[9fans] HP: Printing with the Illiterate

[9fans] HP: Printing with the Illiterate

[Akshat Kumar]

Wonderful, yes, it would be to print papers
from my HP Officejet 5610 through my
Plan 9 computers. However, the printer
reads only HP's (proprietary?) PDL, called
PCL (Printer Command Language)[1][2].
Viz., it does not understand Postscript.
Any suggestions on getting Plan 9 to print
on this?


Best,
ak

P.S.: Linux has some PPDs for this printer.

P.P.S: I don't know anything about PPDs.

[1] "HP PCL Level 3" - http://ln-s.net/3ufe
  (hp.com - see "Additional specifications")

[2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Printer_Command_Language

Re: [9fans] HP: Printing with the Illiterate

[Akshat Kumar]

It seems the product specs page previously
mentioned is out-of-date. This[1][2] one
mentions LIDIL as the standard language, not
PCL 3. Which perhaps makes things even
more difficult.


dying hopes of young lads,
ak

P.S.: I don't know anything about LIDIL.

[1] http://ln-s.net/3uhn
  "Print drivers, standard" under "Connectivity"

[2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lightweight_Imaging_Device_Interface_Language

Re: [9fans] HP: Printing with the Illiterate

[Russ Cox]

If there is a Ghostscript output device for a printer,
then you just need to edit /sys/lib/lp/devices to add
an appropriate line giving the output device name and
the file where the output goes.

; grep 'gs!' devices
hpdeskjet	- - /dev/lpt1data - gs!cdj670+nohead generic nospool - - - -
canonbjc240l	- - /dev/lpt1data - gs!bjc600+nohead generic nospool - - - -
;

Those two are writing to /dev/lpt1data using the cdj670
and bjc600 drivers.  However, I think you need the ijs
driver, which is not built by default (it probably should be).
To enable it, edit /sys/src/cmd/gs/mkfile to add ijs to the
device list and then rebuild using the instructions in the
mkfile.

Then you'll have to compile hpijs and add a line to your
/sys/lib/lp/devices that says gsijs!model+number instead
of gs!dev.  See /sys/lib/lp/process/gspipeijs for the
exact syntax and how it interacts with the hpijs program.
Also http://pages.cs.wisc.edu/~ghost/doc/cvs/Devices.htm#IJS

I don't know how/where you get the hpijs program.
Perhaps someone else who is using it could speak up.
It was originally ported in 2004 by Kenji Okamoto but
I expect you'll need a newer one than that.

Russ

Re: [9fans] HP: Printing with the Illiterate

[J.R. Mauro]

IJS is probably it; that's the PCL driver for the home-office class printers.

Akshat: PCL is proprietary but not closed; you can find references to
it online. I would highly recommend never looking at PCL since it will
make your eyes bleed. Hopefully the Ghostscript drivers will work for
you.

On Fri, Aug 14, 2009 at 1:15 PM, Russ Cox<rsc@swtch.com> wrote:
> If there is a Ghostscript output device for a printer,
> then you just need to edit /sys/lib/lp/devices to add
> an appropriate line giving the output device name and
> the file where the output goes.
>
> ; grep 'gs!' devices
> hpdeskjet       - - /dev/lpt1data - gs!cdj670+nohead generic nospool - - - -
> canonbjc240l    - - /dev/lpt1data - gs!bjc600+nohead generic nospool - - - -
> ;
>
> Those two are writing to /dev/lpt1data using the cdj670
> and bjc600 drivers.  However, I think you need the ijs
> driver, which is not built by default (it probably should be).
> To enable it, edit /sys/src/cmd/gs/mkfile to add ijs to the
> device list and then rebuild using the instructions in the
> mkfile.
>
> Then you'll have to compile hpijs and add a line to your
> /sys/lib/lp/devices that says gsijs!model+number instead
> of gs!dev.  See /sys/lib/lp/process/gspipeijs for the
> exact syntax and how it interacts with the hpijs program.
> Also http://pages.cs.wisc.edu/~ghost/doc/cvs/Devices.htm#IJS
>
> I don't know how/where you get the hpijs program.
> Perhaps someone else who is using it could speak up.
> It was originally ported in 2004 by Kenji Okamoto but
> I expect you'll need a newer one than that.
>
> Russ
>
>

Re: [9fans] HP: Printing with the Illiterate

[Russ Cox]

On Fri, Aug 14, 2009 at 5:37 PM, J.R. Mauro<jrm8005@gmail.com> wrote:
> IJS is probably it; that's the PCL driver for the home-office class printers.

