How to Network Printers for OS X and XP?

S

Scottwdw

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I recently became the proud owner of a Powerbook G4 running Tiger (10.4.5). I am now ready to tackle how I am going to print to my printers. They are an Epson Stylus 980 (with USB & Parallel ports) and an HP 2100 Laserjet (with Parallel port).

Neither printer is currently on my home network. They will be plugged into a hub on the network.

What kind of printer servers will allow both XP and OS X machines to print to them?

Thanks for all your help!

Scott
 
Any brand name print server that supports industry-standard protocols is supported by OS X. Look for LPD/LPR, Internet Printing Protocol or Jetdirect/port 9100. Because Windows users aren't quite as smart as us ;-) , many products just say TCP/IP printing, which means at least one of these is supported.

The real issue for OS X is drivers. Your Epson is supported by a Gimp-Print driver (included in Panther/Tiger), and your HP 2100 is supported by the generic HP Laserjet 6 Series Gimp-Print driver.
 
Okay, gsahli....so as long as I can get a print server to assign an IP address, I can setup these printers under OS X. There are some cheap old HP jetdirects in eBay which can do this for the Laserjet.

Forgive my Windoz brain, how does one use these Gimp-Print drivers?
 
Gimp-print Drivers are simply open source drivers written for printers whose manufacturers won't release a proper driver for OS X.

To install any supported printer (via gimp-print or otherwise) simply use the Printer Setup Utility in your Applications/Utilities folder. OS X treats the gimp print drivers as regular old print drivers.
 
Well, that's not quite right...the print server is visible, but I can't get any of the printers to print. OS10.4.5, with an Epson R1800 and a Canon i960. Neither printer is in the LPD list, and the gimps don't seem to work.

Is it possible to update the LPD printer list? Both printers work fine with either a USB or 1394 cable, but not from the print server.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Pish
 
hmm....it's hard to say. In theory, your print server should assign IP addresses to the printers. Not knowing your server, that'd be difficult to say off hand.

If it DOES assign IP addresses, then you have to add them via the IP Printer tab after clicking "Add" in Printer Setup Utility. Once it finds the printer, it'll automatically try to identify it and assign the correct driver. If not, then you'll have the chance to select it.

If none of this is the case, I'm not entirely sure how your printserver acts with the network.
 
scottwdw,
Looks like you've got a handle on it. Note about terminology - the server gets to have an IP number, not the printer. Just think of it like it's a computer acting as server. Then, the server uses a "queue name" as the printer's address on that server.

Recent Canon printers aren't supported by Gimp-Print. You can buy a Canon CUPS (network-capable) driver from www.printfab.net.
 
gsahli,

Following the directions in the lowendmac.com web page, I got my HP 2100 printer networked via the PC server. I think I'll get a USB print server for the Epson. What's a few more dollars. LOL
 
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