Connect an old parallel HP LaserJet 6P printer to MacBook Pros (MacOS X 10.5.8 and 10.8.2)?

On 1/26/2013 9:41 PM PT, JF Mezei typed:

a reboot! However, it doesn't always print correctly it seems. It can be
full, partially, or none (offline it says -- reboots or reconnecting USB
cable seems to fix it). Oh well.

If you don't have any additional memory on your printer, this could
explain why you can only print simpler pages.

With Postscript the PPD file used by the software that generates the
postscript will sually contain the RAM available and there are some
trucks one can use to reduce memory required (such as breaking up one
large image into multiple smaller ones). This was often the case in the
early days of laser printers, not sure anyone bothers anymore.

Hmm. Even a simple "test" word in TextEdit? FYI, I had to reboot MBP
again to make the printer work again. Disconnecting USB cable isn't
enough. Sheesh.
--
"In a battle between elephants, the ants get squashed." --Thailand
/\___/\ Ant(Dude) @ http://antfarm.ma.cx (Personal Web Site)
/ /\ /\ \ Ant's Quality Foraged Links: http://aqfl.net
| |o o| |
\ _ / If crediting, then use Ant nickname and AQFL URL/link.
( ) If e-mailing, then axe ANT from its address if needed.
Ant is currently not listening to any songs on this computer.

On 1/26/2013 11:41 PM PT, JF Mezei typed:

FYI. I have had two pages that came out with these codes on a new page
before printing good results so far:

%!PS-Adobe-3.0 Query
userdict(\004)cvn{}put
%%?BeginFeatureQuery:
*?InstalledMemor


This is postscript code.

Your computer attempted to send postscript. Then perhaps realised it was
not compatible and switched to PCL.

You should really specify in your queue setup that this is a PCL only
printer.

Weird. I told its driver to use non-Postscript. Maybe it is a left over
even though its software printer queue was empty? Oh well, we'll see
when I fiddle more later today. So far, my client is happy with the old
MBP and this printer. We'll see how it goes for the newer MBP later
today so stay tuned!
--
"If someone makes you angry, I think the thing to do is tie them down to
the ground, cover them in honey, and then release a swarm of killer ants
on them. That way, you can hit them over and over again and say, 'Hey!
I'm just trying to help!' and they can't really get mad at you." --R.M.
Weiner
/\___/\ Ant(Dude) @ http://antfarm.ma.cx (Personal Web Site)
/ /\ /\ \ Ant's Quality Foraged Links: http://aqfl.net
| |o o| |
\ _ / If crediting, then use Ant nickname and AQFL URL/link.
( ) If e-mailing, then axe ANT from its address if needed.
Ant is currently not listening to any songs on this computer.

JF Mezei wrote:

a reboot! However, it doesn't always print correctly it seems. It can be
full, partially, or none (offline it says -- reboots or reconnecting USB
cable seems to fix it). Oh well.

If you don't have any additional memory on your printer, this could
explain why you can only print simpler pages.


With Postscript the PPD file used by the software that generates the
postscript will sually contain the RAM available and there are some
trucks one can use to reduce memory required (such as breaking up one
large image into multiple smaller ones). This was often the case in the
early days of laser printers, not sure anyone bothers anymore.

We've already established that this printer doesn't have Postscript
(which is an optional SIMM in the HP LaserJet 6P, and is not installed).

The driver must be using PCL to print anything. As far as I recall, PCL
only uses the memory in the printer for downloading fonts and enlarging
the rastering buffer, so less memory should only result in slower
printing, not an inability to print certain jobs.

--
David Empson

On 1/27/2013 10:36 AM PT, Ant typed:

Weird. I told its driver to use non-Postscript. Maybe it is a left over
even though its software printer queue was empty? Oh well, we'll see
when I fiddle more later today. So far, my client is happy with the old
MBP and this printer. We'll see how it goes for the newer MBP later
today so stay tuned!

Weird! I did not have to install any third party drivers or anything. It
just worked perfectly today. The only thing difference from Monday night
was powering off and on that MBP. Maybe it needed to be rebooted during
Monday night's setup. The printout results were similiar so far. We'll
see... I did tell my client to expect possible problems from the old
printer that I ran to including reboots if printer doesn't work. He's OK
with that (I'm not since I hate rebootings :P). Thanks all if this is
over.
--
"None preaches better than the ant, and she says nothing." --Ben Franklin
/\___/\ Ant(Dude) @ http://antfarm.ma.cx (Personal Web Site)
/ /\ /\ \ Ant's Quality Foraged Links: http://aqfl.net
| |o o| |
\ _ / If crediting, then use Ant nickname and AQFL URL/link.
( ) If e-mailing, then axe ANT from its address if needed.
A song is/was playing on this computer: Kavinsky - Nightcall (Dustin
N'Guyen Remix)