Hello, hello, hello everybody.


As long as I discovered my Epson XP-302 works on MorphOS in these two months I made some software printing experiments I want to share with you.


if someone has a working USB printer under turboprint drivers, feel free improving my testing.



Here list of software I tested:

- AmigaWriter: Prints flawlessly with no problem upto 360x360 and 360x720

20141020_192956_zps218f38e7.jpg


- APDF: Does not print on USB Printer device. its normal behaviour is creating PS file.


- FinalCalc: Freezes at load uncapable to make any calc or printing


- GraphicsPublisher: included in TurboPrint works perfectly!

20141020_175625_zpsf49a584a.jpg


- MapleV: (Courtesy of professor Peruggi) prints bigger as normal either fomulas of its internal language and math formulas it generates.

20141020_192723_zpsd086921a.jpg


- OWB: Prints only as PS file or printer. It generates the EPS program list on my printer.

20141020_152342_zps05671990.jpg


- Turbocalc: gives error pop up window as response, stating printer lacks of paper (Why?)


- VPDF: Prints almost good, but it mangled the pdf page as it prints only on upper half of paper sheet (Why?)

20141020_160355_zps62dad1ce.jpg~original


See how it is strange this output shrinked in half paper sheet

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That's for all.




[EDIT]

Check! Check! Check!

Check again the post!

I added images of the programs which print something!

Work in progress, more jpeg mages of printed pages will follow!

[ Edited by Raf_MegaByte 25.10.2014 - 04:16 ]

APDF (and similar): You can print to PS:, which is a runtime-device created by Turboprint. TP changes the PS-file to a bitmap-type and print it out. To printout from APDF -> save the ps-file to PS:
To use it you have to install Ghostscript. In Printerprefs/Ghostscript set:

Buffer 8000
Command Line: GS:bin/gs -sDEVICE=tp24 -q
Temp Dir.: RAM:

Now all progs which can print PS are able to print via TP............

Quote:

Questions:

Keeping running Ghostscript in background does the procedure going automatic?

Or perhaps must the user be forced to create the EPS file on HD and then sending it as bitmap to Ghostscript which will print file in a second time?

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If second option is true, could be possible to automate entire procedure via Pipe: (or even AReXX) making the user fell as he/she is printing on the fly without interruptions, or saving file then running Ghostscript?

[ Edited by Raf_MegaByte 21.10.2014 - 22:00 ]

Quote:

But if you have PS capable printer, then this is useless work. Just print as PS directly to your printer's device from OWB, VPDF etc. Has worked fine without any tuning with two printers here.

BTW. Final Writer has always been a reliable program to print from too.

[ Edited by jPV 22.10.2014 - 07:15 ]

Procedure runs automatically: If you print to PS: (device), TP does the rest to print out a bitmap to your printer. As written above, this makes only sense if you don't have a native Postscript-printer

Please folks, post your comments only regarding USB normal printers!

I started this thread describing behaviour of software tested working with quite normal USB printers, I am not interested in EPS at all!

Let people know how it works MorphOS with quite normal anyday hardware.

Chek my tests and make comments only if at home you expereince software works in a different way just as user JPV did.

Thanks JPV!

USB does not automatically mean no PS! Most (cheap) laserprinters are USB and have PS.......and that is also "quite normal anyday hardware".

Don't forget Zukow has released his Beta for the 'as yet unreleased' Printing system which utilises a software device USBPAR:, which prints flawlessly with my HP2500 Color Laserjet which is USB, parallel, and Network based, though using the USBPAR: device it uses the USB cable to print through.

The software has to be manually installed at present, which is a bit of a pain, but I can recommend it to anyone with suitable hardware.

It will be even better when it is incorporated into the main MorphOS system, and gets updated/installed with each new release.

Quote:

Well actually only B/N Laser printers are cheap and range around 79 euros.

But the cheaper color laserprinter costs 199 Euro, not that cheap... (for example, regarding my personal situation it is at limit of my budget)

> only B/N Laser printers [...] range around 79 euros.

9 models cheaper than that, with the cheapest one for just 17 43 EUR something:

http://www.heise.de/preisvergleich/eu/?cat=prl&xf=714_PostScript%203~720_USB&sort=p#xf_top

> the cheaper color laserprinter costs 199 Euro

19 models cheaper than that, starting at 82 EUR:

http://www.heise.de/preisvergleich/eu/?cat=prl&xf=714_PostScript%203~2899_Farblaser~720_USB&sort=p#xf_top


Edit: corrected price

[ Edited by Andreas_Wolf 25.10.2014 - 14:22 ]

Check! Check! Check!

Check again the post!

I added images of the programs which print something!

Quote:

Ehi Andreas, now this preisvergleich that's a site!
Italian prices sites don't perform international search.

Lexmark Laser Printer in England for 17,42 euro is very interesting!

