Feed
 

Printer connection problem - help needed

Avatar Michael Corgan
Seems to have started when I moved up to Leopard.

I have a sturdy, not to say tank-like, old Apple LaserWriter, which connects to my iMac and iBook via Appletalk, an Asanté Bridge and Ethernet through a Netgear router, and an Epson Stylus Photo R265 which connects via USB.

It has been possible to print to the LaserWriter from both an iBook G4 and from an iMac, using the Ethernet connection, but to the Epson only from the iMac via USB.

I have tried deleting and re-installing both printers, to no effect. I have then passed the Asanté Bridge and the Netgear router though an Ethernet hub. Having done that I can't now print to the LaserWriter

Both printers can be seen from the iBook, but files sent to print do not connect to the selected printer (both of which are apparently accessed via port 163).

The only way in which it is possible to print from the iBook at the moment is to disconnect the Ethernet cable from the router to the Asanté Bridge and replace it with a separate cable direct to the iBook.

It would be far better to regain the set-up that worked - and even better to regain access to the Epson.

All help gratefully received!

Re: Printer connection problem - help needed

Avatar Michael Corgan
Despite Euan, and then Mick bending their minds to this aggravationg problem, to say nothing of them giving valuable time to trying to solve it, and having installed the printer drivers for the Epson on the iBook, it still won't print via the ethernet/router/iMac route. It does print when connected directly by USB however, so Iguess the answer is a T-switch and a long USB cable!

Re: Printer connection problem - help needed

Avatar Trevor Hewson
Michael, I know very little about ethernet and have no idea what an Asanté bridge is so may be missing the point completely. However, would there be any value in trying an Airport Express? This would effectively give you a remote USB socket into which to plug your Epson printer.

Trevor

Re: Printer connection problem - help needed

Avatar Gordon Clyne
I thought the whole AppleTalk network stack went away several OS versions ago, so I'm surprised you have been able to use it at all! Not all new gear is supporting the passing of ATLK protocols these days as it's officially dead according to Cupertino. Is the Asante device taking ip print and converting it for the LaserWriter, if it is, you might want to isolate that device and printer as a culdesac on your apparently formidable home network!!

Re: Printer connection problem - help needed

Avatar Mick Burrell
The problem is that the iBook will not print over ethernet to the Epson printer. The router is set up as a DCHP server but the printer does not appear as an attached device even though the iMac can print to it. I wanted to get Michael to send a ping from the iMac to the Epson (which should work as printing works from the iMac) and then to send one from the iBook which I expected to show a network fault in that the iBook could not see the printer on the network. However, I have no idea how to find out using Mac OS X what IP address has been assigned to a device (can anyone help with that?) And Michael is currently unable to lay his hands on the instructions for the printer to find out from its control panel what IP address has been assigned so we cannot ping.

Re: Printer connection problem - help needed

Avatar John Surtees
Would this be any good?

http://mac.softpedia.com/get/Network-Admin/Network-Device-Finder.shtml

Re: Printer connection problem - help needed

Avatar Michael Corgan
Thank you for the thought Trevor. However the problem seems to lie between the iBook and the Epson - the Asanté Bridge is not involved, only being used to convert my ancient Laserwriter to work on Ethernet. I am reluctant to bring another factor into this equation, and so am more or less content to carry on as at present, by importing any documents that need printing in colour into the iMac from the iBook and printing from there. It would of course be much mpre efficient to be able to print direct to the Epson from the iBook, and I'll keep a weather eye out for solutions to this puzzle.

Re: Printer connection problem - help needed

Avatar Michael Corgan
Regarding the link from John, when I started the download I was taken to a different web-site that had no mention of Mac OS's at all, and also had a 'Poor' rating from the Web of Trust surveillance plug-in that I have installed on Firefox, so I have not gone any further. If John, or anyone else, hads tried it I'd be interested in learning how they got on.

Re: Printer connection problem - help needed

Avatar Lionel Ogden
Am I missing something here? Surely if the Epson is connected to the iMac by USB it will not have its own IP address and it would be shared using printer sharing. Could it be that the firewall on the iMac is preventing the iBook from accessing the printer?

Re: Printer connection problem - help needed

Avatar Mick Burrell
I'm under the impression all has now changed so that all connections are ethernet. IF a USB connection is made from the iBook to the Epson, the iBook can print to it so it's not a driver issue but when they are connected by ethernet it doesn't work.

The Epson does not show up in the router configuration as an attached device but the iMac can print to it so it must be. The router is being used as a DCHP server but Michael cannot find out how the printer can tell us what IP address it's been given (online manuals don't explain) nor how to set one manually. If we could, we could confirm that a ping from the iMac would work (as printing works) but then try from the iBook and the result would then take us a step forward.

Re: Printer connection problem - help needed

Avatar Mick Burrell
Now fixed. The Epson was connected by USB to the iMac but both computers were linked by ethernet. There was a firewall issue on the iMac stopping the iBook talking to it.

Re: Printer connection problem - help needed

Avatar Michael Corgan
Thanks to Mick for his time and expertise!
 
Feed