Re: [9fans] Communication with a Network Printer

[nigel@9fs.org]

[-- Attachment #1: Type: text/plain, Size: 844 bytes --]

You need to use lpdspool to do lpr protocol I imagine. Here is my entry to spool to
the lpd on a FreeBSD machine where the printer is connected. It's not actually
postscript; FreeBSD is the RIP.

# 600dpi postscript printer named lp via BSD LPD printer queue on george
brother printer-room	george	lp - post+600dpi+nohead		generic		lpdspool	lpd		-			-		FIFO

Note that lpdspool only works well to spoolers which don't take the job name as Gospel.
lpdspool always sends the same job number (001), so that if the jobs are queued in
a filesystem under the same name, you can't send more than one job at once. This
is true for the BSD lpd used by FreeBSD for example. I suspect that this isn't true for
printers (or Jet Direct cards), otherwise it would have been fixed by now. I have a fix,
but it's currently too untidy to publish.


[-- Attachment #2: Type: message/rfc822, Size: 2923 bytes --]

From: "Mark C. Otto" <Mark_Otto@FWS.Gov>
To: 9fans@cse.psu.edu
Subject: [9fans] Communication with a Network Printer
Date: Tue, 19 Dec 2000 13:27:20 -0500
Message-ID: <3A3FA888.B0D128B4@FWS.Gov>

I am trying to set up printing on two network printers, an HP3si and a HP4000. 
Both have jet direct cards.  The handshaking with the printer does not seem to
work:

lp -d3si file_to_print
Dec 19 11:02:44 failed to receive ACK, received <0x6c>
Dec 19 11:02:44 failed to receive ACK before sending data

The message seems to be coming from lpsend.  I could use some pointers on where
to look next.

I can telnet to the printers and get the tcp/ip information on the jet direct
card and call on the printer port

telnet tcp!3si!515 # or !9100
connected to tcp!3si.irm.r9.fws.gov!9100 on /net/tcp/2

device_name	loc	dest_host	phys_dev_name	speed	class	def_proc	spooler	stat	kill
daemon	sched
3si	Hen-Conf	bfbooby	tcp!3si!9100	8192	post+300dpi+duplex+nohead	generic	generic
generic	generic	tcppost	FIFO
4k	Hen-Conf	bfbooby	tcp!4k!9100	8192	post/2+600dpi	generic	generic	generic
generic	tcppost	FIFO

I made directories for each printer:

LPLIB/prob/3si and LPLIB/prob/4k

and made them world writable.  After running the commands, nothing was in them.