IJS is not PCL.

IJS is a custom protocol that is spoken between a bitmap-producing
program like Ghostscript and a bitmap-printing program like /usr/bin/hpijs
http://svn.ghostscript.com/ghostscript/branches/mtrender/ijs/ijs_spec.pdf

/usr/bin/hpijs speaks IJS to Ghostscript (or whatever is on standard
input/output) and speaks a new HP protocol called LIDIL to the printer
on the other end.  Rather than commit to a full specification of LIDIL
and have to worry about backwards compatibility in the future,
HP chose to use IJS as a shim protocol and distribute a binary
that talks to the printer (source is available but it's still a binary).

PCL is not in the picture.  Getting PCL out of the picture is exactly
the reason that IJS and LIDIL were introduced, because LIDIL is
basically "here is a bitmap" whereas PCL is a real language that
requires actual memory and computing power inside the printer.
LIDIL moves the memory and computing requirements out of
the printer into the computer proper.

Russ

Re: [9fans] HP: Printing with the Illiterate

[J.R. Mauro]

On Fri, Aug 14, 2009 at 9:06 PM, Russ Cox<rsc@swtch.com> wrote:
> On Fri, Aug 14, 2009 at 5:37 PM, J.R. Mauro<jrm8005@gmail.com> wrote:
>> IJS is probably it; that's the PCL driver for the home-office class printers.
>
> IJS is not PCL.
>
> IJS is a custom protocol that is spoken between a bitmap-producing
> program like Ghostscript and a bitmap-printing program like /usr/bin/hpijs
> http://svn.ghostscript.com/ghostscript/branches/mtrender/ijs/ijs_spec.pdf
>
> /usr/bin/hpijs speaks IJS to Ghostscript (or whatever is on standard
> input/output) and speaks a new HP protocol called LIDIL to the printer
> on the other end.  Rather than commit to a full specification of LIDIL
> and have to worry about backwards compatibility in the future,
> HP chose to use IJS as a shim protocol and distribute a binary
> that talks to the printer (source is available but it's still a binary).
>
> PCL is not in the picture.  Getting PCL out of the picture is exactly
> the reason that IJS and LIDIL were introduced, because LIDIL is
> basically "here is a bitmap" whereas PCL is a real language that
> requires actual memory and computing power inside the printer.
> LIDIL moves the memory and computing requirements out of
> the printer into the computer proper.
>
> Russ
>
>

I thought IJS was also used to turn a raster into PCL, since IIRC some
non-business-class HP printers come with a stripped-down PCL 5e or
some such.

I'm probably wrong again, though. I try to not think about the HP PDLs
too much. Probably it's not IJS I'm thinking of and some other cruft
from HP -- it's been a long time.

Re: [9fans] HP: Printing with the Illiterate

[erik quanstrom]

> I thought IJS was also used to turn a raster into PCL, since IIRC some
> non-business-class HP printers come with a stripped-down PCL 5e or
> some such.
>
> I'm probably wrong again, though. I try to not think about the HP PDLs
> too much. Probably it's not IJS I'm thinking of and some other cruft
> from HP -- it's been a long time.
>

there are some quite nice looking printers from
other manufactuers that accept pdf directly at
a pricepoint 1/2 to 2/3 that of a comparable hp printer.

pdf is a spec.  thus no shim required.

- erik

Re: [9fans] HP: Printing with the Illiterate

[Akshat Kumar]

gs(1) compiled fine with ijs driver - I hope it doesn't
need to be updated as well. Thanks for the information,
Russ.

I found Prof. Okamoto's page on HPIJS 1.5
port: http://basalt.cias.osakafu-u.ac.jp/plan9/s54.html
(binaries linked).

I'll look into the degree of changes made for the port.
If it's just a mkfile, I'll try the same with newer versions.
Otherwise, well, that means quite a bit of work.


