5Si question for printing on large paper sizes

[Christian =?ISO-8859-1?Q?D=FCrrhauer?=]

Hello,

does anybody know how to setup the printer drivers so that one can print
two pages on one sheet? I am using DIN A3 which is double the size of DIN
A4, so it should be possible in theory. The most recent drivers for W2k
offer this option but my 5Si ignores the setting.

Thanks everyone in advance.

--
with kind regards
Christian Dürrhauer, Institute of Geography, FU Berlin

Youth and skill are no match for experience and treachery.

[Ben Myers]

The easiest way to do this is to install a PostScript SIMM in the printer and
increase printer memory to the maximum, if you have not done so already. The
standard HP PostScript drivers have menu selections to provide 2-up and 4-up
printing of pages, i.e. two or four pages per sheet of paper... Ben Myers

On Wed, 01 Oct 2003 22:22:28 +0200, Christian =?ISO-8859-1?Q?D=FCrrhauer?=
<cduerr@geog.fu-berlin.de> wrote:
Hello,does anybody know how to setup the printer drivers so that one can printtwo pages on one sheet? I am using DIN A3 which is double the size of DINA4, so it should be possible in theory. The most recent drivers for W2koffer this option but my 5Si ignores the setting.Thanks everyone in advance.--with kind regardsChristian Dürrhauer, Institute of Geography, FU BerlinYouth and skill are no match for experience and treachery.

[Christian =?ISO-8859-1?Q?D=FCrrhauer?=]

And on the seventh day, Ben Myers wrote...
The easiest way to do this is to install a PostScript SIMM in the printer and increase printer memory to the maximum, if you have not done so already. The standard HP PostScript drivers have menu selections to provide 2-up and 4-up printing of pages, i.e. two or four pages per sheet of paper... Ben Myers

Thank you, Ben.

The PCL5e drivers also have the option to select 1, 2 and 4-up printing of
pages. Do you have any clues why the printer simply ignores the setting?
Printing 2 pages on a smaller sheet (DIN A4 that is) works fine, though.

I am planning to upgrade the printer. Currently, there are 32MB Fast Page
Mode SIMMs[1] on eBay I want to buy. These should work, shouldn't they?

The postscript simm was not on my list so far. Right now, I feel there is
little need for postscript unless one can do something with PS I haven't
been aware of. PCL5e has been sufficient for my tasks untill now.

Fußnoten:
=========
[1] Increasing printer memory will decrease time for printing as complex
pages i.e. with large images will be rendered faster. Is that
right?

--
with kind regards
Christian Dürrhauer, Institute of Geography, FU Berlin

I look on that man as happy, who, when there is question of success, looks
into his work for a reply. - Ralph Waldo Emerson

[Ben Myers]

I do not know why the PCL5e driver does not print 2-up on large paper. I would
guess that this is a driver issue, which is why I've found PostScript to be more
trouble-free overall. A PostScript driver for an operating system is
essentially generic. What makes the printer work is the Adobe-standard Page
Printer Description (PPD), a text file describing the characteristics of the
given model of printer.

SIMM memory for HP printers has to be pretty specific, due to the manner in
which the printer firmware detects the SIMMs and their capacity. SIMMs need to
be tin-plated fast-page mode, 70ns (only) speed, with compliance to industry
JEDEC standards for serial presence detect, the manner in which a computer
detects the SIMM capacity.

Adding more memory does not usually make the printer go any faster. A printer
with more memory prints more reliably because it is able to store an entire page
image in printer memory. If memory is not sufficient to store a page, the
printer ejects a partially printed page, not a desirable result. With its
ability to print on large pages, the 5Si needs all the memory it can get.

.... Ben Myers

On Thu, 02 Oct 2003 16:16:03 +0200, Christian =?ISO-8859-1?Q?D=FCrrhauer?=
<cduerr@geog.fu-berlin.de> wrote:
And on the seventh day, Ben Myers wrote... The easiest way to do this is to install a PostScript SIMM in the printer and increase printer memory to the maximum, if you have not done so already. The standard HP PostScript drivers have menu selections to provide 2-up and 4-up printing of pages, i.e. two or four pages per sheet of paper... Ben MyersThank you, Ben.The PCL5e drivers also have the option to select 1, 2 and 4-up printing ofpages. Do you have any clues why the printer simply ignores the setting?Printing 2 pages on a smaller sheet (DIN A4 that is) works fine, though.I am planning to upgrade the printer. Currently, there are 32MB Fast PageMode SIMMs[1] on eBay I want to buy. These should work, shouldn't they?The postscript simm was not on my list so far. Right now, I feel there islittle need for postscript unless one can do something with PS I haven'tbeen aware of. PCL5e has been sufficient for my tasks untill now.Fußnoten:=========[1] Increasing printer memory will decrease time for printing as complex pages i.e. with large images will be rendered faster. Is that right?--with kind regardsChristian Dürrhauer, Institute of Geography, FU BerlinI look on that man as happy, who, when there is question of success, looksinto his work for a reply. - Ralph Waldo Emerson

