[plug] printers (yet again)

[Kev]

Bernd,

I tried to reply to you off-list, but for some reason it's being 
rejected for having a virus  :-(  I checked again at my end, with the 
latest update of ClamAV and it appears clean.  I don't have Windows on 
this box, though there is a Windoze box on this network.

Kev



-------- Original Message --------
Subject: printers (again)
Date: Fri, 09 Dec 2005 15:52:02 +0800
From: Kev <kdownes at tpg.com.au>
To: Bernd Felsche <bernie at innovative.iinet.net.au>

G'day Bernd

Firstly, thanx for attempting to deal with me.  I don't think you
realize quite how thick many of us really are - or me at least :-) .
I've entertained the printer purchase idea several times, an each time I
end up shelving it because I simply don't have a clue what I'm doing or
reading.  Having 5 kidz and a single income means that I can't afford to
buy the wrong thing.

With Windoze, you buy a printer, plug it in, shove the CD into the drive
and that's about it.  In Linux nothing works that way, so I'm VERY
tentative about buying hardware, coz I'm afraid I'll end up with a
useless "white elephant".  More-so when contemplating a $900(ish) printer.

I've only recently (this week) had the basic idea of poscript explained
to me, hence I thought that all I'd need was a genuine PS printer and
I'd be in like Flynn.  Alas and alac!!  :-(   From the info on the net
about this Samsung printer (below) ...

"PostScript3(PPD) (Windows 95/98/Me/NT4.0/2000/XP, Various Linux OS, Mac
OS 8.6~9.2/10.1~10.3), Samsung proprietary driver (Windows
95/98/Me/NT4.0/2000/XP)"

I *think* I read that there is a PPD for linux, but not _all_ linuxes.
I'm using Xandros - a Debian derivitive.  Is that what you sus from the
above?  Does this mean, in essence, that a suitable PPD might as well be
called "a suitable printer driver"?  I know it's different, but from MY
point (I need a way of thinking about it so that can understand what's
happening here) of view, I still need the right one for my Linux distro
- is that right?  I gather that a Windoze PDD won't work on a Linux system.

Sorry to do this to you, but you're the only person who responded to my
call.  I do appreciate it.

Btw, here are the links to the 2 printers which interest me.  If I was
still in the evil empire I'd choose the Samsung.  I promise not to hang
you on the outcome, but would you see either of these as viable for use
as network printers in a mixed Linux/Windoze network.  I intended to use 
PS and as you can tell already, it needs to be pretty easy to set up and 
use.

http://www.samsung.com/au/products/printerfaxcopysolutions/printerfaxcopysolutions/clp_550n.asp
http://www.brother.com.au/Products/Printer_productoverview.asp?ProductID=143&SubCategoryID=5

Thanx
Kev








Bernd Felsche wrote:
> Kev <kdownes at tpg.com.au> writes:
> 
>>Bernd Felsche wrote:
> 
> 
>>>The PPD specifies the non-generic printer capabilities. A PPD is
>>>really only useful with a Postscript printer.
>>>
>>>Although there might be some "cheating" possible with Windows (or
>>>other systems) doing the rasterisation and just dumping bitmaps to
>>>the printer, the multi-platform support indicates that Postscript is
>>>internal to the printer.
> 
> 
>>Please forgive me, but I'm still not sure of what you're saying.  Does 
>>the above mean that the particular printer IS most likely a "real" 
>>postscript printer. and therefore most likely to be OK with Linux?  I 
>>gathered from your 1st sentence that it's NOT a "real" postscript 
>>printer, but then it appears to me that in the 2nd sentence you're 
>>saying it is.
> 
> 
> A real Postscript printer will come with a PPD to tell the operating
> system which features are available on the printer.
> 
> Without the PPD, the operating system (print subsystem) can only use
> an inbuilt "generic" PPD which means that you won't be able to
> exploit anything "invented" in the past 10 or 20 years. :-)
> 
> I hope that illuminates.

-- 
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Kev Downes
kdownes at tpg.com.au  ph 0404 7 0808 2
We use and recommend Xandros 3.0.2
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