> there are some quite nice looking printers from
> other manufactuers that accept pdf directly at
> a pricepoint 1/2 to 2/3 that of a comparable hp printer.
>
> pdf is a spec.  thus no shim required.

Suggestions (model, company, etc.) welcome.
Although, this thing can do photoscanning, copying,
and faxing. I make great use of the former two,
along with printing (of course).


ak

Re: [9fans] HP: Printing with the Illiterate

[erik quanstrom]

> Suggestions (model, company, etc.) welcome.
> Although, this thing can do photoscanning, copying,
> and faxing. I make great use of the former two,
> along with printing (of course).

this isn't a recommendation.  i don't have one.
but i was thinking about getting something
along the lines of this lexmark.  it's got
- network
- pdf
- duplex

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16828106625

and if you just gotta have a hp, this hp doesn't do pdf,
but it does emulate postscript
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16828115365

- erik

Re: [9fans] HP: Printing with the Illiterate

[Akshat Kumar]

> However, I think you need the ijs
> driver, which is not built by default (it probably should be).
> To enable it, edit /sys/src/cmd/gs/mkfile to add ijs to the
> device list and then rebuild using the instructions in the
> mkfile.

I thought I'd built gs(1) this way with proper ijs support,
but `{gs -h} quickly made me realise otherwise. It was
a hoax; there's quite a bit more that's needed in order
to build with ijs support: for one, the ijs/ directory is
missing, which contains the proper headers and other
sources; other edits need to be made to the mkfile,
as well as to src/plan9.mak. Using Prof. Okamaoto's
sources from a while back, I've finally got it built,
and I'll test whether I can now print something (still
using the old hpijs 1.5, as it supports OfficeJet 5500 -
I figure, "close enough").

Furthermore, changes needed to be made to
/sys/lib/lp/process/gspipeijs, which was clearly geared
for Prof. Okamoto's own setup (notice the switch
statement: $GSOPT is nil for any model numbers other
than the ones specific to his HP PSC printer). Small,
but necessary and elusive (the output of `{gs  -} from
gspipeijs is very misleading). I think $GSTMPFILE also
needs to be changed.

I hope everything in /sys/lib/ghostscript is proper with
regards to this; I would really dislike problems due to
missing files there. I don't know anything about them.

My changes for building gs(1) with ijs required a lot of
out-of-the-garden stuff. I'm guessing the problem has never
before occurred because the code has been left dormant
and no one has made use. Thus, perhaps increasing the
size of gs(1) sources in distribution with the appropriate
data and files to build with ijs support is unnecessary.
Most of it is just taking what Prof. Okamoto had already
done; if anyone would like, I can document these changes
to gs(1) sources.


Best,
ak

Re: [9fans] HP: Printing with the Illiterate

[J.R. Mauro]

On Fri, Aug 14, 2009 at 10:12 PM, Akshat
Kumar<akumar@mail.nanosouffle.net> wrote:
> gs(1) compiled fine with ijs driver - I hope it doesn't
> need to be updated as well. Thanks for the information,
> Russ.
>
> I found Prof. Okamoto's page on HPIJS 1.5
> port: http://basalt.cias.osakafu-u.ac.jp/plan9/s54.html
> (binaries linked).
>
> I'll look into the degree of changes made for the port.
> If it's just a mkfile, I'll try the same with newer versions.
> Otherwise, well, that means quite a bit of work.
>
>
>> there are some quite nice looking printers from
>> other manufactuers that accept pdf directly at
>> a pricepoint 1/2 to 2/3 that of a comparable hp printer.
>>
>> pdf is a spec.  thus no shim required.

Erik:
I've long believed HP was a ripoff; you're exactly right about PDF printers.

>
> Suggestions (model, company, etc.) welcome.
> Although, this thing can do photoscanning, copying,
> and faxing. I make great use of the former two,
> along with printing (of course).
>
>
> ak

I have bought 2 printers from Brother. Apparently, despite being
`cheap' Brother makes high-quality products (including sewing machines
and, long ago, typewriters). I have an HL 2040 which is a B&W laser
printer. It's low-profile (6-8 inches tall), USB/serial only with no
duplex. You should be able to pick one up for about 100 USD.  The
toner cartridges are pretty cheap and last a long time. It's
relatively fast (20-30ppm); basically, it's the perfect thing if you
need to run off a lot of papers, perhaps with diagrams or pictures
that still make sense in grayscale.

