From b048cdc2bb5a6cc656b70253ae6d64a4fad3430c Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: admin Date: Sun, 23 Jan 2011 22:07:39 +0000 Subject: [PATCH] --- ...te_new_to_linux_printing_and_scanning.mdwn | 131 ++++++++++++++++++ 1 file changed, 131 insertions(+) create mode 100644 _quite_new_to_linux_printing_and_scanning.mdwn diff --git a/_quite_new_to_linux_printing_and_scanning.mdwn b/_quite_new_to_linux_printing_and_scanning.mdwn new file mode 100644 index 0000000..5e900c6 --- /dev/null +++ b/_quite_new_to_linux_printing_and_scanning.mdwn @@ -0,0 +1,131 @@ +[[!tag hardware printer scanner]] + +# Quite new to Linux printing and scanning + +Once upon a time, I owned a slow, noisy dot matrix printer. Which has +been dropped since a long time, as the specific ribbon cartridge +was no more produced. + +I have long resisted the purchase of a new printer, for various reasons: + +* no substantial need for it +* ink cartridge are expensive +* another kind of electronic device in a house already full of them +* I use fast printers at work, which all do fancy stuff: copying, + stapling, sorting and scanning; I feared being disappointed with + cheap home printers + +But at last Christmas, due to pressing requests to Santa Klaus, I +finally succombed and went hunting for a printer. + +The home/SOHO printer landscape has changed a lot since the dot matrix era. I +fast figured out I could get for below £100: + +* a networked device doing printing, copying and scanning +* all the above in color and at photo quality + +The networked printers mostly do Wi-Fi, which I don't use. The +available choices are a bit more limited for wired ethernet. I wanted +also out of the box Linux support, so this excluded the most recent +models. + +The current state of the art for Linux printer drivers is here: +[[http://www.openprinting.org/printers]] + +For scanner drivers, look here: [[http://www.sane-project.org/cgi-bin/driver.pl]] + +I finally went for the Epson Stylus SX515W, as it was available locally for £80. + +# Epson Stylus SX515W installation + +The Epson Stylus SX515W appears to be similar for all practical +purpose to the Epson Stylus SX510W. List of features: + +* printing, copying and scanning in color +* ethernet, USB and Wi-Fi networking +* slots for a lot of memory cards (CompactFlash, Memory Stick, SD and xD-Picture directly, other via adapters) + +The operation guide is quite terse, it shows you where the power plug +is, but you have to deduce the place of the USB and LAN jacks, as +these are not very visible from the outside. There is a CD with +drivers, but it is Windows/Mac specific, so I didn't dig further. You +may have luck with Wine. + +The printer has a panel control with an LCD screen, and it is obvious +enough how to use them to define an IP address for your printer, so it +becomes a device of your LAN. So far USB and Wi-Fi networking not tested. + +## Copying + +No need for a driver for that. The printer offers copy and photo +buttons. The photo button adds crop and resize options over +the copy button. + +## Memory card + +Various options to ease choosing the photos to print from a camera +memory card. Not tested so far. + +## Printing + +You have to install cups (in my case, the Debian cups package), and +the Gutenprint drivers. In Debian Lenny, Gutenprint drivers are +available in package cups-driver-gutenprint, but the SX515W is too new +to be included there. So you have to install directly that +[package from the Gutenprint project](http://www.openprinting.org/download/printdriver/debian/dists/lsb3.2/contrib/binary-i386/openprinting-gutenprint_5.2.6-1lsb3.2_i386.deb). Notice +that this package is external to the Debian system; it installs in +/opt and has a dependency on package lsb. + +After that, you can install/manage the printer via +http://localhost:631, and printing will work. I was happy to notice +that information like ink level is accessible through the printing +options of popular applications (e.g. evince, mozilla, openoffice). + +## Scanning + +Printing is done from computer to printer, so you command it from the +computer. You are ready to scan when you have put the document to be +scanned in the printer, so there is a scan button command on the +printer panel. That obviously will work only with some +software installed on the computer where you want to send the scan. + +You have to install package libsane. Here +again, libsane from Debian Lenny appears too old, you have to get the +package for Squeeze. You can go ahead with this: it won't pull in +only a few other Squeeze packages. So your stable Lenny system +won't end up being half Squeeze. + +Then you will have to install a frontend to control the scanning +process. xsane is the standard tool for that, it should come with +every Gnome desktop installation. Starting xsane will recognize your +scanner and offer you to start a scan with various options, and this +will indeed work perfectly. + +But remember what I said before: it's more logical to start the scan +from the printer. And that won't work. In scan mode (scan button +pushed on the printer), a menu is available to choose the networking +method; only USB is available there. So something is still wrong. + +xsane is not the only scanning application around; it got some +competition recently from applications claiming to be +[more lightweight and simpler to use](http://www.linuxinsider.com/story/Simple-Scan-Brings-Much-Needed-Sanity-to-SANE-71623.html +). + +A final word about the Sane project: the fact that scanning can work +through the network for some scanner models is not emphasized a +lot. The possibility is even missing in the latest +[Scanner-HOWTO](http://www.linux.org/docs/ldp/howto/Scanner-HOWTO/) +from 2004. + +# Conclusion + +So far, except for the above scan button problem, everything works +fine with that multipurpose printer. Only time will tell the following: + +* is the device robust enough? +* the set of ink cartridges of all colors is around £20; is that + fair for the number of printouts per set? +* the device is indirectly promoted as good enough to avoid you going + to the photo lab for your prints, as you have options for photo + quality paper or glossy look; is this true, especially w.r.t. the + previous point? -- 2.39.2