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Big Mac · Feb 6, 2003, 09:41 PM

According to Macworld, OS X's printing features are much more limited in comparison to OS 9's. Take a look at this snippet: "But there's a catch. If Apple wants graphics pros to take OS X seriously, it needs to remove the current crippling limitations on OS X printer drivers; as it stands, Epson's OS X driver can't support several of the features that make the 2200 so appealing. We hope the release of OS X 10.2 will change this, but Apple has not confirmed that it will. " Granted, the quote is from this October 2002 review, and it does refer to 10.2 as yet to be released. Yet, I found the same sentiments in other, more recent articles as well. According to Macworld, this OS X limitation effects the drivers from multiple manufacturers. Why is this the case?

rytc · Feb 7, 2003, 07:36 AM

Originally posted by Big Mac:
Epson's OS X driver can't support several of the features that make the 2200 so appealing. We hope the release of OS X 10.2 will change

Isn't this a case of Epson writing drivers that don't support all the features of their printer?? Kinda like they just wanted to get a quick and dirty driver out to support the basics of their printer and then later improving it. I don't see how Apple can be held to blame for a company writing drivers that don't support all the features of a printer.

OreoCookie · Feb 7, 2003, 09:35 AM

The printing system of MacOS X is top of the notch. CUPS is a very advanced printing system.

The limitations you are talking about are mainly due to driver issues. My S630 prints slower on my iBook 800 than on my 400 MHz pc. It's just the driver (all Acrobat documents are pinted in color mode except just the parts that are in color.

However, I miss two things by the MacOS X printing system: printing odd and even pages separately and printing in reverse order.

aaanorton · Feb 7, 2003, 10:33 AM

I don't believe that this is entirely a driver issue. I've talked to Apple, Epson and others about this and the consensus is that Apple is dragging it's feet as well. Along with odd/even and reverse order printing my Epson 2200 lacks borderless printing, manual feed for thick stock and roll printing.
I seriously doubt these are all due to quick and dirty drivers. In fact, on the pre-printed, big, glossy, quick-set-up, fold-out poster that shipped with my printer, it clearly stated these drawbacks. And again throughout the manual they were emphasized. Hardly the thing to do if they just never got around to fixing the drivers.

Millennium · Feb 7, 2003, 10:50 AM

Come on, this is Epson we're talking about. They've been treating Mac users as second-class citizens ever since OSX came out, and blaming Apple for it when those claims are just not true.

I liked Epson a lot, but their treatment of OSX users is why I switched brands. I mean, the Gimp-Print folks are writing better drivers than Epson's own staff. That should tell you something right there.

rytc · Feb 7, 2003, 10:59 AM

Originally posted by OreoCookie:
The printing system of MacOS X is top of the notch. CUPS is a very advanced printing system.

The limitations you are talking about are mainly due to driver issues. My S630 prints slower on my iBook 800 than on my 400 MHz pc. It's just the driver (all Acrobat documents are pinted in color mode except just the parts that are in color.

However, I miss two things by the MacOS X printing system: printing odd and even pages separately and printing in reverse order.

Well it all depends on what your printing from whether you can do these or not. I've printed backwards from within word and odd and even from within Acrobat. They don't seem to be options from within all programs but neither were they in 9 nor in Windows.

Sarc · Feb 7, 2003, 11:45 AM

it does have room for improvement though ... for instance I couldn't get to print Odd and then Even pages ... common in Windows for instance

clarkgoble · Feb 7, 2003, 02:15 PM

Check out GimpPrint. It has drivers for many printers which are far, far better than the standard drivers.

It was a tad unstable on my system, but not significantly so. However most of the Epson features that are missing in their drivers are in GimpPrint. (Which tells you where the problem really is in all this. . .)

http://www.macupdate.com/info.php/id/9055

It has drivers for most Epson, Canon, Lexmark and so forth. Note that it requires 10.2 since it needs CUPS. What's nice is that it makes printing to Windows printers much more flexible. (i.e. using SAMBA)

Also, ignore the name. No real connection to GIMP beyond borrowing some code. It has a real OSX Installer and is quite user friendly.

rworne · Feb 7, 2003, 03:26 PM

Ever tried printing in Office X? Works great, until you try this:

Set up a document that portrait mode for a few pages, then landscape (assume a chart) for a page or two.

In the Windows version, all the pages print fine. In OS X, the portrait pages print out nicely until the last page which only prints about 1/2-3/4 of the way then the ink fades into nothing.

At this point the print queue wedges and won't work anymore until you kill the remaining print jobs.

Just in case this is printer-specific, the Epson 820 exhibits this quite annoying "feature".

Thinine · Feb 7, 2003, 03:31 PM

All of these problems are 100% driver or software problems.

Big Mac · Feb 8, 2003, 03:52 PM

Originally posted by Thinine:
All of these problems are 100% driver or software problems.

Obviously these are 100% software related issues -- they certainly aren't hardware issues. But the question is why do they exist? As I stated, Macworld has linked these deficiencies to a failure on Apple's part. Macworld isn't always authoritative of course, but it's the closest thing we have to it other than Apple's own mouth. And since they've repeatedly made the same assertion, I'm going believe it.

alex_kac · Feb 8, 2003, 03:59 PM

Considering that GIMP-PRINT drivers are usually capable of doing things the manufacturer's are saying they can't because of Apple....

it shows me that the manufacturers are at fault and not Apple. I believe its most likely due to the manufacturers either trying to create drivers that work in both 10.1 and 10.2 or due to their own ignorance in changes to the 10.2 driver architecture.

putamare · Feb 8, 2003, 06:21 PM

There are no printing features not supported under X on my HP8500, and while HP hasn't really been known for their mac support for quite some time, they've had X drivers since 10.0. The same is true for my GCC Elite XL laser printer. Face it, Epson just sucks and they don't want to spend any more money supporting cheaper printers. It has nothing to do with X.

aaanorton · Feb 8, 2003, 08:52 PM

Originally posted by putamare:
There are no printing features not supported under X on my HP8500, and while HP hasn't really been known for their mac support for quite some time, they've had X drivers since 10.0. The same is true for my GCC Elite XL laser printer. Face it, Epson just sucks and they don't want to spend any more money supporting cheaper printers. It has nothing to do with X.

Ppphhh... Big talk. You're comparing laser printers w/ PS (emulation) to inkjets.
Gimp-Print also requires ESP Ghostscript.