Configuring Linux printer to be usable by Win98 boxes

[Joel Hammer]

> I don't understand the last paragraph above.  The printer name and spool
> directory that is configured in Samba for the printer is NOT?? the same as the
> printer name and spool directory configured for LPD?  
> 
> Could you restate what you meant?  Thanks---Mike W
> > 

I don't know what type of printer you have. 
Most linux apps use a postscript format for printing. If you print to a file
in linux, say from wordperfect or netscape or whatever, you will have a
postscript file. You can just dump this file (cat in linux, copy in dos) to
the printer, and you will get decent output, although some margins may be
bad. 
(This sound like your problem.)
You can read such a file with gv.
However, if you don't have a postscript printer, then linux has to filter
the job. Most filters take text files or postscript files, and turn them
into output your printer will like.
The important point here is that the queue you print to (lpr -Pqueue) has to
have a filter defined for it.
Windows always filters the job for you, and so when you send the job to your
samba server, the job must be directed to a queue which is a raw
queue, that is, one that will do no filtering, just pass it through.
Now, there could be exceptions to this. Some systems have "magic" filters
that will sniff out what kind of file has presented itself for printing, and
then will apply whatever filter it needs. So, I suppose, it would be
possible to have a single queue handling all printing, if the filter were
smart enuf to guess what kind of print file needed to be sent to the
printer, and then apply the appropriate filter ie. enscript, ghostscript, or
no filter, etc.)
This all sound tricky, but it is simple. What is hard is when the linux
distros try to hide all this stuff from the user. Then, problem solving
becomes really difficult.
Joel