[Keith Hanlan]

Ben Myers wrote:I do not know why the PCL5e driver does not print 2-up on large paper. I wouldguess that this is a driver issue, which is why I've found PostScript to be moretrouble-free overall. A PostScript driver for an operating system isessentially generic. What makes the printer work is the Adobe-standard PagePrinter Description (PPD), a text file describing the characteristics of thegiven model of printer.

I am in the process of setting up my newly acquired 5Si on my
(primarily) Linux network. All of the printer configuration tools
include drivers which specifically support the 5Si family but they
seem to assume that it is not a postscript printer. These drivers
use Ghostscript to render the postscript to PCL.

The "generic" postscript drivers contain the following statement:
|This entry allows you to use any PostScript printer with Foomatic,
|at least with the basic options. Use it only for setting up your
|printer if your printer is not explicitly listed in the Foomatic
|database and if you don't have a native PPD file for it. See our
|PPD instructions and the "Postscript" driver entry for more
|information.

So the question is: what is preferable - using the printer's
built-in postscript capability or letting ghostscript/foomatic do
all the work?
And by extension: Should I just yank the postscript SIMM and
replace it with another 16MB or RAM?

Keith Hanlan
Ottawa, Canada
--
Keith Hanlan keithh@nortelnetworks.com NORTEL Ottawa, Canada 1-613-765-4645

[Ben Myers]

Keith,

Use the built-in PostScript. With all due respect to Ghostscript, the real
thing is always a more accurate rendering of itself than the emulated flavor.
Fewer surprised and glitches with native PostScript, and usually faster time to
print the first page.

Add as much memory as possible to the printer for best results.

Adobe's web site has PPDs for almost every PostScript printer ever. If you
can't get one any other way, get the PPD from Adobe... Ben Myers

On Wed, 15 Oct 2003 17:05:03 +0000 (UTC), keithh@kph.hanlan.ca (Keith Hanlan)
wrote:
Ben Myers wrote:I do not know why the PCL5e driver does not print 2-up on large paper. I wouldguess that this is a driver issue, which is why I've found PostScript to be moretrouble-free overall. A PostScript driver for an operating system isessentially generic. What makes the printer work is the Adobe-standard PagePrinter Description (PPD), a text file describing the characteristics of thegiven model of printer.I am in the process of setting up my newly acquired 5Si on my(primarily) Linux network. All of the printer configuration toolsinclude drivers which specifically support the 5Si family but theyseem to assume that it is not a postscript printer. These driversuse Ghostscript to render the postscript to PCL.The "generic" postscript drivers contain the following statement: |This entry allows you to use any PostScript printer with Foomatic, |at least with the basic options. Use it only for setting up your |printer if your printer is not explicitly listed in the Foomatic |database and if you don't have a native PPD file for it. See our |PPD instructions and the "Postscript" driver entry for more |information.So the question is: what is preferable - using the printer'sbuilt-in postscript capability or letting ghostscript/foomatic doall the work? And by extension: Should I just yank the postscript SIMM andreplace it with another 16MB or RAM?Keith HanlanOttawa, Canada--Keith Hanlan keithh@nortelnetworks.com NORTEL Ottawa, Canada 1-613-765-4645

[Walt Howard]

In article <3f8db90a.734072@news.charter.net>,
Ben Myers <ben_myers_spam_me_not at charter.net> wrote:Use the built-in PostScript. With all due respect to Ghostscript, the realthing is always a more accurate rendering of itself than the emulated flavor.Fewer surprised and glitches with native PostScript, and usually faster time toprint the first page.Add as much memory as possible to the printer for best results.Adobe's web site has PPDs for almost every PostScript printer ever. If youcan't get one any other way, get the PPD from Adobe... Ben MyersOn Wed, 15 Oct 2003 17:05:03 +0000 (UTC), keithh@kph.hanlan.ca (Keith Hanlan)wrote: [ snip ]So the question is: what is preferable - using the printer'sbuilt-in postscript capability or letting ghostscript/foomatic doall the work? And by extension: Should I just yank the postscript SIMM and
The answer might not be that clear. Remember, HP had not come to an
agreement with Adobe when the 5Si was in production, so the PostScript
interpreter found in LaserJets is an emulator rather than "official" code.
The PCL in the printers, however, is really robust.

