blazer still doesn't work

[Adam Myrow]

On Wed, 2 Apr 2003, Igor Gueths wrote:

> Hi Adam. Apparently your test worked, I just hadn't thought of trying
> that. And now the question is why does it not work on Linux? I checked
> syslog like I said I was going to in a previous post, however there were
> no relevant entries. I wonder if the blazer rqeuires a cr/lf before it can
> print anything?

Well, how about trying the exact same file sent to /dev/lp0 under Linux
with the Blazer directly connected to the computer instead of through the
switch?  As you probably know, Linux/Unix uses just a linefeed for a new
line whereas DOS/Windows use the CR/LF pair to indicate new lines.  By
trying the same file, you would be assured that it contains CR/LF pairs
for new lines.  Here's another thing to keep in mind.  If you don't
specify a printer with the lpr command, it defaults to whatever the first
printer is usually.  I'm guessing that you would want some sort of "raw"
option to create a printcap for an embosser.  That is, you want to tell
the software to pass the data straight through with no attempt at
translation or formatting.  In Slackware I use APSfilter.  It lets you
create an entry like this which I have used on a Samba server so that
Windows could talk to the printer directly and it works quite well for
that.  Until you actually get it working with "cat file >/dev/lp0," don't
even think about lpr.  It's best to start simple and work up from there.
If it turns out that the file will print if it has CR/LF pairs, look in
the Blazer's setup menu for an option to turn on auto-linefeeds or
similar.  Good luck.