Printing to a networked non-postcript printer in Classic

Aug 11, '03 09:28:00AM

Contributed by: Winston

Many inkjets (and non-PostScript laser printers) can be networked in OS 10.2.x using ESP Ghostscript and one of the driver packages from the Mac OS X page at LinuxPrinting.org, and using either a cheap ($50) parallel to ethernet print server, or even a router that has a built-in parallel port print server.

I could not, however, figure out how to print from Classic to a networked inkjet, since Classic uses the OS 9 printing system, not the CUPS system used in OS 10.2.x. Trying to print directly from Classic gives pages of junk printing. But I found at least a partial solution (note: this assumes you have already set up the printer in OS X):

Summary

  1. Set up the inkjet in Classic as a LaserWriter 8 LPR printer using the OS 9 Desktop Printer Utility.
  2. In Classic, print to a PostScript file instead of to the printer.
  3. Drag the PostScript file from your desktop to the OS X Print Center. It will print on the default printer.
Read the rest of the hint for a detailed version of these instructions...

To set up the printer:

  1. Open the OS 9 Desktop Printer Utility (should be in Applications (OS 9)>Utilitiies folder)
  2. From the File menu select "New..." . You should get a window titled "New Desktop Printer" that says "With:" "LaserWriter 8". If you had other PostScript drivers installed in OS 9/Classic, select "LaserWriter 8".
  3. In the "Create Desktop..." section select "Printer (LPR)" and click "OK"
  4. A window will open titled "Untitled 1" with selections for:Click on "Change..." for the "LPR Printer Selection" section.
  5. In the window that pops up:You will go back to the window from item 4. Click "Create"
  6. A window will pop up that says "Specify a name for this printer." Enter a name like "Deskjet 855c". Be sure to use a different name from any you used in OS X. Click "OK". The window from step four should now be titled with the printer name you just entered.
  7. Quit Desktop Printer Utility
To print:
  1. Use Page Setup to select the printer name you put in in item 7. Do not use one of the OS X selections (these will crash your program and maybe crash Classic). You may also be able to select the printer in the Print window when you print.
  2. When you print, in the Print window select "Destination" as "File". Do not try to print to the Printer. Click "Print".
  3. The OS 9/Classic LaserWriter 8 driver will create a PostScript file on your desktop. Drag this file onto the OS X Print Center. The file will print to the default OS X printer (so make sure the printer you planned to use is selected as the default in Print Center).
This worked for me, although one font in OS 9/Classic did not print out as expected when I printed the PostScript file in OS X. Maybe the font needs to be installed in OS X, too. One other method is to copy the text you want to print from the Classic application to an OS X application. I have done this from WordPerfiect 3.5e to AppleWorks.

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Mac OS X Hints
http://hints.macworld.com/article.php?story=20030806153127988