This is gimp-print version 4.1.99a3, the third alpha release leading up to the 4.2 stable release. This release is not 4.2. The package may be downloaded from http://prdownloads.sourceforge.net/gimp-print/gimp-print-4.1.99-a3.tar.gz. This software includes the Print plug-in for the Gimp, and GhostScript and CUPS drivers. The support for printers in GhostScript and CUPS is identical to the support for these printers in the Print plugin -- they use the identical code base. Please read src/ghost/README and src/cups/README for more information on this. These release notes primarily describe changes visible to the end user. Detailed descriptions of changes may be found in the ChangeLog. The Gimp Print plugin requires the Gimp 1.2. Gimp-Print 4.1.99a3 contains the following changes over 4.1.99a2: 1) The arguments to the Ghostscript `stp' driver have changed incompatibly. Please read src/ghost/README for updates. 2) The CUPS driver cleanly aborts printing if an active job is removed from the queue. It may take up to 30 seconds or so for the printer to stop printing, but the job will terminate cleanly, leaving the printer in a sane state. 3) The Epson Stylus Color, Stylus Color 400, Stylus Color 500, Stylus Color Pro XL, and Stylus Color 1500 print correctly again. 4) A crash or other errors involving Lexmark printers in some circumstances is fixed. See bug 447865. 5) The CUPS driver generates PPD files in all of the supported languages (English, French, German, Italian, and Spanish). These PPD files have not been fully translated at the present time. The new PPD files are not compatible with any previous release of the CUPS driver, and vice versa. 6) Major quality and positioning improvements on the Epson Stylus Color 480, 580, C20, and C40 printers. The Stylus Color 480 does not print at 720 DPI in black and white and grayscale (it feeds paper), although the C40UX does. It is not currently known whether this is a flaw with the printer model, the sample printer under test, or the library. See bugs 440253 and 450205. 7) The escputil command now returns ink levels and status more reliably, particularly for USB-connected printers. 8) LaserJet printers now have a sensible default for InputSlot (media source). 9) LaserJet printers support additional media sizes. 10) Initial support for the HP DesignJet 750 (wide carriage printer). 11) The Epson driver will now allow page lengths greater than 44" for certain printers (primarily the Stylus Color 760 and newer). 12) Improvements for 6 pl Epson Stylus printers (Stylus Color 670 and 740, and Stylus Photo 720, 750, and 1200). The improvements will take the form of better color accuracy and less ink use. The improvements should be noticeable at 720 DPI and substantial at 1440x720 (which is now smoother). 4 pl printers will exhibit better color accuracy and less ink use at 720 DPI. 13) The Stylus Photo 780/785/790/895, 890, and 1280/1290 should now print to very close to the margins on all sides. The bottom of the page may have a very small margin left (less than 1 mm). See bug 441501. 14) A new 360 DPI unidirectional mode was added for modern Epson Stylus printers. 15) The Epson Stylus Color 980 should print with better density. 16) A new test program, testpattern, is available in the test directory. This program uses the 16-bit raw CMYK input. In addition to demonstrating use of 16-bit raw CMYK, this program is also an example of how to use the libgimpprint API. The following known limitations exist in Gimp-Print 4.1.99-a3: 1) The Epson Stylus C40UX (and very likely other printers in the C20 and C40 lines) do not identify themselves. Therefore, escputil -u -d will not return anything useful. 2) The "align color" (-o) command to escputil does not currently work on the printers that should support it (Epson Stylus Color 480 and 580, and C20SX, C20UX, C40SX, and C40UX). We hope to fix this before release of 4.2. 3) Changing ink cartridges on the Epson Stylus Color 480/580 will not be supported in at least initial 4.2 releases. This project appears to be somewhat more complicated and riskier than previously believed. The cartridge can be changed by hand by unplugging and plugging in the printer. During the initial cleaning cycle, the heads will move to the left. When the head is in position, quickly unplug the printer. The head will slide easily into positions that allow changing the cartridge. WARNING: this may damage the printer over the long term; be careful! 4) The drivers for the Epson Stylus Pro printers (5000, 5500, 7000, 7500, 9000, 9500, and 10000) are not tested or tuned. It is quite possible that they work, but it is unlikely that they produce optimum output.
