kde print ignores duplex & copy options

First, this is not a bug in system-config-printer-kde. system-config-printer-kde only serves for setting up and modifying print queues. It does not provide the printing dialog for KDE applications nor any other functionality for printing jobs out of applications.

To check whether CUPS does not cause the problem by somehow not obeying the option settings I have sent a job as you like to have via the command line:

lpr -P duplexprinter -# 2 -o Collate -o page-ranges=1-2 -o Duplex=DuplexNoTumble atleasttwopages.pdf

This job came out correctly: Two copies in Duplex.

I have also tried to reproduce your problem with Okular, and I got indeed only one copy, but at least Duplex. So there must be a bug in Okular or in the KDE printing dialog. I assign the bug to kdebase as this package most probably provides KDE's printing dialog.

By the way, my printer is the HP LaserJet 3390, used with HPs PostScript PPD file as it is shipped with Ubuntu.

I tried your command line print and got four copies in duplex (obviously expecting only two copies). Thanks for reassigning the bug.

I have found out this, too as I did the tests mentioned in my answer and immediately fixed the problem and reported a freeze exception request, bug #286048.

Thank you, Till. I tested the debdiff you posted in bug #286048, and it fixes the issue with lpr getting the copy number wrong. Duplex and copy number in KDE application (I retested with Okular) are still broken. I still think this bug ought to be fixed before Kubuntu 8.10 is released.

Although bug #286048 has been fixed, this bug is still manifest in the Kubuntu Intrepid release candidate.

Currently KDE apps use the Qt printing system since kdeprint hasn't been ported to KDE4, so assigning to the Qt4 package.

I still experience this bug in Intrepid final using KDE 4.1.3 (but also experienced it in 4.1.2). It seems to go beyond duplex and copy number, as I just started a print job specifying only pages 3 - 4 in kate, and got all 4 pages instead. I've not tried this with other documents or KDE programs since I'd rather not waste any more paper.

I have the same problem with my printer. I also have a 64 bit System. The command line print worked with 2 duplex printouts, but in Okular I cannot print in duplex.

Just another me too, but I'm only testing copies, not duplex.

Kubuntu 8.10 on the client. Ubuntu 8.10 Server on the server. Both x86_64. Both up-to-date.

I confirmed that the CUPS server is only getting a request for 1 copy. From the CUPS error_log with debug level logging:

D [14/Jan/2009:13:51:34 -0600] [Job 512] argv[0]="Msouth"
D [14/Jan/2009:13:51:34 -0600] [Job 512] argv[1]="512"
D [14/Jan/2009:13:51:34 -0600] [Job 512] argv[2]="whardin"
D [14/Jan/2009:13:51:34 -0600] [Job 512] argv[3]="netapp_volumes.dvi"
D [14/Jan/2009:13:51:34 -0600] [Job 512] argv[4]="1"
D [14/Jan/2009:13:51:34 -0600] [Job 512] argv[5]="media=Letter sides=one-sided f
inishings=3 number-up=1 job-uuid=urn:uuid:7f37c6f6-6d2f-33be-69a0-67ddae2fdf37"
D [14/Jan/2009:13:51:34 -0600] [Job 512] argv[6]="/var/spool/cups/d00512-001"

argv[4] is the number of copies requested and it's always 1, no matter what I put in the Okular print dialog.

Okular cannot currently do anything to print more than one copy at a time when printing PDF, PS, DjVU, and DVI.
The reason is simple: the Qt printing system is "smart enough" to actually think that it can use CUPS "copies" feature, so it always exposed the information that only 1 copy is needed.
Given the inflexibility of the Qt printing system, we currently have to take the information from it, and invoke lp* manually. Thus, if you do 2+2 it can be understood that Okular always knows about 1 copy to provide.

similar problem:

printing from A4 pdf "by two" to A3 sheet, I found that the "assembler" (french for assemble? join copies?) is inoperant.

If I print 2 copies, the 2 copies for a given sheet are printed successively...

For reference, the upstream ticket for this issue can be found here: http://www.qtsoftware.com/developer/task-tracker/index_html?method=entry&id=219318

Please let me follow up with duplicate bug 328988, advocating again that until the print system in KDE 4 is in shape, a fallback should be provided.

This can be

1) kdeprint from kde 3.5.10 that is already packaged for ubuntu since there is a kubuntu jaunty derivative based on KDE 3.5
2) the print dialogue application from xubuntu
3) the gnome print dialog application

Where 1) appears to me as the most obvious choice. IMHO it is wrong to say that shipping kdeprint from KDE 3.5 would not help KDE 4 applications:

Case:
Mr. A wants to print only the odd pages of a document from a KDE 4 application (or multiple copies of the document, or an n-up doc). Using only KDE 4 apps, simply he cannot. Best option today: print to pdf and then do the real printing with the *non free* acrobat reader that has odd-even page selection. This is what I have seen all people doing.
With kdeprint from kde 3.5 one would be able to first print to pdf from the kde4 app and then simply print the pdf with kdeprint. No need to rely on non-free software anymore.

And of course kdeprint from 3.5.10 would help all those non-kde application that want to be provided a command for printing since kde 4 has nothing to offer here (think of emacs, tgif, CAD stuff, ecc.).

I don't know what to think. I am using KDE 4.3.0 which I assume is based on QT 4.5 but the printing problem is still the same. When I try to print, the printer refuses to print because it was told to print on A4 even if US Letter is selected in the printing dialog. I understand that this is not a KDE issue, but if important bugs like this fail at getting fixed in a one year span, I start to be suspicious about the whole set of libraries KDE is based on.

Why did the people at QT insisted to make the printing dialog if it lacks features and is buggy?

This bug is still present in Kubuntu 9.10 (KDE 4.3.2).

Trying to print 4 copies of 1 page PDF file, results in printing only 1 copy. I guess other options are ignored as well.

This is a very annoying and serious bug, at least for office use.

Have this bug on Kubuntu 9.10 with KDE 4.3.3 from PPA (okular never prints more than one copy). But kate and Konqueror *do* print several copies when asked to. It seems that on this system the bug is specific to okular.

Another vote for failure to print multiple copies from okular, this time on 9.04 (Jaunty). Only one copy gets printed no matter what value is specfied in the Options dialog.

same here with 9.10 32bit and 9.04 32 bit.

Same here with Mint 8 printing from Okular over a network to a Brother laser printer: it 'prints' a blank first page then sucks it back in and prints the document on the reverse side, regardless of duplex settings. I also get the failure to print multiple copies.

Read the linked comments at http://bugreports.qt.nokia.com/browse/QTBUG-2444. This is a known set of bugs in Qt and from the tone of the discussion not likely to be fixed in KDE 4 any time soon. This blog posting is especially informative:

http://www.layt.net/john/blog/odysseus/the_good_the_bad_and_the_ugly

Apparently, some of the issues mentioned in this bug are slowly getting fixed.

At least it seems to be possible to control the duplexing (at least from okular), although it is awkward to do so.
The QT print dialogue has its own duplexing option which is controlled independently from the printer one and that seems to default to no-duplex. This should default to the printer config setting.