Re: tlug: printer voodoo

[Adrian Havill <havill@example.com>]

On Thu, 18 Nov 1999, John Seebach wrote:
> I'm trying to figure out a way to print (via ghostscript, because I don't
> think that these are postscript printers) to one of two printers, both of
> which are hooked up to windows machines at present. I can't find / don't
> know where to find a ghostscript filter for either of them.
> 
> The printers are:
> 
> Epson LP-9000
> Epson LP-8400

Do they have a "PS" (or PS2 or PS3, for PostScript level 2 and 3
respectively) suffix on them? There are two versions of each
printer, all support Epson's ESC/P and the supersets (ESC/P+), but the
(naturally way more expensive) "PS" versions support PostScript.

Unfortunately, a lot of managers go for the cheaper models (almost half
the price in some cases), not knowing that lack of PostScript makes things
real tough for some environments.

> Internet searches have not turned up any information on either of them.
> Anybody have any idea what they are / how to talk to them?

Epson has rudely pulled the info off their pages, preferring you buy the
newer models, which _are_ listed. ROM wise, Epson page printers all do
their own page description language (ESC/P and the newer revisions), and
charge extra for the HP and PS interpreters.

> Unfortunately, I have this nagging fear that this isn't going to work. The
> closest printer I could find, an Epson LP-8000, had a driver that was
> listed on a *N[IU]X printing page as "proprietary." Not a good sign.

I believe there is _one_ ESC/P driver in Ghostscript, but it doesn't seem
to work very well, unfortunately.

> Unfortunately, I have this nagging fear that this isn't going to work. The
> closest printer I could find, an Epson LP-8000, had a driver that was
> listed on a *N[IU]X printing page as "proprietary." Not a good sign.

You need any driver that speaks ESC/P (ESC/P+ is better). Although present
in an Epson Laser printers, there are few drivers, and Epson has been slow
to get the drivers out for anything but Windows. There are a few people
pressuring them, though. ;)

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Next Technical Meeting: TBA, January, 2000.  Place: Temple Univ.