Driver Packages for Some Epson Printers

Problems and successes with specific brands/models of printers
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rcrsn51
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Driver Packages for Some Epson Printers

#1 Post by rcrsn51 »

This project has been discontinued. The information was out of date and unreliable.
Last edited by rcrsn51 on Tue 09 Apr 2019, 12:16, edited 50 times in total.

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shinobar
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Re: How to Install Some Epson Printers

#2 Post by shinobar »

rcrsn51 wrote:Download the pipslite-1.5.0.pet and install your CUPS printer as usual.
So great, thanks!
I have never got success with my EPSON PX-A720 even installed avasys epson-inkjet-printer-escpr_1.0.1-1lsb3.2_i386.deb.
But lastly got it with your pipslite-1.5.0.pet. :D
Lucid Puppy Quickset edition (LupQ-511)

The CUPS wizard did not show my model on the list. So, i chose the file '/usr/share/cups/model/Epson/Epson-PX-A720-epson-pipslite-en.ppd.gz.

Now my printer can use from all my computers on my home LAN both Puppy/Windows.
Made 2 printer entries, 'lp' with pips driver for linux, 'rawprint' without driver for Windows.
Puppy's on my LAN has a file '/etc/cups/client.conf' with content:

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ServerName printserver.mydomain
(I have my DNS server for my home LAN. You can do it with fixed IP without local DNS.)
Windows on my LAN installed windows driver provided from EPSON and use the '\\printserver\rawprint' on the samba share.
http://www.murga-linux.com/puppy/viewtopic.php?t=60836
Downloads for Puppy Linux [url]http://shino.pos.to/linux/downloads.html[/url]

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rcrsn51
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#3 Post by rcrsn51 »

Glad to help. This package is just a rebuild of the pipslite_1.5.0-2_i386.deb from Avasys.

Old Woman
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Epson printer drivers

#4 Post by Old Woman »

My printer, Epson Stylus Photo R220 is not included in the list. I need to be able to monitor the ink levels and hoped you package would make life simpler. Thanks!

Lucid Pup 5.2

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rcrsn51
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#5 Post by rcrsn51 »

I'm assuming that you have already installed your R220 using the Gutenprint driver? Gutenprint comes with a little command line program that lets you manage your Epson printer. Open a terminal window and type

Code: Select all

escputil -h
Then check your ink levels with

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escputil -i -r /dev/usb/lp0
[Edit] The version of escputil in some Puppies may not work with newer Epson printers. Try the updated version below.
Last edited by rcrsn51 on Sun 12 May 2013, 16:02, edited 2 times in total.

Old Woman
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Epson printer drivers

#6 Post by Old Woman »

I used the CUPS printer wizard which comes with Puppy. The printer has stopped working because it's presumably out of one of its inks. I've no way of knowing which one. I downloaded gutenprint.pet from one of the forums, but I don't know how to proceed from there. Typing the commands you suggest just gives stuff about no warranty.

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rcrsn51
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#7 Post by rcrsn51 »

You already have the Gutenprint driver package in Puppy. It's what you used to install your printer the first time. So you don't need to install another package.

However, it turns out that the version of Gutenprint in Lupu does not contain the escputil program. So I have attached it below.

Is your printer USB or parallel? If it's USB, the command I gave above should show you the ink levels. It works with my Epson Stylus Color 777.

Are you typing it correctly with spaces in the right places?

Also, some Epsons will refuse to start at all if they have run out of ink. You might see an error light blinking. In which case, the above command will not work.

When you installed the printer the first time, could you print a test page?
Attachments
escputil-1.1.pet
Updated 2013-05-12
(63.74 KiB) Downloaded 1700 times
Last edited by rcrsn51 on Sun 12 May 2013, 15:54, edited 2 times in total.

Old Woman
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Epson printer drivers

#8 Post by Old Woman »

Thank you. I knew the printer was out of ink, but I didn't know which one (there are 6 separate inks). The windows software will tell you when an ink cartridge is empty. I gave up and installed the printer on my husband's windows laptop, just to use the epson status monitor. I was able to identify which ink needed changing, and, sure enough, the escputil command worked in Puppy after that. But this computer is used by my learning disabled son, who will never know what to do when his printer stops working. I was hoping for a simple gui which would send a message :"cyan (or whatever) ink empty"!

