Re: [Freedos-user] DOS printing

2015-06-04 Thread Mateusz Viste
On 04/06/2015 17:17, Eric Auer wrote:
 I can only guess that there are network printer drivers or at least
 netcat for DOS.

I actually wrote about something like this 8 years ago. This is a trick 
I was using to print files on my network printer from FreeDOS.

https://www.mail-archive.com/freedos-user@lists.sourceforge.net/msg06568.html

Mateusz


--
___
Freedos-user mailing list
Freedos-user@lists.sourceforge.net
https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/freedos-user


Re: [Freedos-user] DOS printing

2015-06-04 Thread Felix Miata
Don Flowers composed on 2015-06-04 11:26 (UTC-0400):

 All but one of my computers have parallel ports (the advantage of buying HP
 Enterprise machines off-lease)

Parallel ports on a PC aren't much of a problem. PCI add-in cards with
parallel ports are available new, and there are probably hundreds of
thousands of them around used as pulls from retired PCs.

 - I'm just trying to find a reasonbly priced
 Dot Matrix printer :^)

Adjusted for inflation since they were the standard printer type, prices now
are much less than they were 30 years ago:
http://www.newegg.com/Dot-Matrix-Printers/SubCategory/ID-631?Order=PRICE

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16828289009 looks exactly
like my 25 year old 24 pin GSX-140.
http://choiceprinters.com/dmsc/Citizen_GSX-140_AH10-M01.html
-- 
The wise are known for their understanding, and pleasant
words are persuasive. Proverbs 16:21 (New Living Translation)

 Team OS/2 ** Reg. Linux User #211409 ** a11y rocks!

Felix Miata  ***  http://fm.no-ip.com/

--
___
Freedos-user mailing list
Freedos-user@lists.sourceforge.net
https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/freedos-user


Re: [Freedos-user] DOS printing

2015-06-04 Thread John Hupp
On 6/4/2015 5:18 AM, Felix Miata wrote:
 Thomas Mueller composed on 2015-06-04 07:20 (UTC):

 I've been unable to get my printer, HP LaserJet Professional 1212nf MFP 
 working.
 Now I think it might be nonstandard implementation of PostScript or whatever 
 command language.
 Legacy DOS apps relied on drivers specific to them. DOS itself didn't
 support printers, much less MF devices. It merely provided access to the
 interfaces of the time, serial ports, and parallel ports. You could sent text
 or text files directly to printers via these interfaces, but not control
 the printers via postscript or other printer languages. Postscript wasn't
 even invented until DOS had been around a couple of years, and even so, it
 wasn't made available except in the most expensive of printers until quite
 some time after invention. The major apps like WordPerfect and Lotus 1-2-3
 relied on printer drivers written specifically for those apps to produce
 control of things we now take for granted, like margin settings and font
 selection. Character sets were whatever the printer itself included, usually
 limited to 2 or 3 (fixed) pitches and line spacing choices of 66 or 88 lines
 per letter size page, in your orientation choice of portrait or portrait.
 Those that offered graphics modes were horrifically slow in those modes.

 Why would HP have hplip when other printer manufacturers have no such thing?
 Marketing in part, but also because none ever emulate any printer language
 other than its own, and the cheaper models typically omit postscript support
 or any but one particular dialect from among the many of its own. IOW, it's
 more complicated for mere mortals to figure out how to set up HP printers
 without it, a bigger hurdle than with other printer brands.

 But can a laser or inkjet printer with standard interface work in FreeDOS?
 What is a standard interface in FreeDOS? IBM/M$ DOSes date from long before
 the invention of USB and the ubiquity of networking, IIRC only ever knowing
 serial ports and parallel ports.

 This question interests me too, as I just bought a new HL-5470DW printer
 today to replace a Canon that provided no emulation of any kind. The new
 provides Epson FX, IBM Proprinter and PCL6 emulations in addition to
 Brother's own language, but neither parallel port nor serial port
 connectivity. In Linux I'll be using it via IP, but it would be nice to be
 able to use it directly from a DOS boot somehow to print old WP and
 spreadsheet files with embedded Epson FX printer control codes.

 Before postscript and HP's LJ* languages, the most popular printer languages
 that I can remember were IBM's own, Epson's, and Okidata's. Epson's seem to
 have become the most popular of those three, and continue to be included in
 some printers made by manufacturers other than Epson, Brother in particular,
 which is why I bought what I bought, and never consider buying HP for
 personal use.

I remember reading that FreeDOS 1.1 has some measure of USB support.  I 
have not tried anything USB myself yet.

But of course there is still the question of talking a language that the 
printer understands.

--
___
Freedos-user mailing list
Freedos-user@lists.sourceforge.net
https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/freedos-user


Re: [Freedos-user] DOS printing

2015-06-04 Thread Don Flowers
All but one of my computers have parallel ports (the advantage of buying HP
Enterprise machines off-lease) - I'm just trying to find a reasonbly priced
Dot Matrix printer :^)

On Thu, Jun 4, 2015 at 11:17 AM, Eric Auer e.a...@jpberlin.de wrote:


 Hi!

