On Fri, 8 Jan 1999, Steve Revilak wrote:

> Lars M Gustafsson <gumse@gyral.com> Wrote:
> 
> >I use the following printcap, on a LW IIf , via ethernet->localtalk
> >converter.
> >Using netatalk.. perhaps you can use the same filters.
> >
> >laser|lp|LaserWriter IIf on AppleTalk:\
> >		:sd=/var/spool/lpd:\
> >		:lp=/dev/null:\
> >		:lf=/var/log/lpd-errs:pw#80:hl:\
> >		:of=/usr/local/atalk/etc/filters/ofpap:\
> >		:if=/usr/local/atalk/etc/filters/ifpaprev:\
> >		:tf=/usr/local/atalk/etc/filters/tfpaprev:\
> > 		:df=/usr/local/atalk/etc/filters/dfpaprev:
> >

Don't bother with this unless you put the laserwriter on LocalTalk. All of
these filters will try to send a job to an AppleTalk printer using PAP.

> Setting lp to /dev/null?  Interesting!  Two quick questions -- is this the
> netatalk from ftp.macbsd.com or did you compile from recent sources?  Also,
> since you're going in through the localtalk connector, do you happen to
> know what position the communication switch on the back is set to?  (0-4
> are 'hardwired' to localtalk).

If you want netatlk, try the one in pkgsrc, and let me know how it works.
afpd had a problem with the resource limit stuff (when asked how many open
files a process could have, we returned INFINITY == -1, which messed afpd
up when it calloc'd memory based on that #).

The reason for /dev/null has to do with how the filters used to work. It
used to be that the filters turned one format file into bytes for a
device, and so lp was the device which got the output. The netatalk
filters communicate directly with the printer, so nothing goes out the lp
device. /dev/null works great as it permits locking to function right.

I'd vote with leaving the thing serially connected. If you run it in pcl
mode, all you need is a simple text filter which tells the printer that ^j
is the new-line character, not ^m. I have a snippet of PCL code which does
that. Or, run it in postscript mode and use enscript. I think it can be
set up to act as a filter, where it enscripts only if the input file is
text.

Take care,

Bill