Fairly recently I got a Brother HL4070 CDW -- it's a bit pricey and
it's really made for a business, but it is the best printer I've ever
had. Color laser, duplex, wireless and wired networking, LCD and web
control panels, and a USB port for direct printing PDF, PS, and image
files from flash drives and cameras. It understands PDF/PS and can
emulate PCL (not that I would ever think of doing that). The wireless
part is the best -- no more fretting about where to put the printer.
This one is a more serious investment, though: 350-450 USD, and 4
toner cartridges to replace instead of 1.

When shopping for the 4070, I saw a Brother that also did scanning and
faxing, cheaper than the 4070, but almost certainly with fewer
features, and possibly ink instead of laser, which totally turned me
off. Perhaps that might be a solution for you, though.

Good luck!

Re: [9fans] HP: Printing with the Illiterate

[Akshat Kumar]

I appreciate the suggestions, and I'll
definitely look into them when upgrades
are in order.

Making do with what we have, however,
I can now successfully conversate
with the printer, and initiate the print.

But there is a problem: after the first line
of output from the printer on the page,
usb/print (yes, connected via USB)
times out:
cp: error writing /dev/lp8: request timed out
(command was:
gs $GSOPT chess.ps; cp /tmp/gsp /dev/lp8)

Suggestions from masters of USB?


ak

Re: [9fans] HP: Printing with the Illiterate

[Akshat Kumar]

Too bad I didn't initially try this, but
if I send a print right after the timeout,
I can get the whole print. The next
time I want to print, however, I have
to go through the same thing. So,
a wasted paper for every print.

Would still be great to not have the
issue at all.


ak

Re: [9fans] HP: Printing with the Illiterate

[Daniel Lyons]

On Aug 14, 2009, at 8:12 PM, Akshat Kumar wrote:

> Suggestions (model, company, etc.) welcome.
> Although, this thing can do photoscanning, copying,
> and faxing. I make great use of the former two,
> along with printing (of course).


I have a Samsung ML-2850ND, which I think stands for Monochrome Laser,  
Network Duplex. Otherwise it has no features whatever. It cost me  
$180, does PostScript natively and I absolutely love it. Wish the  
toner was cheaper but it's not a major ink hog. Haven't tried printing  
on it with Plan 9 but I'm sure it won't be an issue.

My folks have an HP something or other ink jet with scanner, fax,  
copier, photo printing and a dozen different adapters on the front  
panel for plugging in different memory cards. It's a pile of crap,  
drinks ink like a fish, has to be rebooted often and they never use  
the features anyway. I used to think HP was a great brand, but it  
really seems to have gone to hell in the last several years IMO. I  
don't trust multifunction devices anyway.

—
Daniel Lyons

Re: [9fans] HP: Printing with the Illiterate

[matt]

> I  don't trust multifunction devices anyway.
>
^ <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_V_Shaney#cite_note-1> "I hope that
there are sour apples in every bushel."

oops, wrong one

"/Those days are dead and gone and the eulogy was delivered by Perl./"


I did a Markov of Uriel, that was amusing but I didn't save them.

Re: [9fans] HP: Printing with the Illiterate

[Mechiel Lukkien]

On Mon, Aug 17, 2009 at 01:50:42AM -0600, Daniel Lyons wrote:
>
> On Aug 14, 2009, at 8:12 PM, Akshat Kumar wrote:
>
> >Suggestions (model, company, etc.) welcome.
> >Although, this thing can do photoscanning, copying,
> >and faxing. I make great use of the former two,
> >along with printing (of course).
>
>
> I have a Samsung ML-2850ND, which I think stands for Monochrome Laser,
> Network Duplex. Otherwise it has no features whatever. It cost me
> $180, does PostScript natively and I absolutely love it. Wish the
> toner was cheaper but it's not a major ink hog. Haven't tried printing
> on it with Plan 9 but I'm sure it won't be an issue.

i use a samsung ml-3051nd.  works great with plan 9 (over network).
has a duplex button on the printer do make normal prints go duplex too.
i wish it had slightly fewer paper jams though.

mjl