YASNPP - [Yet Another Stupid Newbie Printing Problem]

[Ian Jennings]

Hi all,

I have a small peer-to-peer network of machines (3 * W98, 1 * Redhat7.1)
with two printers (1 * HP6L, 1 * Lexmark Z22) hanging off the back of
one of the W98 machines and have an odd problem. I am still a newbie
with Linux, finally getting things up and running (sort of) after
several weeks of fiddling around and innumerable reinstalls. I've
finally seemed to have got Samba working-ish. My Windoze machines can
see files on the Linux box and, for the most part, that's good enough
for me. I do, however, have a need to print from the Linux box and it's
this requirement that's causing grief. Please excuse my ignorance but
I'm ankle-deep in FAQs, tips&trix, how-tos, etc and am now completely
confused.

I added both of the printers using the Printer Config app (running KDE)
and they both printed test pages just fine. 

If I start up the KDE Text Editor and print (the 'services' file being
long enough for a decent test) then, to the HP everything is fine while
the Lexmark prints a line of narrow black bands and then barfs.

If I try printing from the Advanced Editor then nothing at all happens
on either printer and Windoze doesn't appear to receive anything.

If I try and print out one of the HTML help pages from Netscape then, to
the Lexmark, it will print the first page (with no concept of
economy-mode, even though it's set. It floods the paper with ink) and
then barfs. Sending the same page to the HP will get it to print out 40+
(I killed it at 40-something when I noticed what was happening) pages of
garbage; each page one line of random characters.

I realise that it's my ignorance that's causing the problem (or suspect
it is) so I will apologise in advance for my newbieism and hope that
some kind guru in this forum will be willing to submit to a few minutes
of hand-holding and help me solve this.

Any advice, pointers, cures will be gratefully received. (But please
keep it simple, I'm easily confused. <g>)

TIA

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Ian Jennings
Microware Data Services Ltd.

This post is made entirely from recycyled ones and noughts
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