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An installation nightmare storyAn installation nightmare storyPosted Apr 17, 2003 1:50 UTC (Thu) by mbcook (subscriber, #5517)Parent article: An installation nightmare story I have tried for years to get many printers to work under Linux, with no real success until recently. The only success I've ever had was with my HP LaserJet 2100. It has a JetDirect adapter (ethernet for those of you not familiar) and even then I never could get it to work well despite the fact that it supports PCL6. I could get it to work if it was attached, but not by ethernet. It wasn't until I got a Mac and bought a PostScript cartridge for the printer (so it would work with the Mac) that it works. So now I can print just fine from programs in Linux to my nice little printer. You'd think I'd be happy. But it's still a pain to setup. It has it's on internal print server (lpd). It understands raw text and PS and even PCL 6, so it doesn't need ghostscript filters to print things. You'd think it would be very easy to setup by editing the apropriate files in /etc. You'd be wrong. After a week of fidling I gave up and setup CUPS and now it works. I'm glad it works, and it works great, but I shouldn't have to be running CUPS to run a postscript printer that RUNS LPD. Sound support in Linux is MUCH MUCH easier than a few years ago. Almost every kind of hardware is supported under Linux and really not that hard to install if you have the driver. Except printers. With all the "winprinters" on the market, I'm not suprised if it would be hard to set one of those up without a program like CUPS, but a PS printer? We've still got some work to do.
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An installation nightmare story Posted Apr 17, 2003 3:28 UTC (Thu) by komarek (guest, #7295) [Link] Oh no, you've brought back memories of getting sound to work in the mid 1990s. AAAaaaaaaaggghhhh! Printing was easier in the mid 1990s, back when a DeskJet 500 had six buttons on it and photo printing wasn't a concern. When I recently bought a printer, I bought a black-and-white PS laser (Lexmark) and only had to copy the PPD file from the lexmark CD to the right directory in CUPS. However, I understand where the inkjet owners are coming from, given the nightmare of cheapening engineering that goes into modern inkjets.As for printers that handle PS and supply a standard lpd server, it's tough to see what could go wrong. But since there are computers involved, it's always possible for something to go wrong. =-) I'm excitedly watching as wireless networking (for multiple profiles) and ipsec approach truly easy configuration. -Paul Komarek
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