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Date:      Sun, 12 Aug 2001 13:27:27 -0700
From:      John Merryweather Cooper <jmcoopr@webmail.bmi.net>
To:        Jim Freeze <jim@freeze.org>
Cc:        Mike Meyer <mwm@mired.org>, questions@FreeBSD.ORG
Subject:   Re: What is the magical incantation necessary to print to /dev/ulpt0
Message-ID:  <20010812132727.C59678@johncoop>
In-Reply-To: <Pine.BSF.4.32.0108121329170.94319-100000@www.stelesys.com>; from jim@freeze.org on Sun, Aug 12, 2001 at 10:36:32 -0700
References:  <20010812095648.Q477@johncoop> <Pine.BSF.4.32.0108121329170.94319-100000@www.stelesys.com>

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On 2001.08.12 10:36 Jim Freeze wrote:
> On Sun, 12 Aug 2001, John Merryweather Cooper wrote:
> > On 2001.08.12 06:26 Mike Meyer wrote:
> > > John Merryweather Cooper <jmcoopr@webmail.bmi.net> types:
> > >
> > > LexMark tends to make cheap winprinters.  That lexmark claims the z51
> > > works on "DOS through Windows" instead of "DOS" makes me think you
> > > have one. If so, the only hope for making it work is to find a
> > > ghostscript driver for your printer.
> > >
> The lexmark printer works through DOS because it has a DOS printer
> driver.
> The lexmark consumer inkjet printers have a propietary file format.
> They do not understand postscript or pcl. Essentially, the data
> must be rasterized into cmyk binary data before it is sent to the
> printer.
> Last time I looked there were about five different drivers that
> worked with ghostscript. These drivers reverse engineered the printhead
> and converted RGB data from ghostscript into the propietary lexmark cmyk
> binary format.
>

Actually, for the Z51 that assertion is false.  It emulates an HP 500C
quite nicely.
 
> Lexmark also recently released a linux driver. I have not heard if anyone
> has got this to work with freebsd.
> 
> If you want to test if your printer is getting data, do a print to file
> on a windows machine (something small, like a single black pixel.)
> Then, copy that file to the printer port from you freebsd machine.
> It should print just the same as from the pc.
>

Being MacroHard free, I don't have a WinDoze machine.  I have OS/2--on
which the Z51 works great through USB; and I have my FreeBSD box--on which
the printer works only on the parallel port (I'v just tried--using
apsfilter and setuping up as an HP 500C).  The problem is clearly that
FreeBSD doesn't like VIA's UHCI USB implementation.  I'll send in a PR.
 
> Please forgive me if this is all common knowledge and I have
> misunderstood
> the problem.
>
No, no problem.  It's clearly a USB issue.
 
> 
> Jim
> 
> 
> 
> =========================================================
> Jim Freeze
> jim@freeze.org
> ---------------------------------------------------------
> No comment at this time.
> http://www.freeze.org
> =========================================================
> 

jmc

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