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Doctor J

Q: How to force a LW 16/600PS to use TCP/IP instead of AppleTalk?

With Snow Leopard my LW16/600PS no longer works because it is using AppleTalk by default. How do I change the printer prefs to force it to use TCP/IP? I am using an Airport Extreme with the printer plugged into one of the ethernet ports. The airport does not report the printer as a DHCP client, and the printer reports its IP address as 0.0.0.0. It works fine with Leopard, but not Snow Leopard due to the discontinuation of AppleTalk. I am currently using a G4 running 10.4.11 as a print server, and I wonder if that is the best solution since I read on these forums that AppleTalk was better than IP with respect to speed and error reporting. However, at some point I may need to switch the printer over to IP addressing and I need to know how to do that.

many

Posted on Sep 21, 2009 7:37 AM

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Q: How to force a LW 16/600PS to use TCP/IP instead of AppleTalk?

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  • by Grant Bennet-Alder,

    Grant Bennet-Alder Grant Bennet-Alder Sep 21, 2009 8:13 AM in response to Doctor J
    Level 9 (61,185 points)
    Desktops
    Sep 21, 2009 8:13 AM in response to Doctor J
    Use Apple Printer Utility, an OS 9/Classic utility, to change the printer to a non-zero IP address that is in the range of your local Network (similar, but not identical to your Workstations and Router). Make a note of the IP address you use.

    It should then be found in the Add-a-Printer dialog as a Bonjour-accessible printer, and can be added as an LPR printer.
  • by Doctor J,

    Doctor J Doctor J Sep 21, 2009 9:52 AM in response to Grant Bennet-Alder
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Sep 21, 2009 9:52 AM in response to Grant Bennet-Alder
    Thanks for the suggestion. I tried that, but the printer still seems to be connecting via AppleTalk. I can't use the IP I entered to connect to it, and the Airport still does not report the printer as a DHCP client. If I shut the printer down and re-start it, the startup page reports the IP that I entered using Apple Printer Utility so I know that part of it worked. I am thinking that there must be a trick to overriding the printer's default choice of AppleTalk for networking, but I don't know how to do it!
  • by Grant Bennet-Alder,

    Grant Bennet-Alder Grant Bennet-Alder Sep 21, 2009 11:01 AM in response to Doctor J
    Level 9 (61,185 points)
    Desktops
    Sep 21, 2009 11:01 AM in response to Doctor J
    When you open default Browser, it should report that it sees a Bonjour Printer with the right name, and an AppleTalk printer with the right name. Bonjour can take a minute (but not a quarter hour hour) to discover your printer. be sure you are using default and not More printers, which limits you to selected protocols.

    Also, you must have the printer's selector switch set to a number that allows the Ethernet port to communicate via LPR. Often the correct choice is "0".
  • by Doctor J,

    Doctor J Doctor J Sep 22, 2009 12:10 AM in response to Grant Bennet-Alder
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Sep 22, 2009 12:10 AM in response to Grant Bennet-Alder
    There is a switch on the back of the printer, and this combined with apple printer utility and OS9 allows you to switch ethertalk (AppleTalk over ethernet) off and force TCP/IP. I can print either by TCP/IP or by using 10.4.11 on a computer connected directly to the airport, and selecting to share the printer. Oddly, the printer still does not show up on Airport Utility as a DHCP client, but entering the IP address that I assigned to the printer from Snow Leopard works. However, apple printer utility no longer can connect to the printer since appletalk is now disabled! Flipping the switch on the back of the printer allows appletalk to start, and printer utility can see the printer again. So in the end it works, but it is certainly not very intuitive.
  • by furiet,

    furiet furiet Jan 11, 2010 4:05 AM in response to Doctor J
    Level 1 (4 points)
    iWork
    Jan 11, 2010 4:05 AM in response to Doctor J
    Where is the switch AppleTalk/TCP IP on the back of the LW 16/600PS printer ? I see only the on/off switch