[WinMac] Re: best way win can print to LaserWriter 16/600?

Daniel L. Schwartz(expresso[at]snip.net)
Fri, 13 Aug 1999 08:45:39 -0500

        Dear Michael,

        Ahhh, you should have been to MacWorld! :)

        This very issue came up in our (Leonard, JoeMac, John & me)
Professional
conference. Essentially what you need to keep in mind is that LPR is
essentially one way; and that it doesn't care for PostScript®
bidirectionality too well. Printing to a PostScript printer over a network
from a PC just doesn't work well at all... Stick to a parallel port
connection.

        This is one area where AppleTalk still works quite well (whether
implemented on a Mac or via an NT spooler: PAP (Printer Access Protocol),
which is built in to AppleTalk, makes this all possible.

        POINT WORTH NOTING: You have *two* connections when using a
spooler: One
from the workstation to the spooler, and one from the spooler to the
printer... And you can run different stacks (IP to the spooler, AppleTalk
to the printer) if need be!

        The key connection is the one between the spooler and the
printer: If it's
a parallel port connection, no problem. If it's an AppleTalk connection, no
problem, either. If it's an IP connection, then it's "Katy bar the door."
Essentially, there are two machines that like to "talk" to a PostScript®
printer: Macs, and NT servers running Services For Macintosh.

        My suggestion is to use an old rePentium running NT/S 4, SP3
or SP5, and
SFM. Running the Spooler service uses very little in the way of CPU
resources, but it IS heavy in disk action. [If you are using "Per Seat"
licensing, then this is a non-issue.] You can find retired Prosignia 300's
(P90) for ~$100 that will work just fine and feed a dozen printers in its'
sleep.

        Just my 2 cents this morning...

At 10:07 PM 8/12/99 -0500, you wrote:
>What's the best way to get our win 98 clients to print to this
>printer? I have never worked in an environment where lpr was not a
>network printer option (was in nt as far as I remember).
>
>So we were thinking putting Dave onto a Mac that uses the Appletalk
>que, then using Dave to export it as an SMB printer. Is there a
>cheaper option?
>
>-mab

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