Still, at least the printer's back in business!

gungsukma
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TM-U220D

#9 Post by gungsukma »

How can I print with Epson TM-U220D?
It is a black and white dot matrix printer and I connect it via USB to my laptop.

I choose "Add Printer" and CUPS asks me about Device and Device URI and I don't know how to fill it.

I am newbie in Linux and Puppy.

I am using newest Wary.
I have downloaded Lupu and Slacko,too but not try it yet.

Thanks.

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rcrsn51
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#10 Post by rcrsn51 »

I think that you are out of luck. Epson does not supply Linux drivers for their dot-matrix printers. For older models, you can sometimes get a generic driver from openprinting.org. But their site has been down for a while.

I googled this and found a discussion that claimed you could send data directly to the printer with

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echo "Hello" > /dev/usb/lp0
But I don't see how that has much practical use.

gungsukma
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#11 Post by gungsukma »

Code: Select all

echo "Hello" > /dev/usb/lp0
The code above is working. :shock:

Well, what I need to do is displaying a text file from web server using web browser, then print it. :roll: [/quote]

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rcrsn51
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#12 Post by rcrsn51 »

When you install the printer in CUPS, select the Epson group. You may see some models at the top of the list called something like "24-pin". Try them.

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rcrsn51
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#13 Post by rcrsn51 »

Here is an Epson 24-pin driver.
Attachments
epson_24pin-1.0.pet
(3.12 KiB) Downloaded 1699 times

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shinobar
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New driver ESC/P-R

#14 Post by shinobar »

How a nice!
epson_inkjet_printer_escpr-1.1.0.pet on Wary-500-01j allows me to use EP-704A, Epson's new model.

It was easy to add the printer from the cups web interface.
All test print was ok from cups, seamonkey, abiword and epdfview.
(guess it does not using pdftops in this case.)
Downloads for Puppy Linux [url]http://shino.pos.to/linux/downloads.html[/url]

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rcrsn51
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Re: New driver ESC/P-R

#15 Post by rcrsn51 »

shinobar wrote:(guess it does not using pdftops in this case.)
Thank you for testing. Wary 500 has the older GTK so printing works correctly. The problem with pdftops first appears in Wary 520.

gungsukma
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#16 Post by gungsukma »

"24 pin" doesn't work with TM-U220D
Not sure if I do the right steps. :?

btw, there is a driver to download I found in
https://download.epson-biz.com/modules/ ... =32&pid=42
I tried* it but got pdftops error.

*) by extracting it to get ppd file and filter file, not by running the install.sh

gungsukma
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#17 Post by gungsukma »

about "/usr/lib/cups/filter/pdftops failed", I think I should

- install cups_pdftops_filter-1.3.11.pet downloaded from
http://murga-linux.com/puppy/viewtopic. ... &start=120
- restart cups
/etc/init.d/cups restart

I will try it later

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rcrsn51
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#18 Post by rcrsn51 »

gungsukma wrote:*) by extracting it to get ppd file and filter file, not by running the install.sh
You will definitely need the pdftops patch. You may also need the files from the "backend" folder of your tmu-cups download. Some printers will only work correctly if they run through their own backend. When you run CUPS, you should see it as an additional device.

gungsukma
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#19 Post by gungsukma »

Description: TM-U220D
Location: Here
Printer Driver: Epson 24-Pin Series, 1.3
Printer State: idle, accepting jobs, published.
Device URI: parallel:/dev/usb/lp0

"Epson 24-Pin Series" is working now because I've changed Device URI from "socket://localhost" to "parallel:/dev/usb/lp0" :D

Thank you. :D

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rcrsn51
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#20 Post by rcrsn51 »

gungsukma wrote:"Epson 24-Pin Series" is working now because I've changed Device URI from "socket://localhost" to "parallel:/dev/usb/lp0"
I'm glad to hear that you got it working, but that's not the conventional URI for a USB device. When you ran "Find New Printers" (under the Administration tab) was this device not detected? Maybe that's why the TMU package comes with its own backend.

Now that I have seen the TMU driver, I am really surprised that the old Epson dot-matrix driver would work at all.

I did some tests and the URI "parallel:/dev/usb/lp0" is actually a neat trick for installing a USB printer that may not be properly detected by CUPS.

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