PostScript Printer
Description File Format
Specification
Version 4.3
9 February 1996
Adobe Developer Support
PN LPS5003
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Adobe Systems Incorporated
Adobe Developer Technologies
345 Park Avenue
San Jose, CA 95110
http://partners.adobe.com/
Copyright 1987-1996 by Adobe Systems Incorporated. All rights reserved.
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form
or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior
written consent of the publisher. Any software referred to herein is furnished under license and may
only be used or copied in accordance with the terms of such license.
PostScript is a registered trademark of Adobe Systems Incorporated. All instances of the name
PostScript in the text are references to the PostScript language as defined by Adobe Systems
Incorporated unless otherwise stated. The name PostScript also is used as a product trademark for
Adobe Systems’ implementation of the PostScript language interpreter.
Any references to a “PostScript printer,” a “PostScript file,” or a “PostScript driver” refer to printers,
files, and driver programs (respectively) which are written in or support the PostScript language.
The sentences in this book that use “PostScript language” as an adjective phrase are so constructed to
reinforce that the name refers to the standard language definition as set forth by Adobe Systems
Incorporated.
PostScript, the PostScript logo, Display PostScript, Adobe, and the Adobe logo are trademarks of
Adobe Systems Incorporated which may be registered in certain jurisdictions. Apple, AppleTalk,
LaserWriter, and Macintosh are registered trademarks of Apple Computer, Inc. Other brand or product
names are the trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders.
This publication and the information herein is furnished AS IS, is subject to change without notice,
and should not be construed as a commitment by Adobe Systems Incorporated. Adobe Systems
Incorporated assumes no responsibility or liability for any errors or inaccuracies, makes no warranty
of any kind (express, implied or statutory) with respect to this publication, and expressly disclaims any
and all warranties of merchantability, fitness for particular purposes and noninfringement of third
party rights.
iii
Contents
PostScript Printer Description File Format Specification
1
1 Introduction 1
1.1 ASCII Code Chart 2
1.2 Definition of Terms 3
2 Using PPD Files 5
2.1 Building a User Interface for Printing 6
2.2 Inserting Print-Time Features 7
2.3 Post-Processing 8
2.4 Error Handling 9
2.5 Order Dependencies 10
2.6 Local Customization of PPD Files 11
3 Format 15
3.1 General Parsing Summary 15
3.2 Main Keywords 15
3.3 Option Keywords 17
3.4 Syntax of Values 20
3.5 Translation String Syntax 25
3.6 Human-Readable Comments 28
3.7 PostScript Language Sequences 28
3.8 PPD File Structure 31
4 Syntax of Specification 32
4.1 General Syntax 32
4.2 Sample Keyword Statements 34
4.3 Elementary Types 36
4.4 Standard Option Values for Main Keywords 38
4.5 Summary of Rules for *Default Keywords 40
5 Keywords 41
5.1 Creating Your Own Keywords 41
5.2 Structure Keywords 42
5.3 General Information Keywords 56
5.4 Installable Options 65
5.5 Basic Device Capabilities 68
5.6 System Management 72
5.7 Emulations and Protocols 78
iv Contents (9 Feb 1996)
5.8 Features Accessible Only Through Job Control Language 81
5.9 Resolution and Appearance Control 84
5.10 Gray Levels and Halftoning 87
5.11 Color Adjustment 91
5.12 Introduction to Media Handling 95
5.13 Media Option Keywords 96
5.14 Media Selection 96
5.15 Information About Media Sizes 102
5.16 Custom Page Sizes 106
5.17 Media Handling Features 119
5.18 Finishing Features 123
5.19 Imagesetter Features 133
5.20 Font Related Keywords 136
5.21 Printer Messages 143
5.22 Color Separation Keywords 146
5.23 Symbolic References to Data 149
6 Sample PPD File Structure 153
6.1 Level 2 Color Printer 153
6.2 Level 2 Imagesetter 160
6.3 Examples of Custom Page Size Code 166
7 PPD File Summary 176
7.1 PPD Files for Kanji Products 179
Appendix A: Keyword Categories
181
A.1 UI Keywords 181
A.2 Repeated Keywords 182
Appendix B: Registered
mediaOption
Keywords
183
B.1 Components of
mediaOption
Keywords 184
B.2
mediaOption
Name Tables 186
Appendix C: Character Encodings
199
C.1 All Encodings Indexed By Byte Code 200
C.2 Conversions from WindowsANSI Encoding 202
C.3 Conversions from MacStandard Encoding 204
C.4 Conversions from ISOLatin1 Encoding 206
Appendix D: Manufacturer’s Prefix List and *Manufacturer Strings
209
Appendix E: Changes Since Earlier Versions
213
E.1 Changes since Version 4.2, March 29, 1994 213
E.2 Changes since Version 4.1, April 9, 1993 219
E.3 Changes since Version 4.0, October 14, 1992 220
E.4 Changes since Version 3.0, dated March 8, 1989 221
Index
229
1
PostScript Printer Description File
Format Specification
1 Introduction
PostScript
™
printer description files (PPD files) are text files that provide a
uniform approach to using the diverse features of devices that contain Post-
Script interpreters. Such features include different page sizes, different meth-
ods of paper and film handling, memory size, font availability, and finishing
features such as duplex printing and stapling. All devices do not have the
same set of features, and even devices with the same features do not necessar-
ily invoke those features in the same way. PPD files provide applications with
the necessary information about a device’s features, including the feature
options, the default settings, how to request the current settings, how to
change the settings, and other information that might be used for scheduling
jobs.
In this specification, the term device means any output device containing a
PostScript interpreter, such as a printer, imagesetter, or film recorder. Each
device has a PPD file associated with it. The PPD files for all devices that are
accessible to a given host computer are stored on that host computer. Appli-
cations on the host computer can then parse PPD files to discover the list of
features available on a device. PPD files contain structures that allow “blind”
parsing of a list of features. Applications can parse for these structures with-
out understanding the features they contain. Applications can then build a
user interface from the list of features found in the PPD file for the selected
device.
The PPD file also contains the PostScript language code to invoke each fea-
ture. In this specification, the term output file refers to the file containing the
PostScript language description of the document composed by the user.
When a user selects a feature from the user interface, such as manual feed or
duplex printing, the code for each selected feature is extracted from the PPD
file and included in the appropriate place in the output file before the output
file is sent to the device.
Local customizations to a PPD file can be added at the user site to accommo-
date changes to the printer, such as the addition of fonts or memory, or to
configure a device a certain way (for example, to always print in duplex).
