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TICKET ARCHIVE -> Networked Printer With Tiger
rborge - Aug 14, 2005 - 4:48 pm
I have a home network made up of 3 Win XP computers all sharing a single HP Deskjet 5550 printer. All machines connect to the printer via a Trendnet TE100-P2U1P printserver.
I purchased a Powerbook G4 with Tiger and am trying to get it to share the same printer. I downloaded the driver (OSX) from the HP website and connected the computer directly to the printer--it works fine (this is what I did with my Win computers as well). I then plugged the printer back into the network and am trying to configure the Mac onto it (through the print server).
The manual with the print server says that it will work with MAC through appletalk. The manual is ancient--it seems to be giving instructions suitable of OS9. I turned Appletalk "on" on the print server and laptop and tried to run the printer configuation utility. The computer can see the print server (sort of, only if the port that is connected to the computer is set to "laserwriter"), however, its not very intuitive how to proceed. In any event, I can't get the thing to work. I looked at the print servers web site to make sure that the firmware was up to date--it seems to be. I suspect that its a simple one or 2 clicks away. Can someone offer some advise or at least direct me to a review article etc? Thanks.
Rick
I purchased a Powerbook G4 with Tiger and am trying to get it to share the same printer. I downloaded the driver (OSX) from the HP website and connected the computer directly to the printer--it works fine (this is what I did with my Win computers as well). I then plugged the printer back into the network and am trying to configure the Mac onto it (through the print server).
The manual with the print server says that it will work with MAC through appletalk. The manual is ancient--it seems to be giving instructions suitable of OS9. I turned Appletalk "on" on the print server and laptop and tried to run the printer configuation utility. The computer can see the print server (sort of, only if the port that is connected to the computer is set to "laserwriter"), however, its not very intuitive how to proceed. In any event, I can't get the thing to work. I looked at the print servers web site to make sure that the firmware was up to date--it seems to be. I suspect that its a simple one or 2 clicks away. Can someone offer some advise or at least direct me to a review article etc? Thanks.
Rick
gsahli - Aug 14, 2005 - 5:49 pm
Hi,
I'm Greg, your Volunteer Tech. I sincerely enjoy helping people set up their Mac so they can enjoy using it. I try, through a series of short interactions with you, to get enough information to help you. Please don't expect me to solve the problem without giving me more info or not telling me when I haven't yet fixed the problem.
You have two issues:
The OS X driver provided by HP for the your printer doesn't support network/Windows printing. The driver bypasses CUPS, the unix print system that underlies OS X printing, so the only comm protocol that you get is what is written into the driver -- USB in this case. This is one example where Apple has no clout in the marketplace. On Windows, if the driver doesn't meet the interface guidelines, you get a warning if you try to install the driver. Manufacturers comply so they'll sell more printers. They don't seem to care about Macs...
There is an open source driver that uses CUPS. Install hpijs and ESP ghostscript:
http://www.linuxprinting.org/macosx/hpijs/
Now, the print server.
(You could at this point try appletalk.)
Most people want IP printing. Nearly 100% of print servers support IP>LPR, many also support IP>IPP or IP>HP Jetdirect.
Although Tiger tries to autodetect the internal printer server queue name, it fails 50% of the time. Print Servers were made for Windows - windows has no trouble finding the queue name. So, in addition to the IP address for the server you may need to find the device queue name. (LPR and IPP need a device queue name.) You may be able to get this by printing out a print server config page.
Print servers should have a fixed IP address, and it should be away from the DHCP range of the router. Example - computers 192.168.0.10-14, print server 192.168.0.200.
I hope this gets you started.
Come back with questions.
I'm Greg, your Volunteer Tech. I sincerely enjoy helping people set up their Mac so they can enjoy using it. I try, through a series of short interactions with you, to get enough information to help you. Please don't expect me to solve the problem without giving me more info or not telling me when I haven't yet fixed the problem.
