EPSON Stylus Photo R320 work around

After a frustrating day of trying to get my Epson R320 to work with SL, I stumbled on the cure.
Snow Leopard always wanted to use the Gutenprint driver even after I installed the latest Epson drivers for SL. So I simply copied over the EPSON folder and installed printer plist from my back up drive (that was still Leopard 10.5) onto my Snow Leopard drive. And voila, works just like before using the old 10.5 Epson driver. Even the printer utility to check ink levels and such works fine now. This may work for other Epson printers people are having problems with.

mac mini, Mac OS X (10.6)

Posted on Sep 1, 2009 8:50 PM

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Sep 3, 2009 2:40 PM in response to jminoki

I just received the following email from Epson:

Epson is proud to partner with Apple Corporation in support of their newly introduced operating system, Snow Leopard. If you plan to use Macintosh OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard, and wish to continue enjoying all the advanced features of your Epson product, you will need to visit www.epson.ca/snowleopard to obtain the latest drivers, software updates and user instructions.

Thank you,
Epson


What's up with that? I thought Snow Leopard was supposed to automatically find these updates and configure my printer automatically?
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Sep 3, 2009 7:24 PM in response to jminoki

Hi.
Maybe you've found something...
I've a problem with OS X 10.6 and my Epson Stylus R800..

I've tried to copy the Epson folder in the System > Preferences > Printers folder, but Snow Leopard keeps screwing the printers setting, using GutenPrint 5.2.4.

IYou're talking about a folder, a specific one, that you copied and it works, like in 10.5.8.

Which one was it? =))
May I have a clue?

Pleaaaaaaaaaaaase?
I'm stuck since days, now...
And the GutenPrint 5.2.4 is not helping at all...
My prints look like ****.

Thanks for answering! =))

Maybe you've found something...
I've a problem with OS X 10.6 and my Epson Stylus R800..

I've tried to copy the Epson folder in the System > Preferences > Printers folder, but Snow Leopard keeps screwing the printers setting, using GutenPrint.

In a post on the Apple web site, you're talking about a folder, a specific one, that you copied and it works, like in 10.5.8.

Which one was it? =))
May I have a clue?

Pleaaaaaaaaaaaase?
I'm stuck since days, now...
And the GutenPrint 5.2.4 is not helping at all...
My prints look like ****.

Thanks for answering! =))

Myrdinn
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Sep 5, 2009 2:36 AM in response to Myrdinn

Hi
I've had probs with my R800 since installation.
I've just fixed them.
The download was available at this address:
http://www.epson.com/cgi-bin/Store/support/supDetail.jsp?oid=30501&prodoid=37472 319&BV_UseBVCookie=yes&infoType=Downloads&platform=Macintosh&x=13&y=9

... Hope this helps
HDS
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Sep 5, 2009 6:01 AM in response to jminoki

Thanks jminoki. After deleting all that stuff, I did the same as a previous poster, just grabbed the EPSON folder from an older backup and used that. It doesn't seem to be the exact same as I remember it, but there's now a Utility tab in the printer queue that gives me the ink levels. Thanks.
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Sep 5, 2009 8:08 PM in response to gakon

Gakon, if you are brave enough now that you have working epson drivers instead of the gutenprint garbage. Try going to the Epson support site and download the new 10.6 drivers and install them. I haven't done it yet myself, the 10.5 drivers and utility work fine on SL for me. I think maybe the only difference is they are 32 bit instead of 64 bit, not sure tho.
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Sep 6, 2009 8:54 AM in response to jminoki

Once downloaded, what do you select as a driver? When I go to add a printer and select Print Using "Other", there's nothing that strikes me as an obvious file to select. When I do select files I think could be the driver, it just goes back to Gutenprint.
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Sep 6, 2009 1:36 PM in response to jminoki

A little more information:
When I delete the plist and all other printer related files from the /Library/Printers folder, then put the old "EPSON" folder from my backup there, then use system preferences to add a printer, my mac automatically finds the driver.
When I delete those files and then download the 10.6 compatible drivers from the Epson web site, my mac does not find the driver, and I have to search. That's where I don't know which file to add, as there aren't the same files as there are in the older version.
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Sep 7, 2009 4:32 AM in response to gakon

Make sure you copy over the installed printer plist from your backup along with the epson folder. If the 10.6 driver doesn't work, then just go with the old 10.5 driver. I wasn't brave enough to try installing the 10.6 driver myself, since the old one works fine.
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Sep 7, 2009 7:30 PM in response to jminoki

I think I figured it out, or at least what I did worked for me.

First I removed my Epson Printer from the installed printers using Systems Preferences.

Then I restarted.

Then I went to the top level of my hard drive and opened the Library folder.

Inside the Library folder, I found and opened the Printers folder.

I trashed the EPSON folder.

I backed up my hard drive before I upgraded to Snow Leopard. Did you?

I went to my backup.

I found the Library: Printers: Epson folder in my backup. I copied the EPSON folder from my backup to my Printers folder in Snow Leopard.

I found a file entitled "InstalledPrinters.plist" in my Snow Leopard Printers folder. I replaced the one in Snow Leopard with the one from my backup.

Now my Epson utilities application tells me how much ink I have. My R320 prints.

Life is grand again.

Your milage may vary.

Larry S
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EPSON Stylus Photo R320 work around

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