print servers with Epson - which?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Stewart
  • Start date Start date
S

Stewart

Hi,

I am trying to find which low cost print server adapters will work with
Epson printers in bi-directional mode. It looks like many of them cannot
pass back the info as regards cartridge capacity left etc - these are all
greyed out in the epson monitor. Printing is OK though.

Anyone have any experience with D-Link etc as to whether any of them
actually work? Specific Epson models are 1270, 950 and the new R300.

Thanks for any replies.

Stewart
 
I have the d-link dp-g310 print server connected to a HP 960C and it will
not pass back the cartridge estimated ink level. It just states that the
computer is unable to establish two-way communication with the device.
Plugging the printer directly into a usb port works just fine. I have
enabled bidirectional support but it still will not work. I've also tried
the latest drivers. I'm guessing the d-link would be the same for other
printers also.
 
Stewart said:
Hi,

I am trying to find which low cost print server adapters will work with
Epson printers in bi-directional mode. It looks like many of them cannot
pass back the info as regards cartridge capacity left etc - these are all
greyed out in the epson monitor. Printing is OK though.

Anyone have any experience with D-Link etc as to whether any of them
actually work? Specific Epson models are 1270, 950 and the new R300.

Thanks for any replies.

Stewart
Click to expand...

If a bi-directional printserver exists, I cannot find it. I am using a
Trendware print server with two USB and one parallel connection. I have an
HP DJ 5550, Epson R200 and a Lexmark Optra E310 connected, and none of these
gives me bi-directional feedback. I saw an ad for a network USB hub that
might do this, but I satisfied with the way things are.

--irv segal
(e-mail address removed)
 
I am trying to find which low cost print server adapters will work with
Epson printers in bi-directional mode. It looks like many of them cannot
pass back the info as regards cartridge capacity left etc - these are
all greyed out in the epson monitor. Printing is OK though.
Click to expand...

I've heard that this can be a problem if using USB. Can you try connecting
via Firewire or parallel?

Jon.
 
Hi,

I am trying to find which low cost print server adapters will work with
Epson printers in bi-directional mode. It looks like many of them cannot
pass back the info as regards cartridge capacity left etc - these are all
greyed out in the epson monitor. Printing is OK though.

Anyone have any experience with D-Link etc as to whether any of them
actually work? Specific Epson models are 1270, 950 and the new R300.

Thanks for any replies.
Click to expand...
The only ones I know of that work properly are those made by Epson.,
And they aren't cheap.
 
Thanks - I did try the parallel port as well - same issue.

I saw from another post that one could try Epson, but even they only have a
small listing of supported devices.

Regards,

Stewart
 
Thanks,

This is probably the best suggestion - especially when you look at the cost
of the dedicated Epson print servers.

Regards,

Stewart
Rus said:
As far as I know, there is no "generic" print server that will manage the
Click to expand...
propietary code of all the "bi-directional" features. Unfortunately, you've
got to get an Epson server for an Epson printer. As you say, it may take
more than one server to cover all of your Epson models. Some of the Epson
servers are USB enabled.
I ran into this trouble a little over a year ago when I bought a router
Click to expand...
that contained a "built-in" print server. Yes, it would print through the
HP 6122 that I had at the time. However, at the workstation, I was not
alerted when the printer was done with a job, when the printer was out of
paper, when the printer was jammed, when the printer was out of ink, etc.
There is a sort of alternative I can think of, however, that might be
Click to expand...
cheaper than buying a bunch of dedicated print servers. Most of the newer
Epson driver sets are "network capable" through the "Status Monitor 2" or
"Status Monitor 3." (And ... I think I've noticed on my computer that when
I installed a newer Epson driver that utilized Status Monitor 3, that same
Status Monitor 3 now functions for my older drivers that used Status Monitor
2.)
You'd simply attach the printers to a cheap computer. The "cheap"
Click to expand...
computer could be an old P3 with barebones components. With the drivers
installed on that computer and the printers attached to that computer, the
computer could function as a "server" to all of the client computers on your
network.
You could even install "WinVNC" to the server computer and all of the
Click to expand...
client computers so that you could run the server computer from each of the
clients. Once up and running, you wouldn't even need a display monitor on
the server computer. Even a novice can master "WinVNC." It would be much
easier than installing a Linux or Windows server OS to the server computer,
I think.
Maybe my posting will spark some other suggestions. I think I could put
Click to expand...
together a P3-733 MHz computer for about $150 or less. Bet you could, too.
 
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