And it continuing being interesting even considering that delivering printer in Italy where I live, may cost from 17 euro to 25 euro + 19 euro for adaptor of power plug cord from english standard to Italian (at least if it accepts a standard plug cord I will insert directly a normal cord in printer)

P.S. Why so outrageously cheap? Is it used item?
Other printers ranges 42, 62, 77 euro (that including transport fees are close or even exceed the price I indicated in my previous post).

Or is it model out of production and not anymore covered by warranty as being obsolete...???

Does preisvergleich site searches for used too or new hardware only???

[ Edited by Raf_MegaByte 25.10.2014 - 03:15 ]

Preisvergleich.de normaly compares only new hardware........

A hint to laserprinters (and maybe also inkjets): Best way to connect them to a MOS-machine is via ethernet (NOT USB!!).
Reason:
1) you can now use the built-in prefs (using OWB) to configure the printer or to see it's status if your printer supports that....(works of course only with direkt connection and not if you use a ethernet2USB-printerserver)
2) you may use Geit's printer.device now and can use more than one printer at the same time
3) you can define now a logical printer-device (e.g. PRTN: ), seperate for each printer, instead of PRT: for printing via network......
4) Postcript can be printed direct to PRTN: (without TP) if your printer is able to understand postscript (in my opinion the best way to print out from MOS)


[ Editiert durch Amigaharry2 25.10.2014 - 07:53 ]

One more thing: If you think about a laser-printer, be sure that full HPGL and PS is supported. So called GDI-printer and others are not usable under MOS! A build-in network-interface would also be very helpfull.....
I use a color laserprinter from HP (CP1515n) which works fine (PS and TP). The second one is a Lexmark 120n (BW), wich has HPGL, but no PS ...... PS-printout can only be done over TP - it works, but it is not the best way.... The 3rd one is an old HP6L (BW) which is connected via a parallel2ethernet printerserver - works in the same way as the Lexmark.
All 3 Printers can be adressed at same time (from different progs of course) useing 3 seperat devices (PRTN0:, PRTN1:, PRTN2: )

> now this preisvergleich that's a site!

Yes, nice indeed :-)

> Italian prices sites don't perform international search.

It's international in the sense that it includes online shops from Germany, Austria, UK and Poland.

> Lexmark Laser Printer in England for 17,42 euro is very interesting! [...] Why so
> outrageously cheap? Is it used item? [...] Or is it model out of production and not
> anymore covered by warranty as being obsolete...???

I just had a deeper look and unfortunately it's falsely classified as it's just parts for this printer, not the printer itself. The printer itself starts at 49 EUR currently, which makes 43,50 EUR the price of the cheapest B/W laser printer listed currently. Sorry for the confusion caused.

> Does preisvergleich site searches for used too or new hardware only???

New only, as Amigaharry2 said.

> Preisvergleich.de normaly compares only new hardware

Heise Preisvergleich uses the Geizhals database. Preisvergleich.de is unrelated to this. But you're right that all of them compare only prices for new hardware.

> be sure that full HPGL and PS is supported. [...] Lexmark 120n (BW) [...] has HPGL

HPGL is for HP printers only (and AFAIK not really supported on AmigaOS/MorphOS). Maybe you mean PCL instead?

Sorry - Andreas you are right, of course!

I can print from Pagestream with PRT: which works OK. Finalwriter works with PRT: but I have to specify single page or the print out takes forever. I've tried to use PS: however nothing ever prints out. Snoopium shows the file being created and then.. it gets deleted.. Good thing I have a PS printer. I wanted to experiment with GS but have been unable to.

If you have a printer which supports direct postscript, there is no need to print to PS: -device! PS: -Device is created by TurboPrint during runtime and is thought to print postscript-files to a printer which DOES NOT support postscript (but it should also work, if you have installed Ghostscript properly.....)

In your case you have to create a logical device (like PRT: ) , which let you printout directly to your printer. If you have a printer, supporting ethernet, than it is easy: Set in prefs/System/netprinter the IP of your printer, Protocol=direkt, port=9100.
Then create a new Device: Make a textfile (with ed) and insert following:

StackSize = 4096
Priority = 5
GlobVec = -1
Handler = MOSSYS:L/port-handler
Startup = "DEVICE=netprinter.device UNIT=0 TYPE=printer"
#

Save that to Sys:devs/dosdrivers and name it PRTN (or what ever you want)

Reboot your system. Now you can use PRTN: instead of PRT: to printout postscript direct to your printer. Works also with printer-servers.......
Most of network-printers allows you to open Printer-Prefs with a browser (like OWB). Insert as URL the IP oft the printer and look what will come up......

If you have only USB (and no ethernet printerserver) you need not to define a printer in Netprinter-prefs. But in Dosdriver-file you have to replace netprinter.device with your usb-device......