Gutenprint Driver Settings for Canon BJC-50

[Jonathan L. Parker]

Where should someone who wants to learn how to set up a Gutenprint
driver to make a printer work as well with another operating system as
it does in Windows go for advice? I've got an ancient Canon BJC-50 that
I can get to print from my MacBook Pro running Tiger, but the quality
and performance are so poor it's hardly worth doing. The output is
grainy and washed out, it takes so many minutes for a single sheet to
print that I haven't even bothered timing it, and the stupid printer
*drinks* ink while it's doing this. I wonder where the ink is going,
because from the looks of the output it's *not* ending up on the paper.

From not finding much on the web that would seem to apply to this
specific situation, and from what I *have* found regarding similar
issues with other printers, it looks as if I'll have to play around with
the advanced settings (gamma, contrast, density and the like) and
discover a combination that works. I'm just curious as to where I can
find guidance as to which ones do what.

The Gutenprint manual, for what it's worth, seems to assume-as do too
many open source support aids, in my view-that the end user already
knows this. Well, I don't. And since I can either use a newer
natively-supported printer with Tiger or the BJC-50 with Vista if I have
to, monkeying around with Gutenprint to get the printer working right in
OS X can wait until I do know.

Any suggestions?

 

[Fred McKenzie]

And since I can either use a newer
natively-supported printer with Tiger or the BJC-50 with Vista if I have
to, monkeying around with Gutenprint to get the printer working right in
OS X can wait until I do know.

Any suggestions?

Jonathan-

I can't help you with your BJC-50. I have a BJC-85, which uses the same
ink tanks and cartridges as the BJC-50, BJC-70 and Apple's CSW 2200.

The BJC-85 has a USB port, and worked with an older G3 under OS 8 and 9.
I haven't tried it under OS X, but expect it would work since the
Gutenprint driver shows up in the Add-Printer setup. I haven't tried it
because it is such a lousy printer!

Several years ago I did some tests of prints from different printers,
putting them inside the rear window of my car. The car sat for several
hours a day in the Florida sun while I was at work. At the end of the
first week, the BJC-85 print was noticeably faded. By comparison, an
Epson Photo 2000P print with pigmented ink, still looked good after one
year. You had to compare it with a control print stored in a dark
place, to see any difference.

If you need the portability and small size of the BJC-50 with its NK-300
"portable kit", there are newer printers that are just as small and work
much better. For example, the HP Deskjet 460 with its optional battery
pack is about the same size as a BJC-50 with the portable kit attached.
Canon may also have a much newer portable printer.

Fred

 

[Jonathan L. Parker]

Fred McKenzie wrote:

I can't help you with your BJC-50. I have a BJC-85, which uses the same
ink tanks and cartridges...

If you need the portability and small size of the BJC-50...there are newer printers that are just as small and work
much better.

And have native Mac support, I'm told.

However, buying something like that when you don't really need it is a
mistake one should make only once in a lifetime. I probably made it
back in '99 buying the BJC-50 to start with. On the other hand, $350
for a printer like that back then wasn't really outrageous, and there
was that cool infrared printing feature-look Ma, no wires!-which I
actually used once or twice, as opposed to its mobile capability.

As I mentioned, I've got a modern Mac-supported printer-which,
incidentally, cost one-tenth what the BJC-50 did (or actually less than
that, taking inflation into account), and which I could conceivably even
take with me on the road if I ever needed to, although I'd have to plug
it in-and I'm running Windows on my Mac as well, so I can still make
full use of the BJC-50 if necessary. I'm just trying to do this
Mac/Gutenprint thing for the challenge of getting it working. The
printer's days as a would-be road warrior are behind it now. I just
want to be sure I can use all of the half-dozen or so BC-10 cartridges
(with printheads!) I scored for a buck each at a local dollar store
recently.

Thanks just the same for responding.

 

[measekite]

Where should someone who wants to learn how to set up a Gutenprint
driver to make a printer work as well with another operating system as
it does in Windows go for advice? I've got an ancient Canon BJC-50
that I can get to print from my MacBook Pro running Tiger, but the
quality and performance are so poor it's hardly worth doing. The
output is grainy and washed out, it takes so many minutes for a single
sheet to print that I haven't even bothered timing it, and the stupid
printer *drinks* ink while it's doing this. I wonder where the ink is
going, because from the looks of the output it's *not* ending up on
the paper.

From not finding much on the web that would seem to apply to this
specific situation, and from what I *have* found regarding similar
issues with other printers, it looks as if I'll have to play around
with the advanced settings (gamma, contrast, density and the like) and
discover a combination that works. I'm just curious as to where I can
find guidance as to which ones do what.

The Gutenprint manual, for what it's worth, seems to assume-as do too
many open source support aids, in my view-that the end user already
knows this. Well, I don't. And since I can either use a newer
natively-supported printer with Tiger or the BJC-50 with Vista if I
have to, monkeying around with Gutenprint to get the printer working
right in OS X can wait until I do know.

Any suggestions?

First we need to know if you are using Canon OEM ink in your printer.