You have two issues:
The OS X driver provided by HP for the your printer doesn't support network/Windows printing. The driver bypasses CUPS, the unix print system that underlies OS X printing, so the only comm protocol that you get is what is written into the driver -- USB in this case. This is one example where Apple has no clout in the marketplace. On Windows, if the driver doesn't meet the interface guidelines, you get a warning if you try to install the driver. Manufacturers comply so they'll sell more printers. They don't seem to care about Macs...
There is an open source driver that uses CUPS. Install hpijs and ESP ghostscript:
http://www.linuxprinting.org/macosx/hpijs/
Now, the print server.
(You could at this point try appletalk.)
Most people want IP printing. Nearly 100% of print servers support IP>LPR, many also support IP>IPP or IP>HP Jetdirect.
Although Tiger tries to autodetect the internal printer server queue name, it fails 50% of the time. Print Servers were made for Windows - windows has no trouble finding the queue name. So, in addition to the IP address for the server you may need to find the device queue name. (LPR and IPP need a device queue name.) You may be able to get this by printing out a print server config page.
Print servers should have a fixed IP address, and it should be away from the DHCP range of the router. Example - computers 192.168.0.10-14, print server 192.168.0.200.
I hope this gets you started.
Come back with questions.
rborge - Aug 14, 2005 - 7:30 pm
Wow, thanks for the info 
I downloaded and installed the 2 programs that you recommended although I'm not sure how to tell if the actual driver has been changed to the one I downloaded (it didn't ask me to choose a printer model # for example).
I tried apple talk again with the same dismal results. I have been using the web based utility to change the settings of the print server (which has a fixed IP address). The apple talk page looks like this:
AppleTalk Settings
AppleTalk Zone Name : *
Printer 1
Port Name : ATALK_PS-24DCB9-1
Printer Type : LaserWriter
Data Format : TBCP
Printer 2
Port Name : ATALK_PS-24DCB9-2
Printer Type : Deskjet
Data Format : TBCP
Printer 3
Port Name : ATALK_PS-24DCB9-3
Printer Type : LaserWriter
Data Format : TBCP
"printer 2" represents the port that is attached to the printer. With it set this way, the printer config utility of the Powerbook doesnt appear to see this port. If I change the "deskjet" to "laserjet" than the config app does see the port although the choices for available printers don't include my family of models.
BTW, here is the system status page:
Device Name : Print Srvr-office
System Contact :
System Location :
System Up Time : 0:10:07
Firmware Version : 6.10.17W (2004/05/03 20:18:56)
MAC Address : 00-40-01-24-DC-B9
the printer status page:
Printer 1
Manufacturer :
Model Number :
Printing Language Supported :
Current Status : Off Line
Printer 2
Manufacturer : hp
Model Number : deskjet 5550
Printing Language Supported : MLC,PCL,PML,DW-PCL,DYN,DESKJET
Current Status : Waiting for job
Printer 3
Manufacturer :
Model Number :
Printing Language Supported :
Current Status : Off Line
and the TCP/IP status page:
TCP/IP Settings
Use DHCP/BOOTP : OFF
IP Address : 192.168.1.4
Subnet Mask : 255.255.255.0
Gateway : 192.168.1.1
Thanks for the help.
Rick
I downloaded and installed the 2 programs that you recommended although I'm not sure how to tell if the actual driver has been changed to the one I downloaded (it didn't ask me to choose a printer model # for example).
I tried apple talk again with the same dismal results. I have been using the web based utility to change the settings of the print server (which has a fixed IP address). The apple talk page looks like this:
AppleTalk Settings
AppleTalk Zone Name : *
Printer 1
Port Name : ATALK_PS-24DCB9-1
Printer Type : LaserWriter
Data Format : TBCP
Printer 2
Port Name : ATALK_PS-24DCB9-2
Printer Type : Deskjet
Data Format : TBCP
Printer 3
Port Name : ATALK_PS-24DCB9-3
Printer Type : LaserWriter
Data Format : TBCP
"printer 2" represents the port that is attached to the printer. With it set this way, the printer config utility of the Powerbook doesnt appear to see this port. If I change the "deskjet" to "laserjet" than the config app does see the port although the choices for available printers don't include my family of models.
