Gnumeric w/network printer

[Warren Block]

On Sat, 26 Jun 2010, Robert wrote:

> I have been having a problem for awhile and I need some help with it. I
> have a Samsung network printer SCX-4725FN. It is a postscript printer.
>
> I am running FreeBSD 8 stable.
>
> FreeBSD asus64.shasta204.local 8.1-PRERELEASE FreeBSD 8.1-PRERELEASE
> #34: Fri Jun 25 21:17:41 PDT 2010
> root at asus64.shasta204.local:/usr/obj/usr/src/sys/GENERIC  amd64
>
> I have a simple printcap file:
>
> lp|samsung|Samsung SCX-4725N:\
>          :lp=:rp=samsung:rm=192.168.2.2:\
>          :sh:mx#0:\
>          :sd=/var/spool/samsung:\
>          :lf=/var/log/printer.log:

rp should be the name of the queue on the printer.  Some printers have 
a queue named "raw" that doesn't do any translation on incoming print 
jobs while other queues translate things like lf to cr.  Some printers 
just ignore the queue name.

rm should be the printer's DNS hostname, but since it prints it's 
probably resolvable.

> The printer works fine with most all of the programs I use with the
> exception of Gnumeric. If I try to print a spreadsheet, I get dozens of
> pages with between one and four lines of garbled information.

First guess: the printer's auto language switching is misidentifying the 
Gnumeric input as text.  There may be a menu setting on the printer to 
make it accept everything as PS, or even a different queue to use.

Second guess: the printer's PS engine can't quite handle the PS output 
of Gnumeric.  Print to a .ps file, run that through ps2ps, and see if 
the result prints.