[Regression 2.1.1 → 2.2.1] Copy count lost for uncollated jobs: no -dNumCopies, single copy printed

[vinod2807]

Summary

Regression between 2.1.1 and 2.2.1: for an uncollated job with copies=2, the filter chain no longer produces 2 copies. Only a single copy is printed. Downgrading libcupsfilters 2.2.1 → 2.1.1 fixes it.

Environment (broken side)

• Arch Linux (rolling), CUPS 2.4.19, cups-filters 2.0.1-2, Ghostscript 10.07.1, PAPPL 1.4.12, pappl-retrofit 1.0b2
• libcupsfilters 2.2.1-2 → broken; libcupsfilters 2.1.1-4 (Arch archive build) → works
• Same machine's Fedora 44 partition ships libcupsfilters 2.1.1-9.fc44 → works
• Printer path: CUPS driverless queue → legacy-printer-app (PAPPL retrofit) on localhost:8000 → Konica Minolta 206 GDI driver (245igdirf) → USB. Driver PPD has *cupsManualCopies: False (printer claims hardware copies).
• Client: gThumb 3.12.10 (also reproducible with plain lp -n 2, so not app-specific). gThumb sends uncollated copies (multiple-document-handling=separate-documents-uncollated-copies, Collate=False, copies=2).

Reproduction

lp -d <queue> -n 2 <1-page-file>

Only 1 copy prints with 2.2.1; 2 copies print with 2.1.1.

Evidence

PAPPL debug log, Ghostscript invocation with 2.2.1 (broken — note: no -dNumCopies, no page duplication):

gs ... -sDEVICE=cups ... -dMediaPosition=1 -dDEVICEWIDTHPOINTS=595 ... -f -_
[Job 36] Printing page 1, 1 copies

Same job type on Fedora's 2.1.1 (works — -dNumCopies=2 is passed):

gs ... -sDEVICE=cups ... -dMediaPosition=1 -dNumCopies=2 -dDEVICEWIDTHPOINTS=595 ... -f -_
[Job 108] Printing page 1, 2 copies

After downgrading Arch to 2.1.1, the same test emits two raster pages (Printing page 1, 1 copies + Printing page 2, 1 copies) and the captured backend data doubles (2315 → 4482 bytes) — i.e. 2.1.1 compensates with software page duplication while 2.2.1 does neither (no duplication, no NumCopies handoff).

Additionally, running pdftopdf (cups-filters 2.0.1 front-end over libcupsfilters) directly:

PPD=<driver-ppd> /usr/lib/cups/filter/pdftopdf 1 user test 2 "PageSize=A4 Collate=True" 1-page.pdf > out.pdf

out.pdf still has 1 page and carries no /NumCopies, with or without Collate=True/False.

Expected

With 2.2.1, an uncollated copies=2 job against a hardware-copies driver should either duplicate the pages in software or pass the count down (-dNumCopies=2 as 2.1.1 did) — currently the count is lost entirely.

Notes

• Driver binary (245igdirf) is byte-identical on both sides (md5 89afcdfb969a11190c58bce408fc8aa8), PPDs identical, so the behavioral difference is entirely in libcupsfilters 2.1.1 → 2.2.1.
• Happy to provide full PAPPL/CUPS debug logs for both versions on request.

[vinod2807]

Full debug logs for both sides, collected as documented: https://gist.github.com/vinod2807/2ef36406b1a3a043dca079f15541c246

Contents (1461 lines):

• CUPS Job 70 — failing gThumb 2-copy job on Arch with libcupsfilters 2.2.1
• PAPPL Job 36 — the same job as received by legacy-printer-app (Printing page 1, 1 copies, no -dNumCopies)
• PAPPL Job 108 — working gThumb job from Fedora 44 with libcupsfilters 2.1.1 (-dNumCopies=2, Printing page 1, 2 copies)
• PAPPL Job 45 — Arch re-test after downgrading to 2.1.1 (two raster pages emitted)

Happy to provide anything else (full unfiltered journals, PPDs, test PDFs) on request.

[ValdikSS]

Probably duplicate of #227, fixed by #228. Please check.