Date: Wed, 28 Jul 1999 23:07:37 +0930 (CST) From: Greg Lewis <glewis@ares.maths.adelaide.edu.au> To: james <jamesb@nelsonbay.com> Cc: freebsd-questions@FreeBSD.ORG Subject: Re: Printing Problems on an HP 4MP on a LAN Message-ID: <199907281337.XAA11956@ares.maths.adelaide.edu.au> In-Reply-To: <v04020a02b3c43448ef79@[203.12.6.49]> from james at "Jul 28, 1999 02:24:01 pm"
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> >>>> Q1, Whats the command(s) to get an hp ps printer to work. The freeBSD > >>>> system is the server to a few other systems. So far, the printer prints > >>>> one line per page. > >>> > >>> I assume this is when you are trying to print a flat text file? If so, you > >>> either need to convert to file to postscript (e.g. with a2ps or apsfilter > >>> or by some homegrown thingy which tacks a postscript header on the top) or > >>> convert the file with unix2dos or the like so that its a DOS/WIN style > >>> text file. > > > >This isn't necessarily correct. I have an HP 6MP (the P stands for > >PostScript), and it will print either PostScript or plain text if sent > >it while idle. Send one format after the other while it's printing, > >and it'll get confused. As a result, it's better to send it only > >PostScript, but you don't have to. If you send it normal text when > >it's expecting PostScript, it'll print nothing. If you send it > >PostScript when it's expecting normal text, it'll print the PostScript > >out in normal text. > > > >James, you could have said which model you have. > > The printer is a HP 4MP. We have a 6MP at work too, and I was assuming James was actually getting the "staircase problem" with a flat text file. Thats what my initial advise was based on. > >> Two typical cases of printing: either from word97 on the lan, or from lp > >> directly on Unix. > > > >If you send lp directly, it'll be plain text. > Exactly right. > > > This is beginning to > >sound like a staircase problem. What happens if you print a number of > >very short lines (< 10 characters per line)? > > The problem is how to setup a postscript printer for a lan server. You must have some sort of setup already as you are in fact printing things from the FreeBSD box by the sounds of it? > >> What I dont know is what command do I type on the command line to get the > >> printer that the lan knows about to print documents sent to it from the > >> word97 program. > > > >If you're using something like the 6MP, and you have the program set > >up for the printer, you don't need to do anything. > > Well, what I did do was send a print request from word97 on a mac connected > the the freeBSD server and it prints rubbish on the hp 4mp printer. > > So, if anyone knows what commands to enter to set up a hp 4mp printer on > freeBSD ( or where they are discribed ) it would be greatly appreciated. I've no experience with a Macintosh connection (I assume using netatalk?). However, we do have Win machines printing via the FreeBSD server at work. Can you post what you have so far in /etc/printcap? I have essentially the following setup: An entry in /etc/printcap which is "straight through", i.e. all files are sent directly to the printer as they are. This is the printer that gets shared to the Win machines via Samba as they all have printer drivers which convert things to PostScript or PCL so print requests from them can be just passed to the printer without any intervention. A second entry in /etc/printcap for files which are printed locally on the server. This has a number of filters attached to it which convert things to PostScript and then send them off to the printer via the first entry. To set things up on the FreeBSD side of things I just referenced the FreeBSD handbook section on printing (http://www.freebsd.org/handbook/printing.html). Plus I read the man pages on printcap and lpd as necessary :). -- Greg Lewis glewis@trc.adelaide.edu.au Computing Officer +61 8 8303 5083 Teletraffic Research Centre To Unsubscribe: send mail to majordomo@FreeBSD.org with "unsubscribe freebsd-questions" in the body of the message
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