I can't print

(Release 4.x)

There are a lot of differences between printing in the BeOS and any other environment. First, make sure you have a compatible printer.

Once you're sure you have a compatible printer, make sure you have added it correctly.

Serial/Parallel/USB printers

Troubles can come from incorrect cabling, and printers that aren't really as compatible as they say they are. A few generic printer troubleshooting tips:

Yes it works in the other OS, but try a different cable anyway. Disconnect the printer sharing switchbox if you have one.

There is no workaround for the printer that isn't as compatible as it says it is. This is especially evident in the PCL3 compatible club. There are rare exceptions in the AppleTalk LaserWriter compatibles as well. The only thing to try is a borrowed printer in this case.

Network printers

Troubles can come from network routing, incorrect PPDs, and printer compatibility.

The BeOS supports AppleTalk printing. This printer you are using must be friendly with the Apple LaserWriter 8 driver, which is a very flexible PostScript driver from Apple. If you don't see the printer when you try to add the printer with the printer preference, you can try a couple things.

Simplfy the network. Start small - you, a hub, and the printer, and nothing else. This cures a lot of printer disappearance. The BeOS doesn't know to look in other AppleTalk zones at this time. Many corporate networks set up printers in a separate zone or separate them in another similar way to keep them organized. Putting the printer on a local hub gives you unrestricted access and allows the BeOS to communicate freely. No announcements on AppleTalk Zone support.

Try looking for the printer from Terminal. In Terminal type "print -l". This will probe the AppleTalk network for available printers.

Once you can see the printer, other problems can arise.

Rename the printer. Some of the newer models are named 4/600 or 12/600 and so on. The BeOS sees the slash as a directory change and is looking for the wrong thing. Use the MacOS or Windows printer utility to rename the printer to something a bit more POSIX friendly, like "fred" or "4.600".

The PPD is a file that describes the printer in a standardized format. If this is incorrect, you can get odd artifacts, pages that disappear off the edges, fonts that don't line up, etc. Sometimes this can also lead to not printing at all and other things. Use this page to find out how to add your PPD.

Some printers have more than one interface, like twisted pair (ethernet) and parallel. The new BeOS printing architecture can let you use the serial/parallel version as well as the ethernet version of the printer without a different driver. Try setting up a printer with the other connection and see if the printer responds. Just a reminder - you will have to add a new printer to the printer preference with the new connection.

Final Notes

Now that the BeOS sees the printer and has it configured, it can sometimes take substantially longer to print from the BeOS than from other operating systems. Be patient. Be has written most of the printer drivers from scratch. This is time that could have been spent in speeding up the printing and many other development efforts. The best thing to do is contact the manufacturer directly and let them know that BeOS support is needed, which will free us up to develop faster printing with more options. Follow their feature request protocol, as this gets results and is easily measured inside their organization.