BTW, here is the system status page:
Device Name : Print Srvr-office
System Contact :
System Location :
System Up Time : 0:10:07
Firmware Version : 6.10.17W (2004/05/03 20:18:56)
MAC Address : 00-40-01-24-DC-B9
the printer status page:
Printer 1
Manufacturer :
Model Number :
Printing Language Supported :
Current Status : Off Line
Printer 2
Manufacturer : hp
Model Number : deskjet 5550
Printing Language Supported : MLC,PCL,PML,DW-PCL,DYN,DESKJET
Current Status : Waiting for job
Printer 3
Manufacturer :
Model Number :
Printing Language Supported :
Current Status : Off Line
and the TCP/IP status page:
TCP/IP Settings
Use DHCP/BOOTP : OFF
IP Address : 192.168.1.4
Subnet Mask : 255.255.255.0
Gateway : 192.168.1.1
Thanks for the help.
Rick
gsahli - Aug 14, 2005 - 8:29 pm
Rick, thanks for the feedback/info!
I think you should try IP>LPR. So in Printer Setup click ADD, click on IP printer at the top, select LPR. Enter IP address (192.168.1.4) and for queue name enter "PS-24DCB9-2" (see where I got that?). Select model finish up and try it. If it doesn't work, look in your docs for the print server, especially under unix or linux setup, and see if a queue name is mentioned.
Wait - just found trendnet in one of my usual sources and lpt1 is port 1 so I think lpt2 is port 2. They don't list server model, so it's not a sure thing.
Good luck.
I think you should try IP>LPR. So in Printer Setup click ADD, click on IP printer at the top, select LPR. Enter IP address (192.168.1.4) and for queue name enter "PS-24DCB9-2" (see where I got that?). Select model finish up and try it. If it doesn't work, look in your docs for the print server, especially under unix or linux setup, and see if a queue name is mentioned.
Wait - just found trendnet in one of my usual sources and lpt1 is port 1 so I think lpt2 is port 2. They don't list server model, so it's not a sure thing.
Good luck.
rborge - Aug 14, 2005 - 9:53 pm
I've come very close... Here are the steps that I went through:
Add new printer...Printer Browser comes up and the 3 appletalk ports on the print server are properly identified (their names appear correct and they have "appletalk" next to them). I choose port #2 and then choose the "Foomatic/hpijs" driver for my printer model...all looks well. I then go to print---the printer fires up and out comes jibberish that won't stop (I had to unplug the printer). Interestingly, I used the same driver in a USB configuration and it prints just fine. I figured that the driver for my printer was no good and downloaded "Gimp-print" drivers...they don't have one for my unit. Any thoughts? thanks
Rick
Add new printer...Printer Browser comes up and the 3 appletalk ports on the print server are properly identified (their names appear correct and they have "appletalk" next to them). I choose port #2 and then choose the "Foomatic/hpijs" driver for my printer model...all looks well. I then go to print---the printer fires up and out comes jibberish that won't stop (I had to unplug the printer). Interestingly, I used the same driver in a USB configuration and it prints just fine. I figured that the driver for my printer was no good and downloaded "Gimp-print" drivers...they don't have one for my unit. Any thoughts? thanks
Rick
gsahli - Aug 14, 2005 - 9:56 pm
I was saying DO NOT use appletalk now, and instead try IP printing > LPR
rborge - Aug 14, 2005 - 10:20 pm
Should I turn appletalk off on both the print server and the laptop?
Rick
Rick
rborge - Aug 14, 2005 - 10:36 pm
I now realize that that was a dumb question.
I did what you said--added a new "ISP" printer (the only difference from your instructions is that there was no choice for "LPR" so I chose "LPD" instead). Otherwise, I added all of the appropriate fields and also used the "Foomatic/hpijs" driver. The printer doesn't respond. The print cue keeps rolling along like its waiting for something without anything happening. I ultimately cancel the operation.
