[plug] Samsung ML2010 printer problem

[Bret Busby]

On Sat, 15 Sep 2007, Bret Busby wrote:

> 
> On Fri, 14 Sep 2007, Lance Duivenbode wrote:
>
>> Date: Fri, 14 Sep 2007 16:54:16 +0800
>> From: Lance Duivenbode <lance at duivenbode.id.au>
>> Reply-To: plug at plug.org.au
>> To: plug at plug.org.au
>> Subject: Re: [plug] Samsung ML2010 printer problem
>> 
>> Hi Bret,
>> 
>> Just a quick question - is this printer labelled as using GDI? I've got a
>> Samsung ML-1210 and it says it works perfectly with Linux. However, after
>> purchasing it I discovered it was a GDI printer (not sure what that is but 
>> I
>> think it's a custom print protocol) so I couldn't use standard CUPS printer
>> drivers.
>> 
>> The only way I could get it to work was to download the Linux CUPS drivers
>> from the Samsung support site which included a Postscript to GDI filter 
>> that
>> was run by CUPS when printing occurred (this is part of the driver so you
>> don't need to set it up).
>> 
>> After that it worked (and still does 5 years later) perfectly.
>> 
>> Lance
>> 
>> 
>
> Hello, Lance.
>
> The printer is not labelled as a GDI printer.
>
> Also, GDI printers generally have little or no RAM. They usually work 
> directly from MS Windows, and all the processing and memory is done by MS 
> Windows, and not by the printer.
>
> This printer appearently has 8MB of RAM, and it supposedly uses the Samsung 
> SPL (Samsung Printer Language) language emulation, or is supposed to be 
> compatible with such emulation.
>
> GDI printers, from what I have seen, are not specifid as being at all 
> compatible with Linux, but, are specified as being compatible only with MS 
> Windows (and not Mac OS's either, I think), and not with DOS or anything 
> other than MS Windows.
>
> I believe that GDI stood for Graphic Display Interface (but, I could be 
> wrong), and GDI printers were a cheap plugin for MS Windows, as the GDI 
> printers did no processing of their own, all of the processing being done by 
> the MS Windows graphics, thus making the GDI printers cheap, and, very 
> restricted in compatibility (only compatible with MS Windows).
>
> This printer is specifid as being compatible with various Linux 
> distributions, including Debian, and with Mac OS 10.3.
>
> So, it appears to be definitely not a GDI printer.
>
> --
> Bret Busby
> Armadale
> West Australia
> ..............
>
>

Having said all of that, now there is the following.

Today, instead of following the menu's Applications->System 
Tools->Printers, which took me to the foomatic printers manager, 
I followed the menu's Desktop->Administration->Printing, which led to a 
window that had the title of just "Printers" (and no Help->About, to 
identify the utility). In that window, is an icon with the label "New 
Printer", and, in following the instructions for that, it installed the 
printer as a GDI printer. The test page printed from that utility, after 
installation, had the heading Foomatic-GUI Printer Test Page

So, the printer now works, "but not as we know it".

I have printed documents from different applications (and, Open Office 
2.0 needs for the File menu to be fixed, so it doesn't cause a system to 
freeze when the File menu is selected), and the printer seems to be 
working okay.

I think that perhaps there is something wrong with the foomatic utility, 
in that, in following the first menu's path as mentioned above, the 
utility comes up with a different driver, and, shows that it will 
install the driver to get the printer going, but does not install the 
printer driver, or otherwise get the printer installed.

And it appears that a printer that appears to not be a GDI printer, is 
installed as a GDI printer, and it works.

?

--
Bret Busby
Armadale
West Australia
..............

"So once you do know what the question actually is,
  you'll know what the answer means."
- Deep Thought,
   Chapter 28 of Book 1 of
   "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy:
   A Trilogy In Four Parts",
   written by Douglas Adams,
   published by Pan Books, 1992

....................................................