Given the age (and processor speed) of the 5Si, it could very well be
that letting the PC use Ghostscript to output PCL would be a bunch
faster than letting the printer do it.

Either way, I agree with the suggestion to have lots of memory in
the printer.

--
Walt Howard /"\ ASCII Ribbon Campaign
InterNet: whoward@ieee.org \ / No HTML in mail or news!
BellNet: +1 780 492 6306 X
/ \

[Ben Myers]

Walt,

That's an interesting bit of historical info about the 5Si.

I have used and installed LJ 4Plus and 5 models with standard HP Postscript
SIMMs installed, and the Postscript test pages which are printed very definitely
identify Adobe PostScript with the usual copyrights and/or trademarks attributed
to Adobe.

I have not seen a Postscript test page from a 5Si in recent years, and I would
be curious to see what it looks like. Even if the PostScript SIMM is a clone
from Bauer or one of the old-time Postscript cloners, I would still lean in
favor of using the printer's built-in PostScript because GhostScript takes a lot
processor cycles to do the job... Ben Myers



On Thu, 16 Oct 2003 18:34:08 +0000 (UTC), howard@rumba.ee.ualberta.ca (Walt
Howard) wrote:
In article <3f8db90a.734072@news.charter.net>,Ben Myers <ben_myers_spam_me_not at charter.net> wrote:Use the built-in PostScript. With all due respect to Ghostscript, the realthing is always a more accurate rendering of itself than the emulated flavor.Fewer surprised and glitches with native PostScript, and usually faster time toprint the first page.Add as much memory as possible to the printer for best results.Adobe's web site has PPDs for almost every PostScript printer ever. If youcan't get one any other way, get the PPD from Adobe... Ben MyersOn Wed, 15 Oct 2003 17:05:03 +0000 (UTC), keithh@kph.hanlan.ca (Keith Hanlan)wrote:> [ snip ]So the question is: what is preferable - using the printer'sbuilt-in postscript capability or letting ghostscript/foomatic doall the work? And by extension: Should I just yank the postscript SIMM andThe answer might not be that clear. Remember, HP had not come to anagreement with Adobe when the 5Si was in production, so the PostScriptinterpreter found in LaserJets is an emulator rather than "official" code.The PCL in the printers, however, is really robust.Given the age (and processor speed) of the 5Si, it could very well bethat letting the PC use Ghostscript to output PCL would be a bunchfaster than letting the printer do it.Either way, I agree with the suggestion to have lots of memory inthe printer.--Walt Howard /"\ ASCII Ribbon CampaignInterNet: whoward@ieee.org \ / No HTML in mail or news!BellNet: +1 780 492 6306 X / \

[Ben Myers]

Walt,

I checked my trusty collection of PPD files downloaded from Adobe and there is
one for the plain 5Si and also for the 5Si Mopier. I seriously doubt that Adobe
would make PPDs available for printers for which it had NOT licensed a
PostScript interpreter. Maybe the early 5Si's had a cloned Postscript and the
later ones had the real thing? ... Ben Myers

On Thu, 16 Oct 2003 18:34:08 +0000 (UTC), howard@rumba.ee.ualberta.ca (Walt
Howard) wrote:
In article <3f8db90a.734072@news.charter.net>,Ben Myers <ben_myers_spam_me_not at charter.net> wrote:Use the built-in PostScript. With all due respect to Ghostscript, the realthing is always a more accurate rendering of itself than the emulated flavor.Fewer surprised and glitches with native PostScript, and usually faster time toprint the first page.Add as much memory as possible to the printer for best results.Adobe's web site has PPDs for almost every PostScript printer ever. If youcan't get one any other way, get the PPD from Adobe... Ben MyersOn Wed, 15 Oct 2003 17:05:03 +0000 (UTC), keithh@kph.hanlan.ca (Keith Hanlan)wrote:> [ snip ]So the question is: what is preferable - using the printer'sbuilt-in postscript capability or letting ghostscript/foomatic doall the work? And by extension: Should I just yank the postscript SIMM andThe answer might not be that clear. Remember, HP had not come to anagreement with Adobe when the 5Si was in production, so the PostScriptinterpreter found in LaserJets is an emulator rather than "official" code.The PCL in the printers, however, is really robust.Given the age (and processor speed) of the 5Si, it could very well bethat letting the PC use Ghostscript to output PCL would be a bunchfaster than letting the printer do it.Either way, I agree with the suggestion to have lots of memory inthe printer.--Walt Howard /"\ ASCII Ribbon CampaignInterNet: whoward@ieee.org \ / No HTML in mail or news!BellNet: +1 780 492 6306 X / \

[Marek Williams]

On Thu, 16 Oct 2003 21:31:03 GMT, ben_myers_spam_me_not @ charter.net
(Ben Myers) dijo:
That's an interesting bit of historical info about the 5Si.

