On 04/12/2011 04:16 PM, Ken Schneider - openSUSE wrote:
On 04/12/2011 04:49 PM, David C. Rankin pecked at the keyboard and wrote:
Guys,
This one will stretch your mind a bit, but I need to find the best PPD for a Sharp AR-505 copier. I have 2 sharp copiers, an AR-M355N (which already has a Linux PPD that works great), and an AR-505 that I can't find a Linux PPD for.
I got the AR-505 configured in CUPS on my server as ipp://ip.to.the.copier/lp and I am able to use the laserjet 4 PPD to get it to print, but the margins are a bit different. I found an old IBM document that showed the AR-505 talked PCL5e and LPR:
http://www-01.ibm.com/support/docview.wss?uid=nas154255e0ec5a3c13f862569c100...
There are a number of windows XP and Mac drivers (not OS X) available for this copier, but no linux PPD.
So what I want to do is see if there is a PPD that would work with this machine better than the foomatic/ljet4 I currently have. Has anyone ever done this kind of creative mix and match of PPDs with a copier before? If so, any tricks, or is it just trial and error?
Have you checked this site: (found with google)
http://www.bravofiles.com/driver-SHARP-AR_2d505-PPD.html
They have a "Windows 7" exe that is actually a zip file you can extract a ppd from. unzip -l shows AR-PB2_9X_PSPPD/SHAR505.PPD which may work.
John, Ken, Thanks. I didn't know a PPD was just an OS independent definition. I'll give the link a try. I may already have that PPD. The 'AR-PB2' is the actual print controller board that provides print capability for the copier, so from the PPD filename -- that would be the correct one. This has actually been a fun copier to try and configure. I bought the copier a few years ago and had never bothered to integrate it into the network (it's just a copier without network scan [that's what the M355N does]). But for large print jobs, a 50 page/minute printer is nice. Digging into it, I found that I needed a SCSI 50DH male/male peripheral connect cable to interface the copier with the AR-PB2 print controller that is also where the AR-NC3D (NIC) plugs into. Sharp wanted $100 for the original SCSI interface cable. Before throwing that down for a Shard OEM SCSI cable, I found a 6FT external peripheral connect 50DH SCSI cable on amazon for $.99 (5.98 shipping). It even came with the proper clip connectors. Plugged it in, rebooted the copier and 'presto' - I was up and running. Then the old IBM document was key to finding out the the copier talked PCL5e which made finding a test driver easy. Now it's just down to tweaking the PPD selection so that all margins, etc. are what they should be. (if the AR-PB2_9X_PSPPD/SHAR505.PPD handles duplexing, that would be icing on the cake :) So it has been somewhat of a pet project with a purpose :p Thanks again! -- David C. Rankin, J.D.,P.E. -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse+unsubscribe@opensuse.org For additional commands, e-mail: opensuse+help@opensuse.org