Re: hp4000 printers

[Peter Samuel]

On Thu, 4 Feb 1999 address@hidden wrote:

> 
> 
> > My limited experience is that files print without anything extra when
> > printed through gsview and ghostscript.  However, when I create a postscript
> > file (65 page "book") with lout and then print it downstairs on the
> > secretary's HP4M (postscript) printer by using a copy command from a dos
> > prompt, the last page is an extra page with a large TIMEOUT printed on it.
> > Your experiences may differ in how you get the file to the printer.
> 
> I get the same thing on an HP 4MP (being driven by bsd/os). Also, if I send
> two copies of the lout output to it at once they both print fine, and then the
> TIMEOUT page shows up only after the second one has printed. I have no answer
> to why....

Are these network connected printers or are the connected so some
other box via the parallel interface? If the printer itself is
connected to the network, the TCP/IP stack inside the printer should
handle and delays in receiving packets (providing they don't
completely exceed the TCP/IP timeout value). However, if the printer
is receiving data from its parallel port it may timeout sooner.

This is purely conjecture on my part, but my guess is that (from the
printer's point of view) a TCP/IP connection is more robust because the
printer knows where the information is coming from and can afford to
maintain the connection for longer because it knows it can determine
when the connection officially begins and ends.

Whereas a parallel port has no idea of when a connection begins and
ends as there are no packet headers identifying the connection as
such.

Regards
Peter
----------
Peter Samuel                                address@hidden
Technical Consultant                        or at present:
Uniq Professional Services,                 address@hidden
a division of X-Direct Pty Ltd
Phone: +61 2 9206 3410                      Fax: +61 2 9281 1301

"If you kill all your unhappy customers, you'll only have happy ones left"