In <[log in to unmask]> [log in to unmask] writes:

> However, HP has said that for the network printing that now comes bundled with
> h
> MPE, the Ethernet card must be an HP JetDirect card. I've just taken them at
> their word. I never even tried to make the Tektronix Color Laser work, using
> whatever capabilities it has. I simply hooked up an external JetDirect card
> and had it working in just a few minutes.

(npconfig will let you specify alternate tcp ports like some other cards
use, but the MPE spooler does do SNMP with the "card", and unless the card
emulates the SNMP MIB that the Jetdirect card does, it's not gonna fly.)

> The bottom line of all of this is: with an external JetDirect card, you can
> put the cheapest RadioShack dot matrix printer on your network and have the
> HP3000 print it now, so long as it has a parallel port on it (and for most
> cheap printers, that's all they have).

I don't believe that's entirely true (at least not from personal experience
and extended conversations with the HPRC)...

I've worked with a couple printers that would NOT work with HP network
printing.. Including a brand new Epson high-speed dot matrix printer. Despite
extended "tweaking" it would not talk (used an external Jetdirect hooked up
to it's parallel port).

According to the HPRC, to function with network printing, the printer has to
have some minimal knowledge of either PCL or PJL (I forget which, but I
think it was the printer-control-language vs printer-job-language). This
dependency is hard-coded into the spooler subsystem.

In fact, when we (being very upset after having just purchased a couple of
these Epson printers to hook up to the 3000) pressed the HPRC for a list of
exactly what (non laser) printers would work, they provided a (very short)
list of their (HP) LPQ printers.

In playing around with printers a bit (after we ended up buying several LPQ
printers!) we turned the "display functions" equivalent on to see exactly
what was coming out of the "MPE Spooler", and discovered that each line
seemed to contain escape sequences... This was from things as simple as a
:LISTF directed to the printer w/no environment file specified.

Caveat Emptor. I'd still like to see an "authority" at HP chime in on this
though and confirm the rumors once and for all...

  -Chris (remove nospam) Bartram