## Verify
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Browse the CUPS web interface:
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```sh
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open http://localhost:631/ # printers
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open http://localhost:631/admin # administration
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```
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From the host, or inside the container:
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```sh
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podman exec printserver lpstat -t # queues and status
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podman exec printserver lpstat -v HL4150CDN # device URI
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podman exec printserver lpoptions -p HL4150CDN -l # available options
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podman exec printserver avahi-browse -rt _ipp._tcp # mDNS advertisement
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```
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A print job can be submitted with:
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```sh
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podman exec printserver lp -d HL4150CDN /etc/hostname
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```
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On macOS/iOS the shared queue should appear in the printer list via AirPrint.
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## Notes and limitations
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- **Host networking is required** for Avahi to send and receive mDNS traffic.
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`-p 631:631` alone is enough for direct IPP access but not for AirPrint
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discovery.
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- **Printer state is not persisted.** The queue is recreated on every start
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from `PRINTER_URI`. To keep CUPS configuration across container replacement,
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mount a volume over `/etc/cups`:
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```sh
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-v printserver-cups:/etc/cups
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```
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- Colour handling is done by the printer's own PostScript RIP. Output may differ
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slightly from Brother's host-side (rasterising) driver.
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- The queue advertises AirPrint capabilities (`image/urf`, `image/pwg-raster`,
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`sides-supported`, `color-supported`). macOS and iOS printing is converted by
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cups-filters; verify end to end on your network.
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