Re: Printer for linux?

On 4/17/06, Doofus <doofus@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Kelly Clowers wrote:

On 4/17/06, Doofus <doofus@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:



My potted understanding is that unix/linux applications generally output
postscript formatted data for printing and since Joe Public can't afford
a postcript capable printer, postscript interpreters (eg ghostscript)
have been developed which sit in between postscript data streams and non
postscript (HP PCL?) printers. Do correct me if I'm wrong with any of this.



I have never heard of a separate PS interpreter, they may be out there,
but it isn't anything you need, because Linux can talk to PCL printers
and PS printers are not all that expensive anymore. It is true that all
printing in Linux goes through a PS stage, but there is software that
translates to PCL.



This is what I thought function of ghostscript is, but as said my
thinking may be askew.

Yes, you are right. For some reason I thought you were talking about
a separate physical device that went in between the computer and printer.

I've been looking at the Brother range, in particular the HL-5250DN...

http://www.printerbase.co.uk/spec/pdf/brother_hl5250dn.pdf
(spec on page 2)




The general impression I get is that for laser printers on Linux
Brother, Samsung and HP are the best, but I don't have any
specific recommendations.



My main query in respect of this printer is Brother's "BR-Script". Does
anyone understand this? Is it a proprietary effort to do the same thing
as ghostscript, or does it mean you can actually treat the printer like
a real postscript machine?



BR-Script is a PostScript work-alike. It is not called Postscript because
Adobe owns PS and Brother does not want to pay them (similar to
the situation regarding Mesa, OpenGL and SGI). You can send PS
docs to a BR-Script printer.



So if postscript can be sent directly to your printer does this remove
the need for ghostscript packages?

Well, you would still need ghostscript (or equivalent) to display PS
docs on the screen or to convert PDF to PS and vice versa. When
CUPS or some other printing system is installed, GS is usually
installed automatically.

Ghostscript FAQ - What is Ghostscript:
http://www.cs.wisc.edu/~ghost/doc/faq.htm#what_is_gs


If you install CUPS it should install most everything you need
(gutenprint, ghostscript, foomatic). It might also install
hplip and hpijs, which you don't need if you don't have an HP
(but they won't hurt). CUPS isn't too bad to setup by itself,
but gnome-cups-manager or kdeprint are even easier.

Cheers,
Kelly

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