Andrei Kirillov <andreyk at cc.huji.ac.il> wrote in article
<332CEA1C.5556 at cc.huji.ac.il>...
> Actually it started as a GCG-related question...
>> Is there a Unix program to print PostScript files directly from
> the host Unix machine to the PostScript printer connected to the PC?
> It is a local printer connected to LPT1 port on our PC,
> not a network printer.
> And we use Telnet client under DOS or MS-Windows
> to access Unix box (Irix 5.3) from our PC.
Win3X: NO ps!
Win3X simply cannot handle printing of external PS files, sorry.
As it is not possible through WIN3X, you have to use a DOS telnet, - or
move the ps file to the pc and use the DOS PRINT command.
You have to have a postscript printer, though 8-)
Not_WIn3X: There are two/three available programs:
pcprint will print any file from a UNIX host to the pass_through port
og a DOS, WIN95 or WINNT machine, probably from a Mac, too, if a printer is
_chosen_ first.
If a file is not postscript, pcprint will work in Win3X, too.
text2ps or even better a2ps will take any text file and transform it
into a postscript file.
So using an alias for a combination of these commands, e.g.
cat infile | a2ps [-options] | pcprint
will print the file on the pass_through port of the PC, normally the
LPT1: port.
pcprint, text2ps and a2ps are freely available "out there".
As you have network access between the network of the UNIX machine
and the network of the PC, the best solution would be if you could buy a
network adapter for the PRINTER itself, and place it on the net with its
own IP address.
Then you can define a queue for that printer in the /etc/printcap file of
the UNIX machine and print directly to the printer from the UNIX machine.
Hans
BioBase - EMBnet, DK
