Unix LP command - special character printing problem

[Vicken]

Hi.
I am using the plain LP unix command in order to print a text file (.txt) on a PR2 printer (olivetti) as follows:
lp -dpr2printername filename.txt
However, sometimes (not all the time) and out of nowhere, a special character is being printed before the first character of the content text (like L, o...). Attached is a PDF scan document containing 6 pages. Do you think it's due to the HP-UX? or the PR2? or the LPR printing software?
I WOULD APPRECIATE YOUR ASSISTANCE! THANKS IN ADVANCE!

[Steven E. Protter]

Shalom,

lp is pretty much a text based system. It can handle escape codes if the printer drivers can handle it.

To print special characters you may need a printing system that uses a recognized print system like pcl.

You would need drivers for HP-UX for your printer. That may not exist. It might be better to hang the printer off a windows server with a proper print queue and submit the print job via CIFS Samba client. That client is free on the Core OS, Application DVD or http://software.hp.com

SEP

[TTr]

How is the PR2 connected to your server? is it local, remote or network? If local or network, what kind of printer model did you use to create the queue? What kind of emulation is it set to?

[OldSchool]

actually attaching the original text file instead of the pdf would have been of more use I think...

perhaps "od -oc" " might have helped as well.

without knowing *which* olivetti model, can't go much farther...most have network cards, support PCL6 / PJL and Postscript(?) but don't claim jetdirect compatible.

[Vicken]

Hi thx for your prompt replies

The olivetti printer we are using is a PR2 Plus network printer connected to a windows server using SDI LPD as the print queue software.

The emulation used for the PR2 Plus is IBMPro

Hope the clarifications will help you to find the solution

[TTr]

There must be a reason for using SDI-LPD but did you ever consider using the microsoft native LPD service?

I assume that the "pr2" spooler on the UNIX server is a remote spoller pointing to the windows SDI-LPD service and the windows printer queue. That being the case there is nothing much you can do on the UNIX server side with a remote spooler. The problem could be noise related or on the windows side.

If that's not the case, how is the physical PR2 printer connected to the windows server, locally via serial/parallel/USB or is it connected via the network? Do you have any other remote spoolers on other servers that have the same issue or they print fine?

[OldSchool]

earlier, I said: "perhaps "od -oc" " might have helped as well."

the idea here was to determine if you indeed do have some "odd" characters embedded in what should be a plain-text file.

[doi]

can someone help me regarding my problem in print came out in special character in network printer!pls help...thanks!

[Dennis Handly]

>doi: can someone help me regarding my problem in print came out in special character

Since you aren't using HP-UX, you should look to answers in your other thread:
http://forums.itrc.hp.com/service/forums/questionanswer.do?threadId=1344063