HP 5L Companion - does it work with other printers?

[hmc]

I had an HP 5l companion that I use as a copy machine (crappy one, but still
does the job). I never use the software b/c it's not compatible with
xp--that and I don't need to scan that much--just copy. Anyway, my 5l died,
and I'm wondering if the Companion will work with any other printer.

I have an HP 1012 but it doesn't have a parallel port. And I have an Epson
Stylus which does have a parallel port, but just prints out garbage when
something from the Companion uses it. I thought for sure it would work, but
obviously there is some software compatibility problems. Is there a way to
get the Epson to work with the scanner?
--
-------------------------------
remove "smooth" from my yahoo.com address.

[Warren Block]

hmc <ciaochou2@yahoo.smooth.com> wrote: I had an HP 5l companion that I use as a copy machine (crappy one, but still does the job). I never use the software b/c it's not compatible with xp--that and I don't need to scan that much--just copy. Anyway, my 5l died, and I'm wondering if the Companion will work with any other printer.

The LaserJet Companion can be picked up surplus for $30 or less, and
they're not bad for simple computer-less copiers ("scan-to-print").
They probably send PCL print jobs, since it works fine on a LaserJet
4050.
I have an HP 1012 but it doesn't have a parallel port. And I have an Epson Stylus which does have a parallel port, but just prints out garbage when something from the Companion uses it. I thought for sure it would work, but obviously there is some software compatibility problems. Is there a way to get the Epson to work with the scanner?

Probably not as something practical. You'd have to receive the output
from the scanner (via parallel) and convert from PCL to whatever the
Epson needs, so it'd require a computer. It might work with the HP
inkjets that support PCL.

You may be able to find third-party scanning software that will work
with it. Or this might help:

http://www.poolemporium.com/hp.htm

--
Warren Block * Rapid City, South Dakota * USA