06-08-2023, 04:43 PM
Notes on using a dot matrix printer with Linux.
This point applies to any USB device on any system. Just because the computer displays the manufacturer name and model number of the device, that doesn't mean it knows anything about the device. That's a human readable string that the device provides upon request when it's first connected to the PC. This stage of the handshake is a USB protocol feature that almost always succeeds whether or not the device is working correctly.
Linux will install a driver, but it's probably a generic page printing driver that doesn't recognize you're using continuous feed paper. It'll waste a whole sheet of paper on a few lines of text, just like a laser or inkjet printer.
If your text editor has syntax highlighting or any color scheme besides black text on a white background, the printer probably won't print it.
If the owner's manual tells you to set the left sprocket and paper guide at 0 (zero), and the 0 mark isn't all the way to the left, ignore it and move them all the way to the left. Otherwise it'll start printing somewhere in the middle of each line.
This point applies to any USB device on any system. Just because the computer displays the manufacturer name and model number of the device, that doesn't mean it knows anything about the device. That's a human readable string that the device provides upon request when it's first connected to the PC. This stage of the handshake is a USB protocol feature that almost always succeeds whether or not the device is working correctly.
Linux will install a driver, but it's probably a generic page printing driver that doesn't recognize you're using continuous feed paper. It'll waste a whole sheet of paper on a few lines of text, just like a laser or inkjet printer.
If your text editor has syntax highlighting or any color scheme besides black text on a white background, the printer probably won't print it.
If the owner's manual tells you to set the left sprocket and paper guide at 0 (zero), and the 0 mark isn't all the way to the left, ignore it and move them all the way to the left. Otherwise it'll start printing somewhere in the middle of each line.
