Host Based HP-PCL 5 Printing

[Brian K. White]

On 4/18/2012 3:41 PM, Mike Schwartz wrote:
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: filepro-list-bounces+mschw=athenet.net at lists.celestial.com
>> [mailto:filepro-list-bounces+mschw=athenet.net at lists.celestial.com] On
>> Behalf Of Brian K. White
>> Sent: Wednesday, April 18, 2012 2:18 PM
>> To: filepro-list at lists.celestial.com
>> Subject: Re: Host Based HP-PCL 5 Printing
>>
>> No it's not doing what you think, and no what it is doing is not new.
>> Note the comma as Ken said.
>>
>> --
>> bkw
>
>      Are there any laser printers (HP or otherwise) that have network
> interfaces (cat-5 connection; IE, HP 4000N) that are known not work with
> filePro?
>
>      Generally I've found that if a laser printer (not an inkjet printer) has
> a network interface, then it has a better chance of working with filePro
> than most USB printers.
>
> Mike Schwartz

That is in no way a safe assumption.

Many cheap printers have network interfaces and only speak a binary 
protocol that fp can't generate. I have a brother multifunction ink jet 
and a samsung multifunction color laser at home that are both like that.
Built in network, only print via special driver. Both can print from 
linux only because they both have linux drivers and cups will accept 
postscript and print via the driver. But I can't print from filepro to 
either one unless I specially configure cups to be able to convert pcl 
the way it converts postscript. It doesn't do the out of the box you 
have to add the ghostpcl program and tell cups how and when to use it.
I couldn't print from windows filepro to either of those printers 
without doing essentially the same thing using windows ghostpcl and 
ghostscript binaries as per that wordperfect printing site I referenced 
before.

The rule is the same as always. pcl1 to pcl5, not host based.
Any model I say that works will likely not even be available in 6 months 
and you can't pick a similar looking model with a similar model number 
and expect that to work. laserjet 1000 1300 1320 2040 are all good, 1015 
2015 are not, yet don't think the 15 or 5 is a clue because the 3015 is 
also good.

Any model I say will only be suitable for people who print as much or as 
little as that model is good for.

We have a 1320n, 3015, and a 3600dn here that all work.
the 1320n is probably too small and cheap for a reasonably busy office 
but it's probably ok for a single person. The 3600dn is a medium sized 
color laser and probably completely impractical for most uses. The 3015 
isn't sold any more and doesn't have network.

The model numbers that work change all the time. Consult the specs. If 
the specs don't provide either explicit certainty or enough clues to 
deduce what they don't say explicitly, consult linuxprinting.org and 
look for "printer can print plain text" and/or google in general for 
other people to have asked the same question on various forums and 
possibly received an answer from someone who happens to own one.
For instance, the laserjet 1320 entry:
http://www.openprinting.org/printer/HP/HP-LaserJet_1320

Note that linuxprinting.org is just a database of user contributed info.
It doesn't list every printer. Even for printers it does list, not all 
info about the printer is guaranteed to be complete. For instance the 
model Smitty mentioned is in there but it doesn't say that it can print 
text. It doesn't say it can't either.
http://www.openprinting.org/printer/HP/HP-LaserJet_Pro_P1606dn
It only says it installs automatically and works fine using the foo2zjs 
driver. Well zjs is not plain text, and nothing else in that entry 
suggests that this printer might be capable of printing plain text or 
have it's own pcl engine built in. It might or it might not. That 
particular entry only said it does something, it doesn't say that it 
doesn't do something. We know that this printer does print text and pcl, 
but just no one who posted to linuxprinting.org happened to notice or 
report that fact yet. You or I could go in there and update that now 
that we know it.

The model Smitty has works simply because it does both host based AND 
pcl5e and in this case the manufacturer specs actually said so.
Languages said "host based, pcl5e" not "host based pcl5e".
That's what "note the comma" meant.

-- 
bkw