printing

[Jeff Hagstrom]

I'm setting up a new RP7410 with hpux 11.11. I copied the printer over thru SAM. However when I print, the job just goes into lala land, it clears the que but nothing prints. Does the machine need to be rebooted? The host file doesn't have every printer in it, but it does have the one I'm using. Is there another file that needs to come over with it.

[Tim Nelson · Accepted solution]

Did you install the HP jetdirect printer installer software ?

I always forget this.

swlist |grep -i jet
J4189-11001C E.10.34 Hewlett-Packard JetDirect Printer Installer for Unix

[Jeff Hagstrom]

Nope. However I don't know that I've ever done it before. I've copied it over. I've searched the HP site for the software, can't find it. Is it on a disk somewhere or.....

[Tim Nelson]

It is in a really secret place.

( not really, just lookup any printer on the biz support site and it is buried under any one of them )

The link below will get you there ( save it for later as I go crazy trying to remember how to find it sometimes years later).

http://h20000.www2.hp.com/bizsupport/TechSupport/DriverDownload.jsp?prodNameId=18922〈=en&cc=us&taskId=135&prodSeriesId=27349&prodTypeId=18964

[Bill Hassell]

There are four very, very different printer setups. One is for non-HP printers, or more accurately, non-HP LAN cards in the printer. Another is for HP network printers or printers with an HP network adapter. The third is for any printer connected with a parallel cable and last is a printer connected with a serial RS-232 cable.

Since you mentioned a hosts file, I'll assume that your printer is one of the first two connections. Don't mess with the hosts file -- always add printers with an IP address. The system never uses hostnames but must translate hostnames into IP addresses. Avoid all the terrible issues with DNS management by adding printers using an IP address.

First verify that the IP address is reachable. If this computer is on another subnet, your network department may be blocking access to this network. Use ping to verify the IP address.

For the vast majority of non-HP printers, you add the printer as a remote printer. This is a big challenge because very few manufacturers provide the remote printer name as these printers are designed for PCs, not Unix. Use SAM and select remote (not network) printer. You'll need: a local printer name, the IP address of the printer and the internal remote printer name which can be something like: lp prn text print raw ... Then be sure to check the BSD box and print a very short file such as /etc/copyright to test.

If you have an HP printer, the steps are much simpler and the connection is much more reliable. Just add the printer with this command:

addqueue -h 12.34.56.78 -q myprn -t off -r off -b off

Then print the copyright file. If you have problems (the lp system has no diagnostics or status capability), use the command:

hpnpadmin -v 12.34.56.78

If that returns a page or two of network details, bypass the lp spooler and test with:

hpnpf -x 12.34.56.78 -N /etc/copyright

Then to see what options you have (with HP network printers only), use man net_ljx000