Lanier ld016 wired network installation

Greetings--

I am an OSX moron, so bare with me. I am installing a printer for which the software is not included. I am using 10.9 on a Macbook Air.

The printer is a Lanier ld016, and I have searched the Apple community for a workflow that fits my situation.

I was able to get the printer to print. but what comes out starts with a % and Adobe or something (I'm not at the Mac right now and can't find the paper I printed). Also, it spits out a bunch of pages when trying to print a simple text file.

**Can I print like in Windows as far as creating a text file using the text editor and print it without changing the file type? Yes, I think?

So let's assume you can-- if this happened in Windows I would know it was a driver issue. I found this: Lanier Printer Drivers v10.1 for OS X

System requirements say 10.6 and later, so is this what I need?

What is the workflow for installing? Is this step 1?: support.apple.com/kb/HT3771 To add a printer via the Print & Fax preferences pane...

Do I use generic driver and then Software Update...?

I'm really lost here. Do I need to uninstall all the drivers and instances of my failed attempts before I do anything else?

Thank you for your time. I'm definitely getting a Mac as soon s I can afford it.