GDI printers should be networkable

[Guest]

Archived from groups: comp.periphs.printers (More info?)

A lot of people have run into the problem of not being able
to connect a GDI, cpu-less printer directly to the network
because the processing is done by the host PC. But why
can't the printer software be installed on a Win2k or Win2k3
server and have it direct the output to an installed port
which is an external parallel or usb print server at the
printer? How would the printer know that it wasn't coming
from a true parallel port?

 

[Dave]

Archived from groups: comp.periphs.printers (More info?)

On Tue, 28 Dec 2004 01:03:21 GMT, in comp.periphs.printers, "Jorabi"
<jorabi@pobox.com> wrote:

>A lot of people have run into the problem of not being able
>to connect a GDI, cpu-less printer directly to the network
>because the processing is done by the host PC. But why
>can't the printer software be installed on a Win2k or Win2k3
>server and have it direct the output to an installed port
>which is an external parallel or usb print server at the
>printer? How would the printer know that it wasn't coming
>from a true parallel port?

Depends on the printer driver. Some can. Some can't. Some need some
tweaking.

Supposedly, my old HP DJ720c can't be shared over a network. Plugging it
into my FreeBSD server and using the older 10.3 drivers via a Unix LPR
virtual port so the driver thinks it's a local printer has worked very
nicely for some years now.

Dave

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