Tackling a shared USB printer (linux -> WXP)

[Brion Swanson]

It seems to me that the printer is hooked up to a single machine - i.e.
presumably a machine that only runs one operating system at a time - or it's
hooked up to a hardware print server.  In either case, the interface through
which the printer receives its data should be of one type.  In other words,
when I - as the software printing driver - talk to the physical printer, I
use only one language to talk to that printer -- the most appropriate common
language.  All other devices that want to talk through the printer must go
through the printer driver -- a single printer driver.

If I set up a printer in Windows and shared it, I don't believe I'd need to
set up multiple versions of the same printer, one for each different OS that
uses it.  Windows would configure one printer, with one driver (the Canon
driver in my case) and then other computers would talk to Windows to print,
not to the printer directly.  In which case, I only need the driver that
works with windows to be loaded and possibly some translation software to
convert, say, a stream of bytes into something the printer will understand.

I agree it's logical to have one queue for each device that needs a
different driver, but managing 'n' number of queues for a single printer
because I have 'n' number of different OSes, each of which talk to the
printer in a different language is, if not difficult at least annoying.

I want to set up the printer locally in linux, then tell the rest of the
world, "Hey! I have a printer you can use if you want to talk to it through
me!" and have that be it.  It doesn't seem like such a difficult task.
Other operating systems do it - why not this one?

Sorry this turned into a little rant, but it just bugs me that this
"thousand-queue" solution is the best thing linux has to offer when sharing
a USB printer with other operating systems.

Brion

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Jeff Vian" <jvian10 at charter.net>
>
> Why does it seem wrong.??
>
> The os being used to print (windows), preformats the printer output so
> it is correctly printed.  Thus it needs to be streamed to the printer
> via a "RAW" queue that gets no further processing.
>
> Linux also needs to format its output for the printer, so it cannot use
> the raw queue but needs a different path that does process the output
> and prepares it for the printer.
>
> This seems very logical to me.
>