root / pykota / trunk / FAQ @ 1177

PyKota's FAQ :

  # $Id$
  
  * Is print accounting ever exact ?
  
    No. Print accounting is **never** exact, because it depends
    on external factors like the presence of paper in the printer,
    the quantity of remaining ink in the print cartridge, paper
    jams, etc... All these things are very difficult to account
    for correctly, and no print accounting package deals with
    these artefacts correctly in all situations.
    We are however confident that PyKota is one of the more
    exact print accounting software, because by default it
    asks the printers for how many pages they have really printed.
    
  * Can PyKota account for ink usage ?  
  
    No. Actually PyKota doesn't account for ink usage, but this
    may come in a future release. PyKota only accounts for pages
    printed and/or money spent.  If ink accounting is a necessity
    for you, PrintBill is recommended instead of PyKota. PrintBill
    allows you to bill differently per color, and to bill depending
    on the percent of the ink covered part of the pages.
    
  * How can I make PyKota work with my non-postscript printer under 
    CUPS ?  
  
    You have to define a new filtering chain for this, because most
    probably your printer's PPD file already contain a *cupsFilter
    line and only one is allowed. So it's impossible to plug PyKota
    there. Search the mailing list archives to learn how to do.
    
  * How can I diagnose the problem when something goes wrong ?  
  
    Put "LogLevel debug2" in cupsd.conf (usually in /etc/cups/).
    Then put "logger: system" and "debug: yes" in 
    /etc/pykota/pykota.conf.
    Finally restart CUPS.
    CUPS' error_log file will now contain many informations which
    will help diagnose your problem. Also your syslog's output for 
    the LPR facility (usually /var/log/lpr.log) will contain 
    PyKota's debug messages, notably all database related queries
    and their result, be your database PostgreSQL or OpenLDAP.
    With these two files the problem can usually be diagnosed within
    minutes. Send them to the mailing list and wait for an answer.
    
  * Some, not all, print jobs are never accounted for, why ?
  
    Probably because some jobs were printed in raw mode.
    Job printed this way are never filtered, and so PyKota
    doesn't see them.
    If you print to a CUPS server through Samba, delete the
    "-o raw" command line option in smb.conf's print command 
    entry, and restart Samba. Gimp also sets the "-o raw"
    command line option some times. Be sure to disable
    raw mode in CUPS configuration. Eventually recompile
    CUPS without raw mode support at all.
    
  * When printing from Windows, the jobs are never accounted for,
    but from *nix they are. Could you explain the reason for this ?
    
    First refer to the point above. If this doesn't solve your
    problem, try to set your print driver to PostScript mode
    and check the "maximum compatibility" box in its configuration,
    instead of "maximum speed". Often HP printers come with both
    a PCL and a PostScript driver under Windows. Don't install the 
    PCL one.
    
  * My question isn't answered there, can you help ?  
  
    Sure. Ask your question to the mailing list. If this is a
    frequently asked question, or if your problem is on the contrary
    very specific, it will probably be added to this document.