  This question interests me too, as I just bought a new HL-5470DW printer
  today to replace a Canon that provided no emulation of any kind. The new
  provides Epson FX, IBM Proprinter and PCL6 emulations in addition to
  Brother's own language, but neither parallel port nor serial port

 Quite multilingual :-)

  connectivity. In Linux I'll be using it via IP, but it would be nice to
 be
  able to use it directly from a DOS boot somehow to print old WP and
  spreadsheet files with embedded Epson FX printer control codes.

 I can only guess that there are network printer drivers or at least
 netcat for DOS. In some cases, you can also use a browser to config
 printers which provide a web interface, sometimes also allowing to
 upload and print files. I guess IPP is a popular print protocol now.

 Regards, Eric




 --
 ___
 Freedos-user mailing list
 Freedos-user@lists.sourceforge.net
 https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/freedos-user

--
___
Freedos-user mailing list
Freedos-user@lists.sourceforge.net
https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/freedos-user


Re: [Freedos-user] DOS printing

2015-06-04 Thread Eric Auer

Hi!

 This question interests me too, as I just bought a new HL-5470DW printer
 today to replace a Canon that provided no emulation of any kind. The new
 provides Epson FX, IBM Proprinter and PCL6 emulations in addition to
 Brother's own language, but neither parallel port nor serial port

Quite multilingual :-)

 connectivity. In Linux I'll be using it via IP, but it would be nice to be
 able to use it directly from a DOS boot somehow to print old WP and
 spreadsheet files with embedded Epson FX printer control codes.

I can only guess that there are network printer drivers or at least
netcat for DOS. In some cases, you can also use a browser to config
printers which provide a web interface, sometimes also allowing to
upload and print files. I guess IPP is a popular print protocol now.

Regards, Eric



--
___
Freedos-user mailing list
Freedos-user@lists.sourceforge.net
https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/freedos-user


Re: [Freedos-user] DOS printing (was: dos usb driver!)

2015-06-04 Thread Felix Miata
Thomas Mueller composed on 2015-06-04 07:20 (UTC):

 I've been unable to get my printer, HP LaserJet Professional 1212nf MFP 
 working.

 Now I think it might be nonstandard implementation of PostScript or whatever 
 command language.

Legacy DOS apps relied on drivers specific to them. DOS itself didn't
support printers, much less MF devices. It merely provided access to the
interfaces of the time, serial ports, and parallel ports. You could sent text
or text files directly to printers via these interfaces, but not control
the printers via postscript or other printer languages. Postscript wasn't
even invented until DOS had been around a couple of years, and even so, it
wasn't made available except in the most expensive of printers until quite
some time after invention. The major apps like WordPerfect and Lotus 1-2-3
relied on printer drivers written specifically for those apps to produce
control of things we now take for granted, like margin settings and font
selection. Character sets were whatever the printer itself included, usually
limited to 2 or 3 (fixed) pitches and line spacing choices of 66 or 88 lines
per letter size page, in your orientation choice of portrait or portrait.
Those that offered graphics modes were horrifically slow in those modes.

 Why would HP have hplip when other printer manufacturers have no such thing?

Marketing in part, but also because none ever emulate any printer language
other than its own, and the cheaper models typically omit postscript support
or any but one particular dialect from among the many of its own. IOW, it's
more complicated for mere mortals to figure out how to set up HP printers
without it, a bigger hurdle than with other printer brands.

 But can a laser or inkjet printer with standard interface work in FreeDOS?

What is a standard interface in FreeDOS? IBM/M$ DOSes date from long before
the invention of USB and the ubiquity of networking, IIRC only ever knowing
serial ports and parallel ports.

This question interests me too, as I just bought a new HL-5470DW printer
today to replace a Canon that provided no emulation of any kind. The new
provides Epson FX, IBM Proprinter and PCL6 emulations in addition to
Brother's own language, but neither parallel port nor serial port
connectivity. In Linux I'll be using it via IP, but it would be nice to be
able to use it directly from a DOS boot somehow to print old WP and
spreadsheet files with embedded Epson FX printer control codes.

Before postscript and HP's LJ* languages, the most popular printer languages
that I can remember were IBM's own, Epson's, and Okidata's. Epson's seem to
have become the most popular of those three, and continue to be included in
some printers made by manufacturers other than Epson, Brother in particular,
which is why I bought what I bought, and never consider buying HP for
personal use.
-- 
The wise are known for their understanding, and pleasant
words are persuasive. Proverbs 16:21 (New Living Translation)

 Team OS/2 ** Reg. Linux User #211409 ** a11y rocks!

Felix Miata  ***  http://fm.no-ip.com/

--
___
Freedos-user mailing list
Freedos-user@lists.sourceforge.net
https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/freedos-user