diff --git a/Sources/CupsKit/PPD.swift b/Sources/CupsKit/PPD.swift
index 9e26fbf..63bfc96 100644
--- a/Sources/CupsKit/PPD.swift
+++ b/Sources/CupsKit/PPD.swift
@@ -176,3 +176,25 @@ public struct PPD {
         options.first { $0.keyword == keyword }
     }
 }
+
+extension PPD {
+    /// Reads a PPD file, plain or gzip-compressed (vendors ship `.ppd.gz` / `.gz` under
+    /// /Library/Printers/PPDs). Text that isn't valid UTF-8 is read as ISO Latin-1, the PPD default.
+    public static func text(contentsOfFile path: String) throws -> String {
+        guard var data = FileManager.default.contents(atPath: path) else {
+            throw CupsAdminError.failed("can’t read \(path)")
+        }
+        if data.starts(with: [0x1F, 0x8B]) {
+            let result = try CupsTools.run("/usr/bin/gzip", ["-dc", path])
+            guard result.succeeded else { throw CupsAdminError.failed("can’t decompress \(path): \(result.message)") }
+            data = result.standardOutput
+        }
+        return String(data: data, encoding: .utf8) ?? String(data: data, encoding: .isoLatin1) ?? ""
+    }
+
+    /// True when a `ppdreport` argument names a PPD file rather than a queue. Queue names can't contain "/".
+    public static func looksLikeFile(_ argument: String) -> Bool {
+        argument.contains("/") || [".ppd", ".gz", ".ppd.gz"].contains { argument.lowercased().hasSuffix($0) }
+    }
+}
+
diff --git a/Sources/cupsadmin/Commands/PPDReportCommand.swift b/Sources/cupsadmin/Commands/PPDReportCommand.swift
index 6f83b55..ee80df8 100644
--- a/Sources/cupsadmin/Commands/PPDReportCommand.swift
+++ b/Sources/cupsadmin/Commands/PPDReportCommand.swift
@@ -8,8 +8,7 @@ enum PPDReportCommand {
         let source: String
         var attributes: IPPGroup?
         if let file {
-            guard let data = FileManager.default.contents(atPath: file) else { throw CupsAdminError.failed("can’t read \(file)") }
-            text = String(decoding: data, as: UTF8.self)
+            text = try PPD.text(contentsOfFile: file)
             source = file
         } else if let queue {
             guard try await client.queueExists(queue) else { throw CupsAdminError.failed("no such queue \(queue)") }
diff --git a/Sources/cupsadmin/main.swift b/Sources/cupsadmin/main.swift
index 35ebfd5..41479cb 100644
--- a/Sources/cupsadmin/main.swift
+++ b/Sources/cupsadmin/main.swift
@@ -42,7 +42,7 @@ let usage = """
       quick                      list quick actions (task-named queue defaults)
       quick <action> <queue> [code | --clear]
                                  apply one via lpadmin, then verify
-      ppdreport <queue> | --file <path.ppd>
+      ppdreport <queue | path.ppd[.gz]>
                                  every PPD group and option: keyword, label, type, default, choices
       help                       show this help
     """
@@ -130,7 +130,12 @@ func runCommand(_ args: [String]) async throws -> String {
         }
         try rejectUnknownFlags()
         guard (file == nil && rest.count == 1) || (file != nil && rest.isEmpty) else {
-            throw CupsAdminError.usage("ppdreport needs one queue name or --file <path.ppd>")
+            throw CupsAdminError.usage("ppdreport needs one queue name or PPD file path")
+        }
+        // A path (anything with "/", or ending in .ppd / .gz) is a PPD file; queue names can't contain "/".
+        if file == nil, let argument = rest.first, PPD.looksLikeFile(argument) {
+            file = argument
+            rest.removeAll()
         }
         return try await PPDReportCommand.run(client: client, queue: rest.first, file: file)