Using a windows shared printer with OS X leopard

Question

Level 1

15 points

Using a windows shared printer with OS X leopard

Hi all,

I have a windows home server (read windows server 2003) with a USB printer attached. This printer is shared and I can print from any of my windows machines to it. However, I am having the world of grief trying to get the Mac to use it.

I have customised the print window in system preferences to include advanced so that I may add a smb:\\whs\printer connection. However, when I go to print the Mac thinks it has completed, the 2003 server has a 0k file in its spool directory and the print queue shows: Remote Downlevel Document. It sits there until I kill it.

I tried setting up apple printing on the server - now I can connect to the printer and it is found by the Mac but when I print it spits out a message each time saying: SYSTEM %%[error undefined; offending command .... }%%.

I even tried to use internet printing (although I'd prefer not to have it set up on IIS on my server) but this was to no avail either...

Any ideas please - been driving me mad all day...

MacBook, Mac OS X (10.5.1)

Posted on Jan 17, 2008 9:06 AM

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Answer 1

greg sahli

Level 7

25,508 points

Jan 17, 2008 10:09 AM in response to rakh1

All printing on OS X starts out as postscript. What you see printed is a postscript error. Please tell us the printer model.
I'm guessing here that it is a postscript-capable printer, probably HP, but that you have added it on Windows with a PCL (not postscript) driver. That driver is interfering with the postscript from the Mac and you get the error. If I'm right, re-Add the printer on the PC with a postscript driver.

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Answer 2

rakh1 Author

Level 1

15 points

Jan 18, 2008 5:30 AM in response to rakh1

Hi the printer is a HP PSC1355 - not sure where I get the postscript drivers from. I had to use the open source hpijs to get the driver to appear in the Mac to start with.

Any ideas?

R

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Answer 3

KHocke

Level 1

0 points

Jan 21, 2008 6:49 PM in response to rakh1

Don't bother with the Postscript issue. From your Mac, just change your driver to one of the HP PSC Gutenprint drivers. I myself have a PSC2170 connected with USB to my Windows XP box, and on my Mac use the Gutenprint v5.1.3 - HP PSC 2150 driver that came with Leopard. Works just fine although the printer seems to print very slowly.

Again, just try to avoid anything Postscript.

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Answer 4

rakh1 Author

Level 1

15 points

Jan 22, 2008 10:05 AM in response to KHocke

ok - so I got the SMB queue to talk to the 2003 box and I can now print from the Mac. However, I am now right back at the: when I go to print the Mac thinks it has completed, the 2003 server has a 0k file in its spool directory and the print queue shows: Remote Downlevel Document. It sits there until I kill it.

I cannot figure out what to do next?

Rich

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Answer 5

inajeep

Level 1

22 points

Jan 22, 2008 10:32 AM in response to rakh1

Hope you get some good advice. I've been beating my head against the wall with this one too. I got it to work a few times with Gutenburg drivers then mysteriously without changing anything it stops working all together. Picking the driver for my HP7690 has been a chore too since I can't select it.

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Answer 6

kbrant1

Level 1

0 points

Jan 22, 2008 10:58 AM in response to inajeep

I am having the same problem. I have 10.5.1 and I am trying to print to my HP PSC1315v printer that is hooked USB to my windows xp desktop. Now this printer is not in the list of drivers to install but I tried all of the PSC drivers listed. I can see the printer fine and when I print to it it goes thru on my Mac, but the print que on my XP desktop shows it there in the queue but never prints it. Very frustrating. Please help.

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