Rick
I did what you said--added a new "ISP" printer (the only difference from your instructions is that there was no choice for "LPR" so I chose "LPD" instead). Otherwise, I added all of the appropriate fields and also used the "Foomatic/hpijs" driver. The printer doesn't respond. The print cue keeps rolling along like its waiting for something without anything happening. I ultimately cancel the operation.
Rick
rborge - Aug 14, 2005 - 10:58 pm
I just tried the same setup but instead tried IPP (internet pacing protocol) instead of LPD---no response.
gsahli - Aug 14, 2005 - 11:33 pm
Sorry, LPR = LPD.
I'm running out of ideas here.
I'd suggest IP printing > HP Jetdirect, but it automatically goes to port #1.
To do HP Jetdirect via the Advanced menus, try this:
ADD in Printer Setup. Hold down the option key while clicking on More Printers. Select Advanced from the bottom of the first menu. Select AppSocket/Jetdirect from the second menu. Give it a name. enter the URI like this:
socket://192.168.1.4:9101
(the :9101 is the port address for port 2)
Choose model and finish and try it.
I'm running out of ideas here.
I'd suggest IP printing > HP Jetdirect, but it automatically goes to port #1.
To do HP Jetdirect via the Advanced menus, try this:
ADD in Printer Setup. Hold down the option key while clicking on More Printers. Select Advanced from the bottom of the first menu. Select AppSocket/Jetdirect from the second menu. Give it a name. enter the URI like this:
socket://192.168.1.4:9101
(the :9101 is the port address for port 2)
Choose model and finish and try it.
rborge - Aug 15, 2005 - 9:36 pm
Thanks for all of your efforts. I finally got it to work. I recieved the email response from the printserver tech support:
Make sure the printer(s) you are using are postscript. Otherwise, they
will not work through the print server with a MAC. I will send you
instructions by email. Try adding in the printer using the following
procedure:
1) Open the document to print, and choose File > Print.
2) Choose Add Printer from the Printer pop-up menu, and
click IP Printer in the dialog that appears.
3) Choose the LPR/LPD protocol from the Protocol pop-up
menu.
4) Type the IP address for the printer server in the
Address field.
5) Type the queue name in the Queue Name field. This will be
lp1 (parallel), lp2 (top usb) or lp3 (bottom usb).
6) Enter a name and location for the printer, so you can
identify it in the Printer pop-up menu.
7) If the Print Using pop-up menu does not display the name
of your printer's model, choose the item appropriate for
your printer from the Print Using pop-up menu, and then
select your printer in the Model Name list.
8) Click Add.
I had to use the foomatic/hpijs driver (when I used a generic postscript driver it printed jibberish). Now it works perfectly
Hope that this thread helps someone else. Anyone with an XP network, fear not!
Rick
Make sure the printer(s) you are using are postscript. Otherwise, they
will not work through the print server with a MAC. I will send you
instructions by email. Try adding in the printer using the following
procedure:
1) Open the document to print, and choose File > Print.
2) Choose Add Printer from the Printer pop-up menu, and
click IP Printer in the dialog that appears.
3) Choose the LPR/LPD protocol from the Protocol pop-up
menu.
4) Type the IP address for the printer server in the
Address field.
5) Type the queue name in the Queue Name field. This will be
lp1 (parallel), lp2 (top usb) or lp3 (bottom usb).
6) Enter a name and location for the printer, so you can
identify it in the Printer pop-up menu.
7) If the Print Using pop-up menu does not display the name
of your printer's model, choose the item appropriate for
your printer from the Print Using pop-up menu, and then
select your printer in the Model Name list.
8) Click Add.
I had to use the foomatic/hpijs driver (when I used a generic postscript driver it printed jibberish). Now it works perfectly
Hope that this thread helps someone else. Anyone with an XP network, fear not!
Rick
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