InkGUI v0.1 - A little program to check printer ink level.

Problems and successes with specific brands/models of printers
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Semme
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#16 Post by Semme »

Yeah, but is the old version still accurate?
>>> Living with the immediacy of death helps you sort out your priorities. It helps you live a life less trivial <<<

Illutorium
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Joined: Wed 06 Aug 2014, 07:12

#17 Post by Illutorium »

Semme wrote:Yeah, but is the old version still accurate?
Of course,because I had a problem with Tweaked GUI from OverDrive... (Not detected at GUI,but in Library can be detects fine.)
When can be replace if be at oldest version (GUI) doesn't be had problems anyway...

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Semme
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#18 Post by Semme »

Your lingo's tough to decipher. Your native tongue?
>>> Living with the immediacy of death helps you sort out your priorities. It helps you live a life less trivial <<<

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davids45
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Location: Chatswood, NSW

Network printer version?

#19 Post by davids45 »

G'day,

Is there an inkgui or similar useful application that will report the ink level in an inkjet printer that is on a home network?

I can get the ink levels for my networked Epson multifunction printer if also I plug it into a USB cable but it's 'Printer not found' when unplugged.

I've just replaced my (broken :( ) cheap XP-200 with an even cheaper WF-2510 ($29! Who said there's no Santa Claus! :D ) and both were/are fine with the usb-connected inkgui program, but not if just WiFi-ed as network printers.

I don't know if the IP address would be important. My new Epson has been set-up on my network with the same static IP address that the broken printer had been happy with, so the software changeover is being fairly simple, if tedious, across my too-many Pups.

Thanks for any advice.

David S.

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rcrsn51
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#20 Post by rcrsn51 »

WF-2510
This printer has an LCD control panel, does it not?

Does it not show the ink levels?

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davids45
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Ink levels on LCD

#21 Post by davids45 »

G'day rcrsn51,

You can tell I'm not used to fancy printers :oops: .

Yes, my new $29 Epson WF-2510 does have an LCD screen, and by playing with its Menu button and OK-arrow buttons, in Maintenance, option 1 does show a bar chart of the levels of the four inks :) .

But just clicking the pinboard icon for inkgui is and has been so much easier.

Is this your way of breaking it to me gently that there is no network-printer inkgui version, or equivalent in Linux to the usual Windows package?

Is trying wine 'out of the question' if there is a stand-alone ink-level program?

Thanks once again for your help,

David S.

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Mike Walsh
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Location: King's Lynn, UK.

#22 Post by Mike Walsh »

David, did you give up on the Epson-printer-utility that I mentioned some time ago?

http://www.murga-linux.com/puppy/viewto ... 652#882652

I admit, I've not attempted to use it across a network. I've only ever bothered to use it locally, on the big Compaq it's connected to via USB cable (no wifi on the old SX218!).....which acts as the 'server' for the rest of the network, and works perfectly via the p910ND print server Bill put together for Puppy.


Mike. :wink:

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davids45
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Location: Chatswood, NSW

Epson Escputil Utility

#23 Post by davids45 »

G'day Mike,

I'd forgotten that 'incident' from last year :oops: .

I did try (single go) running an old epson escputil pet with the new printer but nothing happened.

I'd suspect this package also dates back to the time when printers were mostly USB connected (replacing the parallel port which replaced the serial port, if I recall the port history semi-accurately).

If I connect my computer via a USB cable to the new printer, inkgui is fine - so if I do/did it correctly, I imagine ecsputil will be too?

It looks like technology has quickly switched to WiFi-network printing but computer-based ink-level software has not yet.

I had earlier installed Epson iPrint on my android phone for the Epson XP200 and checking just now, have switched it to the new Epson WF-2510 and this phone app reported the printer's ink levels as coloured bars a la Windows.

So this is another way to check levels without a USB connection :D , but presently, for my computer, just plugging in the otherwise unused USB lead computer-to-printer and clicking the inkgui desktop icon seems simplest for me.

David S.

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davids45
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Location: Chatswood, NSW

Network address option?

#24 Post by davids45 »

G'day,

In finding a couple of very recent Pups (LxPupSc from peebee, using a 64-bit kernel in a 32-bit Slacko Pup) wouldn't work with inkgui, I did look at its terminal options (first screenshot).

Trying a few of these options has proved disappointing (second screenshot).

You may see I entered to no avail my printer's network address (192.168.1.12 - WiFi if that matters?). If this option as '-b bjnp' or '-p bjnp' could be made workable, I could unplug my printer (an Epson WF-2510) from my computer USB port and just use the network connections.

Can anyone with an inkjet printer on their network get this command to read and display ink levels?

Is version 0.5.1 (-v) the latest for this package?

Other notes:
1) I have found inkgui will work in most of my Pups with a simplified script (found in /usr/local/bin/):
#!/bin/sh
# Program to display printer ink levels
# v01 by JB4x4 2008-02-16
# v02 by rcrsn51 2012-05-10

rm -f /tmp/inklevel.txt

#for P in `ls /dev/usb/lp*`; do
# ink -d $P > /tmp/inktemp.txt
# if [ $? -eq 0 ]; then
# cat /tmp/inktemp.txt >> /tmp/inklevel.txt
# echo >> /tmp/inklevel.txt
# fi
#done

#ink -p parport > /tmp/inktemp.txt
ink -p "usb" > /tmp/inktemp.txt
if [ $? -eq 0 ]; then
cat /tmp/inktemp.txt >> /tmp/inklevel.txt
fi

[ -f /tmp/inklevel.txt ] || echo "No printers found" > /tmp/inklevel.txt

gxmessage -file /tmp/inklevel.txt -title "InkGUI"


You can see I commented out the first part about "/dev/usb/lp*" and in the second part, the line about a parallel port printer (parport) - very last century :shock: ! Does anyone have such a printer anymore?
Simply having 'ink -p "usb"' (or ink -p usb?) gets the ink level information for the inktemp.txt file on my computer+printer set-up.

2) Sometimes I see an error message that inkgui or escputil needs a RAW device (sorry, I haven't the details at present :oops: ).
I assume RAW means read-and-write??
How can I define my network printer as a RAW device in a Pup giving this message? Or even as a USB printer?

Thanks for any advice or ideas.

David S.
Attachments
ink-options-in-terminal.jpg
options list for the version of ink (inkgui) I'm using for my Pups
(63.35 KiB) Downloaded 353 times
trying-some-terminal-commands.jpg
trying some commands from the help menu, but with little success
(39.58 KiB) Downloaded 357 times

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