how do you ''see'' an Apple Personal LaserWriter 320 in Linux?

  • Thread starter Thread starter FrancG620
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FrancG620

hi there people!

as part of a ''low cost / no cost'' computing project
I was asked to get a few PCs and a few printers connected
on a network.

the setup is a PC running DebIan (Etch) Linux with SaMBa
(as the PC server) two PCs running WinXP SP2
for printing -- there is an Epson USB inkjet printer (R200)
and an Apple Personal LaserWriter 320

now the 2 PCs running Win XP and the Epson Inket
are relatively new. The PC running DebIan is 4 yrs old
and has a 1GHz processor. the Apple laser was acquired
some time ago and kept in storage until this time it was attached
to a device called Asantetalk by Asante (that device is connected
to the laser)

in doing some research for this project -- I found out that
an Apple laser *can* be connected to a PC using this device --
but all the examples I've seen has a Mac in
the network somewhere -- THERE IS NO MAC *ANYWHERE* ON THIS NETWORK

I all ready set up the server to run SaMBa so that the printers could
be shared along with files.

now while I have the Epson printer up and running -- I cant see
the Apple laser -- I have a packet-analyzer telling me the Asante
the laser is connected to is connecting to the network but the
netatalk tools (such as nbplkup) are not showing me the laser
itself...

here is where I say HELP!

(thanks!)

FN G
 
FrancG620 said:
now the 2 PCs running Win XP and the Epson Inket
are relatively new. The PC running DebIan is 4 yrs old
and has a 1GHz processor. the Apple laser was acquired
some time ago and kept in storage until this time it was attached
to a device called Asantetalk by Asante (that device is connected
to the laser)

in doing some research for this project -- I found out that
an Apple laser *can* be connected to a PC using this device --
but all the examples I've seen has a Mac in
the network somewhere -- THERE IS NO MAC *ANYWHERE* ON THIS NETWORK
Click to expand...

http://support.apple.com/kb/SP436

Those printers were designed to be managed on Macintosh computers using
an early Apple utility.

Also, that computer connects to the world using LocalTalk connections
and AppleTalk networking. That's where the AsanteTalk unit comes in--to
bridge it over to an Ethernet network.

However, once you've bridged it to an Ethernet network, understand that
it STILL talks only AppleTalk--no IP, no SMB, nada.

No matter what, you'd have to be running AppleTalk on your network to
make any of this happen.

There are AppleTalk packages for Windows; that's how this laser *can* be
connected to a ethernet-equipped PC. So your Linux box has to behave
the same way. Can you add AppleTalk to your Linux box? If so, that
AppleTalk will see this Personal LaserWriter 320 immediately.

http://www.google.com/#hl=en&num=100&newwindow=1&q=appletalk+for+linux&aq
=f&aqi=g1&fp=82e34627c46f57f4

Whether you run AppleTalk on all your Linux boxes or simply on one box
and share that out, you MUST be running AppleTalk.

Computer + AppleTalk + a Postscript driver + AsanteTalk box + Personal
LaserWriter 320 = printing.

You're lucky this is a Postscript box; Apple did go the even cheaper
route with some of their smaller printers, and made them the Apple
equivalent of a Windows GDI printer (called a QuickDraw printer...wow,
you're taking me back here). Nothing but a QuickDraw computer such as
an old Macintosh can print to those.
 
FrancG620 said:
the Apple laser was acquired
some time ago and kept in storage until this time it was attached
to a device called Asantetalk by Asante (that device is connected
to the laser)
Click to expand...

FN G-

As Elmo stated, the Asante device translates AppleTalk on Ethernet to
LocalTalk for the printer.

If you can get any one of the computers to act as an AppleTalk print
server, it can be shared with the other computers. I recall hearing of
servers having AppleTalk Services turned on, and about AppleTalk cards
being required in other cases.

One problem I've encountered with AppleTalk over Ethernet, is that some
network devices do not pass AppleTalk. For example, I have a wireless
network set up just for printing. Some wireless (WiFi) routers I tried
would not pass AppleTalk between their Ethernet LAN port and wireless.
It was necessary to try several before finding ones that would.

If you can connect the Asante device directly to a second Ethernet port
on the server, you shouldn't have any such communications problem. With
the needed AppleTalk hardware or software installed, other computers can
then share over Ethernet as long as they have a PostScript printer
driver.

Fred
 
Fred McKenzie said:
One problem I've encountered with AppleTalk over Ethernet, is that some
network devices do not pass AppleTalk. For example, I have a wireless
network set up just for printing. Some wireless (WiFi) routers I tried
would not pass AppleTalk between their Ethernet LAN port and wireless.
It was necessary to try several before finding ones that would.
Click to expand...

Yup. Apple and Buffalo routers do.
 
FrancG620 said:
hi there people!

as part of a ''low cost / no cost'' computing project
I was asked to get a few PCs and a few printers connected
on a network.

the setup is a PC running DebIan (Etch) Linux with SaMBa
(as the PC server) two PCs running WinXP SP2
for printing -- there is an Epson USB inkjet printer (R200)
and an Apple Personal LaserWriter 320

now the 2 PCs running Win XP and the Epson Inket
are relatively new. The PC running DebIan is 4 yrs old
and has a 1GHz processor. the Apple laser was acquired
some time ago and kept in storage until this time it was attached
to a device called Asantetalk by Asante (that device is connected
to the laser)

in doing some research for this project -- I found out that
an Apple laser *can* be connected to a PC using this device --
but all the examples I've seen has a Mac in
the network somewhere -- THERE IS NO MAC *ANYWHERE* ON THIS NETWORK

I all ready set up the server to run SaMBa so that the printers could
be shared along with files.

now while I have the Epson printer up and running -- I cant see
the Apple laser -- I have a packet-analyzer telling me the Asante
the laser is connected to is connecting to the network but the
netatalk tools (such as nbplkup) are not showing me the laser
itself...
Click to expand...

as others have mentioned -
you have 2 protocol issues to resolve - hardware cabling + software printing
http://support.apple.com/kb/TA35778
Apple LocalTalk - physical cabling for devices
Apple AppleTalk - networking & software device protocol

#1 - hardware cabling -
you need to have "something" that can physically
connect and "bridge" from Apple Localtalk to Ethernet...
This will require some kind of physical "box" or print server device.

#2 - software printing & networking -
you again need to find "something" that will handle your print requests
as some form of "print server".and again bridge
from the Apple software world of AppleTalk to Ethernet and TCP/IP
 
you might be better off just trying to get a current small laser printer,
vs beating your head against the wall -

Sometimes "free" is just not that easy to do...
 
ps56k said:
you might be better off just trying to get a current small laser printer,
vs beating your head against the wall -

Sometimes "free" is just not that easy to do...
Click to expand...

FTW.

Truer words were never spoken.
 
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