I'm interested in options for printing from the NeXTStation. I understand the standard "lpr" command, as well as the built-in printing features are likely to go straight to the serial port. So, it seems that the easiest way to get printer output is to create a Serial Print Spooler that connects to my network. This seems like a great use for an old Raspberry Pi (with an RS232->Pi interface thrown in). I'd probably write a Python daemon that reads from the serial port and when the job is complete, sends it off via CUPS to a local printer.
Have other folks tackled this problem already? If so, what did you do? If not, would anyone else be interested in tracking/testing my Raspberry Pi solution?
cheers,
dylan
You can easily print via IP to a printer, as long has it supports postscript. I currently use a HP LJ Pro M402dw. You set this up via Print Manager.
Back in the day, when postscript printers were a bit scarcer, there were programs like Jet Pilot that would do bit mapping in software and send out the output to PCL or other printers. I never used the serial port myself as IP to parallel adapters were available. I used these adapters with an HP 4ML.
Not that you shouldn't or couldn't use the serial port if that's your thing.
Jerry
I didn't even think of using HP Jetdirect (the only option for entering an IP address), but apparently my modern Lexmark speaks it fine, and telling NeXTStep it's a Postscript printer (I tried a few, they all worked) works great - yay! No Raspberry pi needed... Thanks!