try to print to dot matrix printer fx890

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try to print to dot matrix printer fx890

i want to move to mac completely, but cannot print using dot matrix. i need to print dup for my invoices (lots of them) for my biz.

did search the forum n found this discussion (see link)

http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=1485588&tstart=0

follow all the instructions step by step, went to the linux foundation, n still cannot find anything that would help to print.

try to look for a compatible printer n found none. what did i do wrong? or not do?

please help.

iMac24, Mac OS X (10.5.5)

Posted on Oct 15, 2008 2:16 PM

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Answer 1

Kappy

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Oct 15, 2008 2:32 PM in response to doboyz

Who makes your printer? You gave the model but not the make.

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Answer 2

doboyz Author

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Oct 15, 2008 2:35 PM in response to Kappy

it's epson fx 890

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Answer 3

Kappy

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Oct 15, 2008 2:45 PM in response to doboyz

If you installed the Epson Family printers in OS X, there are two drivers that may work. One is simply labeled Epson 9-pin, and the other is labeled Epson 24-pin. You might try them. Otherwise you probably should buy a new printer for which there is an available OS X driver.

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Answer 4

Oct 15, 2008 4:18 PM in response to doboyz

The Epson fx890 is a 9-pin dot matrix printer. As Kappy mentions, OS X comes with a generic Epson 9-pin driver. It actually is part of the CUPS installation package. No need to install the Epson driver package. Just use Printer Setup Utility and select "Epson 9-Pin Series, 1.3" for the driver. Hopefully that will get it working.

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Answer 5

doboyz Author

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Oct 15, 2008 5:27 PM in response to Matt Broughton

thank you Kappy, thank you Matt for your prompt responses.

did intalled the generic Epson 9-pin driver that i found at the site, tried: epson ESC/p, dot matrix, all that are available for this printer. did not work.

this is how i did it: installed foomatic, installed ghostscript, installed drivers (9-pin, esc/p, dot matrix), connect the printer to a usb hub that i connected to an airport extreme 802.11n.

when i added a new printer, the epson fx890 showed up, choose the proper driver (tried all 3 mentioned above). just cannot print. it made the screen fuzzy for a short time. so there is something that did not installed right. also, it does not show that there is a file in the print queue.

tried restarting too. tried to uninstalled and reinstalled but cannot find foomatic, ghostscript files.

am i in a mess?

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Answer 6

Oct 15, 2008 5:43 PM in response to doboyz

doboyz wrote:
did intalled the generic Epson 9-pin driver that i found at the site, tried: epson ESC/p, dot matrix, all that are available for this printer. did not work.

You must realize that there may not be an appropriate driver for your printer. Generally, the Epson dot matrix drivers that come with OS X will work. The driver Kappy and I are talking about comes with OS X and not from the OpenPrinting site. Look for the driver I mentioned before -- *Epson 9-Pin Series, 1.3*.

this is how i did it: installed foomatic, installed ghostscript, installed drivers (9-pin, esc/p, dot matrix), connect the printer to a usb hub that i connected to an airport extreme 802.11n.

Try connecting the printer directly to a USB port on the computer. If things work, you can try other connection later.

tried restarting too. tried to uninstalled and reinstalled but cannot find foomatic, ghostscript files.

The Foomatic-RIP and Ghostscript files are all installed in invisible directories.

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Answer 7

doboyz Author

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Oct 16, 2008 8:37 AM in response to Matt Broughton

thank you Matt, it's printing when it's connected directly to the computer.

i set up to print thru the airport extreme n it's printing too. i'm going to set up the same thing to other imacs.

i noticed that os 10.4 does not have epson 9-pin. what should i do?

recap: install foomatic-rip and ghostscript files and look epson 9-pin series, 1.3 in printer utility.

thank you all.

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Answer 8

Oct 16, 2008 8:52 AM in response to doboyz

doboyz wrote:
i noticed that os 10.4 does not have epson 9-pin. what should i do?

OS X 10.4 does have *EPSON 9-Pin Series CUPS v1.1*

recap: install foomatic-rip and ghostscript files and look epson 9-pin series, 1.3 in printer utility.

If you use the drivers that I cite, you should not need foomatic-rip or ghostscript. The *EPSON 9-Pin Series CUPS v1.1* and *Epson 9-Pin Series, 1.3* use the drivers built into the printing system. They should not need any other software. It is only when you use PPDs from OpenPrinting that you would need the added software.

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Answer 9

doboyz Author

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Oct 16, 2008 3:10 PM in response to Matt Broughton

went into OS X 10.4 in printer utility to look for epson 9-pin series CUPS v1.1, could not find it.
where could it be?

thank you for all, and Matt, for all your help.

again, thank you.

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Answer 10

Oct 16, 2008 3:58 PM in response to doboyz

doboyz wrote:
went into OS X 10.4 in printer utility to look for epson 9-pin series CUPS v1.1, could not find it.
where could it be?

I guess they did hide it pretty well. Print Using -> ESP -> EPSON 9-pin series CUPS v1.1

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Answer 11

doboyz Author

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Oct 16, 2008 4:41 PM in response to Matt Broughton

Matt, thank you, thank you, thank you.

this is wonderful

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Answer 12

Nov 17, 2008 5:29 PM in response to doboyz

This discussion has helped me tremendously in hooking up my fx890. I am running 10.5.5 and connect to the printer via a USB cable. I can print, but the printer switches to "draft mode" as soon as I send any information to it and then reverts back to the (original) settings I chose after printing is complete. I tried both the 9-pin and 24-pin setting for the print driver. Any suggestions on how to control the print quality? Thanks.

/Joe

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