It's also incorrect.

The 5Si came as a plain 5Si, which was PCL only, or as a 5SiMx, which
was PostScript as well. the PostScript was on a SIMM that took one of
the memory slots. The PostScript in the 5SiMx is genuine Adobe Level
2. This is also true of the 5Si Mopier printers.

Starting with the 8000 series, which use the same Canon WX engine as
the 5Si, HP went to emulated PostScript. They purchased the PostScript
emulation from an outside source. I used to know the name of the
outfit, but I forgot. Xionics? Doesn't matter, because I think they
changed their name anyway.

I have both a 5SiMx and an 8000. I have not experienced any PostScript
errors printing to the 8000. However, I note that some PDF files print
the first copy very slowly to the 8000. The same file sent to my 5SiMx
prints the first copy almost at the rated speed of the printer.

For both printers there are firmware updates at hp.com. Assuming the
printers are on your network, and you install WebJetAdmin, you can log
in and the HP site will update the firmware right over the net.

--
Bogus e-mail address, but I read this newsgroup regularly, so reply here.

[Ben Myers]

Makes sense to me. My collection of PPDs from the Adobe web site does NOT
include the 8000, only the 5SiMx. Adobe would not go out of its way to supply
information about PostScript clones.

Xionics was a Massachusetts-based printing company as I recall. They, in turn,
may have licensed a PostScript clone to fold into hardware to drive HP or
HP-like printers. My mind is bit foggy about Xionics, as they were prominent in
the computer publishing space more than a couple of years ago.

.... Ben Myers

On Fri, 17 Oct 2003 18:31:45 -0700, Marek Williams <abc@example.com> wrote:
On Thu, 16 Oct 2003 21:31:03 GMT, ben_myers_spam_me_not @ charter.net(Ben Myers) dijo:That's an interesting bit of historical info about the 5Si.It's also incorrect.The 5Si came as a plain 5Si, which was PCL only, or as a 5SiMx, whichwas PostScript as well. the PostScript was on a SIMM that took one ofthe memory slots. The PostScript in the 5SiMx is genuine Adobe Level2. This is also true of the 5Si Mopier printers.Starting with the 8000 series, which use the same Canon WX engine asthe 5Si, HP went to emulated PostScript. They purchased the PostScriptemulation from an outside source. I used to know the name of theoutfit, but I forgot. Xionics? Doesn't matter, because I think theychanged their name anyway.I have both a 5SiMx and an 8000. I have not experienced any PostScripterrors printing to the 8000. However, I note that some PDF files printthe first copy very slowly to the 8000. The same file sent to my 5SiMxprints the first copy almost at the rated speed of the printer.For both printers there are firmware updates at hp.com. Assuming theprinters are on your network, and you install WebJetAdmin, you can login and the HP site will update the firmware right over the net.--Bogus e-mail address, but I read this newsgroup regularly, so reply here.

[Keith Hanlan]

Marek Williams <abc@example.com> wrote:(Ben Myers) dijo:It's also incorrect.

Interesting information - thanks Ben and Marek.
For both printers there are firmware updates at hp.com. Assuming theprinters are on your network, and you install WebJetAdmin, you can login and the HP site will update the firmware right over the net.

Just to clarify, I believe that the 5Si does not have updatable
firmware - you'll have to replace the eeprom. The firmware on the
JetDirect cards, even the old J2550A, is updatable however.

--
Keith Hanlan CDMA 3G eBSC BCN Services OAM ESN 395-4645
keithh@nortelnetworks.com NORTEL Ottawa, Canada 1-613-765-4645
--
Keith Hanlan keithh@nortelnetworks.com NORTEL Ottawa, Canada 1-613-765-4645

[Keith Hanlan]

Marek Williams <abc@example.com> wrote:(Ben Myers) dijo:It's also incorrect.

Interesting information - thanks Ben and Marek.
For both printers there are firmware updates at hp.com. Assuming
theprinters are on your network, and you install WebJetAdmin, you
can login and the HP site will update the firmware right over the net.

Just to clarify, I believe that the 5Si does not have updatable
firmware - you'll have to replace the eeprom. The firmware on the
JetDirect cards, even the old J2550A, is updatable however.

--
Keith Hanlan keithh@nortelnetworks.com NORTEL Ottawa, Canada 1-613-765-4645