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[sindi keesan <keesan AT sdf.lonestar.org>]

I think linux simply does not like this printer or perhaps this printer 
port.  To use wp with lp0 on a 2-printer-port system, I tried:
insmod parport_pc io=0x3bc
and then wp and print and I got the same results as
cat document > /dev/lp0  - some noises as if paper were trying to load and 
then blinking paper light.

I will try lp1 instead.  The 'lp1 out of paper' appears to mean that 
nothing is plugged into that port.  We just plugged in a second printer 
to lp1, dot-matrix with the paper out light one and one sheet of 
non-fanfold paper in it.

rmmod lp0, rmmod parport_pc, insmod parport_pc (letting it do both ports), 
insmod lp, dot-matrix printer on lp1:  cat document > /dev/lp1 prints. 
So does wp, print - on lp1.

But the dot-matrix HP 672 on lp1 (cat document > /dev/lp1) still just 
loads a sheet of paper and stops with a blinking paper out light, but if I 
press the paper button it eventually does print.  Maybe something is wrong 
with the printer but it seems to work okay in DOS.

A solution to my particular problem would seem to be putting the inkjet 
printer on lp0 and the dot-matrix on lp1 and printing with wp or cat 
document > /dev/lp1, and using lp0 (inkjet) as the default DOS printer.
I would also need to set up for lpr to work on lp1 not lp0.  Do I need to 
use lpr to print mail from Pine via Kermit while online at a shell 
account?  In DOS I just type Y and it prints.

But anyone else even with two linux-compatible printers on two ports is 
going to have to use the second port with lp unless the line near the end 
of 'wp' is modified.  Can it be changed to set the device to lp0 instead 
of to the last printer port found?  The other option is to insmod 
parport_pc only for the printer port you want to use in linux if it is not 
the last one.

The confusing part is that in DOS the default port is the first (lp0) and 
in the BL 'wp' it is the last (lp1 or even lp2 if you have three ports).
Perhaps wp could be changed to print to the first port by default.

> So wp uses the last printer rather than lp0.  How would I change it to use 
> lp0 instead of lp1 where I have two lps?  Can I simply edit it to read
> device=lp0 ???
>
> In cases of two parports, could you write a script that would choose the 
> parport that is NOT 'out of paper' to print to?

Out of paper means not plugged in, in my case.

> I still don't know why when I cat document > /dev/lp0 that will not print.
> The lights flash and I hear some noises.  DOS prints as lpt1.  Linux does not 
> even load paper - yellow paper light is blinking.  I even tried
> cat document |dos2unix - d  (it is a linux document to start with).

Sometimes when I press the paper button it will print a page.

Sindi