Epson Stylus C86 and apsfilter

[Ted Mittelstaedt]

I have an Epson C84.  If you don't get anything usable from
the mailing list, e-mail me separately and I'll send you a
writeup of how I got mine working using lpr+ghostscript+gimp print.

Be aware that gimp-print really sucks the CPU when it's
translating from Postscript into Epson-speak.  A 1.5Ghz or
preferably better CPU is really a requirement unless you have
all day to print a page.

Ted

>-----Original Message-----
>From: owner-freebsd-questions at freebsd.org
>[mailto:owner-freebsd-questions at freebsd.org]On Behalf Of Kep Woof
>Sent: Sunday, August 07, 2005 12:51 PM
>To: questions at freebsd.org
>Subject: Epson Stylus C86 and apsfilter
>
>
>Hi,
>
>i needed a printer so i checked linuxprinting.org and thought an epson
>c86 would be a good idea.  i'm trying to set it up using usb.
>
>now i've googled off and on for a few days now, and seen that people
>have strong opinions as to whether they use CUPS or not.  i tried a
>few printcap recipies that i wasn't sure how to use, and after more
>reading saw that the recommended driver for my printer was gimp-print.
> ideally i'd like something simple, that i can later use with samba,
>so i was thinking along the lines of lpr or lprng.
>
>so more fiddling, and i've got apsfilter and ghostscript-gnu-nox11
>installed, and choose the closest driver from the nice apsfilter menu
>- epson stylus c80.  i fill in the other details, and it seems fine -
>/dev/ulpt0 & a4 - but when i try the test page i get lines of text on
>the paper as follows:
>
><<?<?
><<<<<<<
><?<<
><<??<<
><?<
><<<<<<<<
><<??<<<<?<
>
>for pages and pages.  i've not let it finish, just turned off the
>printer, to save ink.  there didn't seem much point in letting it go
>on.  i've tried with other drivers from the same section, but with no
>joy.
>
>here's the last thing apsfilter says before it starts printing 
>the <<?<<'s:
>
>Printing Test page using:
>gs -q -dBATCH -dNOPAUSE -dPARANOIDSAFER                 -dSAFER
>-r360x360 -sDEVICE=ijs -sPAPERSIZE=a4           
>-sProcessColorModel=DeviceRGB
>-sIjsParams='Quality=360sw,ImageType=1,MediaType=Plain'
>-sDeviceManufacturer=EPSON -sDeviceModel='escp2-c80'            
>-sIjsServer=ijsgimpprint -dIjsUseOutputFD 
>-sOutputFile='/tmp/apsfilter1514/test_page.aps' setup/test.ps
>
>from dmesg:
>
>ulpt0: EPSON USB Printer, rev 1.10/1.00, addr 2, iclass 7/1
>ulpt0: using bi-directional mode
>
>i've tried running escputil.  it moves the print head and displays the
>following..
>
>#escputil -i -u -r /dev/ulpt0
>
>Escputil version 4.2.7, Copyright (C) 2000-2001 Robert Krawitz
>Escputil comes with ABSOLUTELY NO WARRANTY; for details type 
>'escputil -l'
>This is free software, and you are welcome to redistribute it
>under certain conditions; type 'escputil -l' for details.
>
>Read from printer timed out
>
>Read from printer timed out
>Cannot parse output from printer
>
>when i ran it a second time it just repeated the second message:
>
>Cannot parse output from printer
>
>i've tried with both gnu and afpl ghostscript, for x11 and nox11 on 2
>different machines.  the printer does work ok from windows, so i guess
>that rules out cable problems.  i've read loads about printers this
>weekend, and am completely confused.  does anyone have any ideas as to
>how i can go about properly diagnosing and fixing this problem?
>
>thanks in advance for any help or suggestions.
>
>
>kep
>
>ps.  please cc on any replies as i'm not on the list.  thanks!
>_______________________________________________
>freebsd-questions at freebsd.org mailing list
>http://lists.freebsd.org/mailman/listinfo/freebsd-questions
>To unsubscribe, send any mail to 
>"freebsd-questions-unsubscribe at freebsd.org"
>