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Printer on USB to parallel adapter cable

PostPosted: Dec 11th, '12, 11:55
by jkerr82508
The situation: An old (more than 20 years) Epson LX-850 9-pin dot matrix printer, no parallel port on the new motherboard and so using a USB to parallel adapter cable

Here's what I did to get it working on Mageia 2:

1. Installed task-printing (to get the Epson drivers)
2. Commented the line blacklist usblp in /etc/modprobe.conf.d/blacklist-cups-common.conf
3. Made sure that the printer was switched on and "online" and then re-booted.
4. Confirmed that /dev/usb/lp0 now existed
5. Using MCC - Hardware - Printer set up the printer as a parallel printer on lpt0
6. Right-clicked on the printer's icon and selected Properties
7. Manually changed the Device URI to parallel:/dev/usb/lp0 and clicked on Apply.

I was then able to print a test page.

There may be some procedure that is simpler or more elegant, but this worked for me. It may be of use to someone else trying to get a USB to parallel adapter working with a very old printer.

Jim

Re: Printer on USB to parallel adapter cable

PostPosted: Dec 13th, '12, 17:50
by tom_
Thanks for sharing that, jkerr82508!! :)

I think this post should be moved where the solutions are..

Board index ‹ Questions, tips & tricks, tutorials... ‹ The magician suggests...

https://forums.mageia.org/en/viewforum.php?f=41

Re: Printer on USB to parallel adapter cable

PostPosted: Dec 13th, '12, 22:39
by doktor5000
tom_ wrote:I think this post should be moved where the solutions are..

Board index ‹ Questions, tips & tricks, tutorials... ‹ The magician suggests...

Well i made it a sticky topic in Printers and printing subforum, should be enough, no?
If we move every tip or solution into "The magician suggests" then it will soon get much too crowded
and will be quite useless, no?

Re: Printer on USB to parallel adapter cable

PostPosted: Dec 14th, '12, 08:47
by isadora
Topic stated back into original position, and removed the "sticky-status".
Topic is informative, but not something nobody should miss, in my humble opinion.

Re: Printer on USB to parallel adapter cable

PostPosted: Dec 14th, '12, 12:11
by Ken-Bergen
doktor5000 wrote:If we move every tip or solution into "The magician suggests" then it will soon get much too crowded
and will be quite useless, no?
And who is to decide what is a worthy tip?
If it becomes "to crowded" it can then be reorganized into sub categories much like "Basic Support".
I know this was your brain child but like any child you must let it grow and evolve.

Re: Printer on USB to parallel adapter cable

PostPosted: Dec 14th, '12, 21:33
by doktor5000
Ken-Bergen wrote:And who is to decide what is a worthy tip?
If it becomes "to crowded" it can then be reorganized into sub categories much like "Basic Support".
I know this was your brain child but like any child you must let it grow and evolve.


Sure, that was only my opinion. If you think it's better found via the Tips subforum, then go for it.
But we should find a rule of thumb where to put similar posts.

@isadora: Without sticky status it will get lost. Either sticky status and keep it inside printing subforum,
or keep it in the tips subforum. That should be discussed, as mentioned above.

Re: Printer on USB to parallel adapter cable

PostPosted: Jun 18th, '13, 19:52
by ghmitch
I really think the suggestion that "The Magician Suggests" should be divided into subcategories. The information provided by jkerr is potentially extremely valuable to anyone who finds themselves in that sort of position. These tips need to be organized in a way that people can find them easily by subject when they need them. There even probably needs to be a way for someone to sift through them and add them to the Mageia Wiki. And ... no ... I am not volunteering for that job. I wish I has the time to do things like that, but I am drowning in todo list items as it is.

Re: Printer on USB to parallel adapter cable

PostPosted: Jun 18th, '13, 20:56
by doktor5000
Well, just switching them over to the wiki will not help at all, if people don't use it and come here first for support ...

Re: Printer on USB to parallel adapter cable

PostPosted: Aug 21st, '13, 09:25
by Ken-Bergen
doktor5000 wrote:Well, just switching them over to the wiki will not help at all, if people don't use it and come here first for support ...
See
https://bugs.mageia.org/show_bug.cgi?id=6506
Until a link to the wiki is on every page most people will not find it thus can not use it.

Re: Printer on USB to parallel adapter cable

PostPosted: Aug 21st, '13, 19:33
by doktor5000
Yep, and since my last comment nothing moved there - since more than 12 months -.-