Canon printer and TurboPrint

[Polytropon]

On Fri, 29 May 2009 01:09:45 -0700, perryh at pluto.rain.com wrote:
> CUPS is a PITA, but it may nevertheless be the "least bad"
> solution if one is stuck with a junk printer.

Don't get me wrong, please: I do not like CUPS, and I don't
use it (I prefer apsfilter). CUPS requires too much dependencies
that I don't have any use for.

But regarding its alternatives... there are none. Those "modern"#
printers can usually only get to work using CUPS, because apsfilter
doesn't support the "most modern" printers, has no support for
PPD files (as far as I know, never needed it), and the printers
itself cannot be made confirming to standards.



> Decent, network-capable, PostScript printers do not have to be
> costly. 

I didn't say they have. It's always a question of the printers
quality (how good it works, how long it works) and the amount
of toner they come with; for inkjet stuff, criteria are similar
(allthough I don't know an inkjet printer with PS and network).
Even used stuff, therefore cheap, is still of high quality.



> I bought a Samsung ML-2571N at Fry's for something like
> $60(US) a year or two ago.  All I had to do was plug it into the
> network, add its IP address to /etc/hosts, add a suitable entry
> to /etc/printcap, and lpr "just works".  No need to bother with
> CUPS.

Done the same with HP Laserjet 4000 duplex - it even received
an IP automatically via DHCP, so I just had to "arp -a" and
edit /etc/hosts and /etc/printcap. The lpq / lprm tools seemed
to operate on the printer server inside the printer.



> For color, I got a
> Xerox printer or a few hundred US$ a while back.  Like the Samsung
> it has PostScript, networking, and lpd support built in; another
> pair of /etc/hosts and /etc/printcap entries and lpr "just works"
> for it also.

I'll note this for the upcoming topic of getting a color laser
printer some times in the future. :-)


-- 
Polytropon
>From Magdeburg, Germany
Happy FreeBSD user since 4.0
Andra moi ennepe, Mousa, ...