Baslinux mailing list

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

On Wed, 7 Dec 2005, David Moberg wrote:

> On 12/6/05, sindi keesan <keesan AT sdf.lonestar.org> wrote:
> > I print with cat and gs to > /dev/lp0, with no printcap.  Steven explained
> > how to use print filters to print from CLI.  Insmod lp, and run the script
> > printdj filename.pdf (or .ps), which consists of
> > deskjet.filter < $1 > /dev/lp0
> >
> > I have not figured out how to just use CLI gs for this:
> > gs -q -dSAFER -sDEVICE=deskjet -r300x300 -sPAPERSIZE=letter filename.ps
> > -sOutputFile=- - > /dev/lp0 ????
>
> gs -q -dSAFER -sDEVICE=deskjet -r300x300 -sPAPERSIZE=letter
> -sOutputFile=- - < PDF_OR_PS_FILE_NAME > /dev/lp0
>
> (all one line)
>
> This assumes that deskjet.filter contains:
>
> gs -q -dSAFER -sDEVICE=deskjet -r300x300 -sPAPERSIZE=letter
> -sOutputFile=- -
>
> (again, all one line)
>
> David

The reason this did not work last time was that my HP 870cse (one of the 
rare HP 600 dpi printers that works in DOS/linux, unlike 822 and 720 for 
which netpbm's program is still buggy) requires pushing the paper feed 
button (the yellow light is blinking) before it will start to print.
A 600 series printer has the same problem.

I have made a script 'printdj' to print with gs to deskjet at 300 dpi.
The -dFirstPage and -dLastPage work with pdf not ps files (at least that 
was so in gs 5.10).

gs -q -dSAFER -sDEVICE=deskjet -r300x300 -sPAPERSIZE=letter -sOutputFile=- 
- -dFirstPage=$2 -dLastPage=$3 < $1 > /dev/lp0
(all on one line)

I type

printdj filename.pdf 1 2

and it prints pages 1 and 2 at 300 dpi.

Then I tried to make a script that lets me specify resolution: 
(150, 300 or 600)

gs -q -dSAFER -sDEVICE=deskjet -r$2x$2 -sPAPERSIZE=letter -sOutputFile=- - 
-dFirstPage=$3 -dLastPage=$4 < $1 > /dev/lp0
(all on one line).

But

gs filename.pdf 150 3 4

printed four pages before I hit the power button.  Why?  Is the order of 
$1 $2 etc. in the script important?

I think if you don't specify page numbers it will print everything but I
have not checked this because this script is not yet working right with 
resolution AND page numbers.

For now I have made printdj (300) and printdjd (draft, 150) and will make 
printdj6 (600, to print 200 dpi scanned documents that idiots send me 
using their scanners as 'pdf machines' on low resolution, which are not 
readable when printed at 300 dpi.)

Conceivably you could change deskjet to $5 if you want to use different 
printers with this script, and the 0 in lp0 to $6 to use different printer 
ports, and the letter to $7 to use legal paper, but I hope to end up with 
just one printer and use one size of paper.  And I can't get resolution 
even working with this script.

You can also add before this line

insmod parport
insmod parport_pc
insmod lp

If they are already loaded I am told 'A module named parport already 
exists', but this takes up no extra time and I don't know how to write a 
clever little script to check first. (I could also remove the modules like 
I do with aic7xxx so it will find whatever scsi device I just plugged in 
when I insmod it).


The HP 870cse printed about 4 ppm (black), streaky.  It has been a few 
months.  Unlike a laser printer (or my Epson inkjet) there is no warmup.

I don't like inkjets.  I print translation jobs on the dot-matrix, they 
look better and are not water soluble.  But I hope to use this script or 
scripts on the 600 dpi laser printer.

Is there any great advantage to ftp'ing ps files via ethernet instead of 
using gs to send them via parport, other than freeing up the parport?  I 
think ethernet (10Mbit) is about 10 times as fast.  A 300 dpi scanned page 
of pbm is about 1.2MBytes (10 Mbits), about 1 sec via ethernet, I think, 
and via parport maybe 10 sec.  The printer does 16 ppm, or 4 sec per page, 
of regular text, probably takes 2-3 times as long to print a scanned page, 
or 10 sec/page, which is most of what I print.  Do text files print faster 
than image files of the same pixel density?  The printer has built-in PCL 
and PS fonts.  I have no idea how to print text with them.

Please correct my figures or arithmetic, Steven.

I don't think my laser printer can store many pages in its 10MB RAM (I can 
up it to 16MB eventually) so there is little point in sending large files 
faster than they can print.  No hard drive in this one.

16 ppm is probably advantageous when printing multiple copies of pages.