Konica Minolta bizhub C353 going in to a pause state several times a day.

Vale404 wrote:
So question one is: does OSX use CUPS when printing from a generic driver?

Yes, if you are talking about the Generic PostScript included with 10.4 and 10.5. If you look at the cups error log (available via Console) this will show you which filters, plugins and backends are being used to spool the file to the printer.

Question two is: has anyone had issues with using a generic print driver such as network lockups and the like?

Not with using the Generic but certainly with using vendor provided drivers. This is mainly due to the vendor using their own filters and backends to spool the file to the printer.

Another setting in the new copiers that has caused problems is multicasting. If you can find any reference to multicasting in the machine then I suggest you disable it. Note that this also includes the new WSD (Web Services for Devices) used by Windows Vista and 7, which is a very chatty protocol.

Switches have also been known to cause lock ups. If you client is using a switch, then you can try sticking an unswitched hub between the copier and the switch.

The last suggestion is low power sleep modes. These power modes, which have been introduced to reduce standby consumption, can stop the NIC from waking. If you find the C353 has such a setting, you could try setting it to a high power sleep mode (if one exists) or turning it off temporarily to see if that helps.

Pahu

The Console application is located in Application > Utilities.

A good trick on the Mac to open applications is to use Spotlight - the little magnifying glass in the top right hand corner.

To open, either click on the icon or press Command Space. Then type in cons and you will see a list of hits, Console being one of them. Select it and the application will open.

Console is like Windows Event Viewer. Just about everything that goes on the Mac is logged and Console lets you see that.

With Console open, expand the entry /var/log. You should see the cups entry. Expand this and you will see the error_log. It may not mean much to you at first but the trick is to look at the left side of the right hand pane. You will see heaps of I's, meaning information, and if there are any errors they will start with an E.

Note that the start of every job is with the creation of a banner page (a leftover from UNIX days). This can also help you find your way around the log. It will also show all the filters and plugins that are being called for that job and may help identify the extra stuff you were seeing with the sniff, although this could have been a port check to make sure the socket was open.

As for the KM driver, it is often not a bad idea to use a generic driver when troubleshooting, but of course this will not provide the user with all the features of the printer - such as finishing options. So that is why I say it is for troubleshooting. If the generic driver works but the vendor provided doesn't, then you have narrowed down your causes. You'd be surprised by how easy most drivers are to install. But unlike Windows it is a two step process - install the driver software first and then add the print queue. If you find a C353 driver for OS X, then it will probably have an installer that you run (by double-clicking) and this will copy all the relevant driver files to the Mac. Note that you will have to authenticate with an admin account, just like Vista, to run the installer.

Hope this helps you a bit more. Feel free to ask more questions if you need to.

Pahu

Go to System Preferences > Print & Fax and select the printer in the left column. Then in the right pane, select Options & Supplies. With the new window open, select the Driver tab. If the Print Using menu is available, then you can drop this to 'Select a driver to use' and then search for the KM C353 - if that is what you mean by 'once I have the drivers installed'.

Pahu