Ubuntu compatible printer

AmigaOne X1000 platform specific issues related to Linux only.
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kilaueabart
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Joined: Mon Mar 05, 2012 2:36 am

Ubuntu compatible printer

Post by kilaueabart »

My HP Officejet 6700 premium came down with a virtually incurable malady last night ('Missing or Failed Printhead'). I need to replace it post haste.

I was looking at some printers today. All except an Epson (Work Force WF-3640) for sale at the store I went to were HP's. Each HP printer came in a box on which were listed minimum requirements, which in each case were OS X10 or various Windows OSes. None of them said linux was OK.

I wonder if that means that these printers would be totally impervious to all the hplip and cups stuff? How can I find out, or otherwise find a printer that works with PPC Ubuntu?
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tonyw
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Re: Ubuntu compatible printer

Post by tonyw »

One way is to check that the printer can display work encoded in Postscript (2 or 3). Most every Linux app can output in Postscript, and you can then use it with AmigaOS4 also.
cheers
tony
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kilaueabart
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Joined: Mon Mar 05, 2012 2:36 am

Re: Ubuntu compatible printer mysteries

Post by kilaueabart »

tonyw wrote:One way is to check that the printer can display work encoded in Postscript (2 or 3). Most every Linux app can output in Postscript, and you can then use it with AmigaOS4 also.
I wasn't confident about finding an affordable multifunction (important) Postscript printer, but I will probably continue looking, for reasons discussed below.

I found out that HPLIP said that it had drivers that would work with virtually any HP printer, including HP OfficeJet Pro 8710, which was on sale Sunday. So I took the chance.

I downloaded the HPLIP file in question, and ended up with Downloads/hplip-3.16.9, a folder containing 297 mysterious items, plus Downloads/hplip-3.16.9.run, a "shell script." (But then, why ".run" instead of ".sh"?) I am not sure whether there is anything I can or should do with the big hplip-3.16.9 folder. I am sure it does no good sitting in Downloads.

Meanwhile, I set up a printer from System > Printers, and ultimately ended up with two! Namely, OfficeJet8710 and HP_OfficeJet_Pro_8710. Running a test page from the former gives me a perfect printout, using hp-officejet_pro_k8600.ppd, version 3.16.3 as driver (Make and Model: HP Officejet Pro k8600, hpcups 3.16.3).

A test page from the latter printer, still perfect, uses driver hp-officejet_pro_8710.ppd, and Make and Model: HP Officejet Pro 8710, hpcups 3.16.9.

I now have an HP icon in that top line of the screen. Clicking it brings up HP Device Manager, then Device Information, which agrees that printer-make-and-model are HP Officejet Pro 8710, hpcups 3.16.9. But lpoptions_file_data (=?) gets "([Errno 2] No such file or directory: '/home/bart/.cups/lpoptions'). Should I be concerned about that?

Here is my concern: If I "Print Test Page" from HP Device Manager, I get the horrible smearing that I always got with my previous attempts at color prints from Ubuntu. And indeed printing colored documents still does the same. Why, I wonder, do test pages from System > Printers keep all the colors where they belong, without adding any new ones, but any other printing comes out ugly?

Fortunately the printer driver in the Amiga OS4 side still works perfectly, when I remember to take the time to set Preferences > Printer Graphics (sp?) properly. My Scribus output goes to a flash drive, and then to OS4.
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xeno74
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Joined: Fri Mar 23, 2012 7:58 am

Re: Ubuntu compatible printer

Post by xeno74 »

Hi Kilaueabart,

Could you please test the 4.9 alpha kernels?

I cross compiled them and I don't know if these boot.

Thanks in advance,

Christian
http://www.amigalinux.org
http://www.supertuxkart-amiga.de

Running Linux on AmigaONEs can require some tinkering.
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