Path: utzoo!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rpi!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!pacific.mps.ohio-state.edu!linac,att!ucbvax!dms.UUCP!shepperd From: shepperd@dms.UUCP Newsgroups: comp.laser-printers Subject: Re: QMS 410 Laser Printer Message-ID: <9103181602.AA11541@crayola.cs.UMD.EDU> Date: 15 Mar 91 19:03:29 GMT References: <9103151458.AA04825@crayola.cs.UMD.EDU> Sender: daemon@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU Organization: Atari Games Inc., Milpitas, CA Lines: 43 Approved: laser-lovers@brillig.umd.edu In article <9103132036.AA25566@crayola.cs.UMD.EDU> 3IU4TOB@CMUVM.BITNET writes: >I am interested in hearing about anyone's experience with the QMS 410 printer, >in particular in a mixed PC and Mac environment. We have 4 of these things. All of them are on the appletalk network and are connected to a terminal server via the serial port and one is also connected via the parallel port to a PC. They are used regularly by VAX/VMS users, MS-DOS users via DECnet-DOS and, of course, the Mac users. Most of the time they work quite well but... >From article <9103151458.AA04825@crayola.cs.UMD.EDU>, by van@group1.UUCP (Van Bagnol): > We seem to have an intermittent problem, though: when printing one job in > PostScript on the heels of another job in HP emulation, the auto-sensing > software gets confused and still thinks it's in one emulation and we end > up with printouts of the PostScript source. > > BTW, anyone else run into this problem? > We have this problem too. If I setup a test case with a MAC and the VAX blasting files to the printer (both PS and HP from the VAX side and PS from the MAC side) while I'm standing there watching it, it'll work flawlessly. It will fail at random times for unknown reasons and always requires its power to be cycled to get its attention back. All 4 of them exhibit the problem. QMS has replaced the printers with new ones, btw, but the problems persist. The other anomoly is that it will, for no apparent reason, disappear from the appletalk network at random times for random periods, usually coming back sooner or later. This causes no undo grief for the Mac users especially if it does this in the middle of their print job. I cannot determine what makes it do this. Also the HP emulation is not complete. It won't do all the pitches and point sizes that the HP protocol allows for even though it'll do them if given a PS command to do so. Voluminous documentation (even a video tape) accompanies the printer, however, the HP escape codes that it'll process are not included (so you need an HP manual to find those) nor does it include a document that describes ALL the PS commands it'll process (it describes only some of the PS commands). It would be a great printer if it only worked. -- Dave Shepperd. shepperd@dms.UUCP or motcsd!dms!shepperd Atari Games Corporation, 675 Sycamore Drive, Milpitas CA 95035. Nobody knows what I'm saying. I don't even know what I'm saying.