PPC: USB-printer

Support knowledgebase (jsmeix_print-ppc-usb-64)

SuSE Linux PowerPC: Version 6.4

Symptom:

Normally you should get one sheet with the word Hello printed on it. As long as the printer doesn´t react, it makes normally no sense to make further configurations. It is a prerequisite that the printer is able to print ASCII-text (in this case the word Hello followed by the ASCII-character \f which initiates a form feed). Printers that are not able to print ASCII-text, are mostly so called GDI-printers, but there are printers which cannot print ASCII-text but are usable under Linux nevertheless - see the article Purchase of printers and compatibility

Cause:

Solution:

1. As user root do a
   modprobe printer
   to load the module.

2. Now you should get one sheet with the word Hello printed on it using
   echo -en "Hallo\f" >/dev/usblp0
   provided the printer is able to print ASCII-text.

3. Now you could do the printer configuration using YaST2 or SETUP - see the article Installing a printer for PowerPC

   In case of unsuccessfull attempts it is recommended to move the file /etc/printcap. Log in as root and type
   mv /etc/printcap /etc/printcap.save
   and after this please try to configure again. (With rm /etc/printcap you may delete this file.)

4. Restart the printer spooler using
   /sbin/init.d/lpd restart

5. Test the printer configuration e.g. using
   lpr /etc/fstab
   or to test color-printing e.g. use
   lpr /usr/share/ghostscript/5.50/examples/colorcir.ps

6. If the printer-test was successfull use an editor to append the command modprobe printer
   to the file /sbin/init.d/boot.local for example use
   mcedit /sbin/init.d/boot.local
   By that the printer module is loaded automatically when the system boots.

Installing a printer for PowerPC

Purchase of Printers and Compatibility