[mokolabs]

Upgraded to Panther via the Archive & Install method. My Epson C60 printer still works, but the Printer Features panel in the Print menu has totally changed.

Instead of the original slider-based config menu (which allowed me to choose B&W or color, and select print quality), I now get a list of pulldown menus (resolution, image type, dither algorithm, ink type, etc.) with a mind-blowing array of options.

I'm all for expert mode options, but not if I need to be a rocket scientist to just print a few pages.

Has anyone else run into this issue?

[You know, now I remember why I never print anymore -- printing in Mac OS X still sucks (even three years after its release).]

[Landos Mustache]

Originally posted by mokolabs:

[You know, now I remember why I never print anymore -- printing in Mac OS X still sucks (even three years after its release).]

How so, it is awesome with Canon's.

[mokolabs]

Maybe it's just Epson, then. Am I asking to much for a printer that's a year old to still work?

[Cadaver]

Originally posted by mokolabs:
Maybe it's just Epson, then. Am I asking to much for a printer that's a year old to still work?

With Epson, apparently yes.
This is why my next printer (any day now) will be a Canon (i960 most likely).

[neutrino23]

Epson earlier this month released a new OS X driver for our three year old printer (PM3500C - Japanese model). They are not giving up on old printers.

Last year at MWSF I spoke with someone in the Epson booth who said they were waiting for newer versions of OS X to be able to make their drivers work as they wanted them too. Haven't followed up to see if they updated other drivers besides the one we own. I know they have been providing a lot of support for the PM-4000cx printer as well. Sorry if these are not the one you own.

[Landos Mustache]

Originally posted by mokolabs:
Maybe it's just Epson, then. Am I asking to much for a printer that's a year old to still work?

Junk the stupid thing and get any Canon. Seriously, you can have a new one for less then it costs to refill your Epson with ink.

[dtriska]

Wait a minute. Printing in Mac OS X sucks because it has too many options?

[Developer]

Originally posted by mokolabs:
Upgraded to Panther via the Archive & Install method. My Epson C60 printer still works, but the Printer Features panel in the Print menu has totally changed.

Has anyone else run into this issue?

This sounds like the GIMP Print driver. A generic Unix geeky printer driver for almost every available printer, but less comfortable and not necessarily with every printer feature.

EPSON's printer drivers for old printers are no longer installed by default. You need to install the additional EPSON printer drivers package from the 3rd Panther install CD. Then you probably need to remove the printer and readd it with EPSON's driver.

It is not Apple's fault to provide a generic printer driver in case no vendor driver is installed. In fact this is great for notebook users who now don't have to install a GB of vendor printer drivers and still are able to print on almost any printer on the planet.

[barney ntd]

I have an Epson printer so old it isn't even in the "Additional Epson Printer Drivers" list: the Stylus Photo 1200. The driver is on Epson's website, I downloaded it, and it works perfectly in Panther. Beautiful output, and easy but powerful controls. Shares over airport without hassle. I've never regretted buying it.

All this "Junk the stupid thing and get any Canon" from Mr. Star-Wars-obsession is just FUD.

Barney.

[Spheric Harlot]

My SC 740i stopped working in Panther, despite having installed the extra drivers.

There was a utility available on macupdate.com that fixed the Print Center to work again. It was only a couple of KB and worked like a charm here.

Edit: It was called "Print Aid" and I probably found it off the MacNN home page. Unfortunately, their search function has never, ever found anything for me. I'll stick it on my iDisk if it doesn't turn up elsewhere (not home right now).

-s*

[mokolabs]

EPSON's printer drivers for old printers are no longer installed by default. You need to install the additional EPSON printer drivers package from the 3rd Panther install CD. Then you probably need to remove the printer and readd it with EPSON's driver.

That did the trick, Developer! I installed the Epson drivers when I upgraded to Panther, but deleting my printer and adding it seemed to restore things.

For those who are curious, this is the difference between the Epson and Gimp panels:

Epson panel:


GIMP panel:


(The GIMP panel looks like it makes sense, but there's no clear way to do a medium quality black and white print, for instance.)

[dpfenninger]

What I want to know is when is my Epson Stylus Photo 780 going to get an updated driver that supports borderless printing??!! The OS X driver is still at version 1.0, while other printer manufacturers (Canon, HP..) have come up with printers that do borderless in OS X. I'd love to print 4x6's direct from iPhoto, but it's a no-go with my current setup. I have to launch Classic to get anything to print borderless.

Further aggravating is the fact that the 780 is a HUGE ink hog...I run out of ink just unclogging the frequently clogged printheads.

I'm about 3 weeks and $200 away from just scrapping the thing and getting a Canon i960.

Don't get me wrong...I used to be a big Epson fan. But I have to say - Epson, get your act together!!

[Macpilot]

Originally posted by Developer:
You need to install the additional EPSON printer drivers package from the 3rd Panther install CD.

Dude, you are the man. This has cured my problems with my Epson 5700 laser. I did not even use the 3rd Panther disk as I thought I could just install the driver that I got from Epson's site.

I did not even have to "add" the Epson to the Printer Utility after doing this. It added itself when I turned it on.

Thanks for the tip!

[SciFrog]

First time Apple uses these GIMP drivers as default. They are OK but too slow with my 785EPX. The Epson ones are still the same.

[SSharon]

my epson photo 820 worked 3 times this year. always random, not related to panther. I have 2 other epsons at home and they are great but this one has never worked properly and clogs itself doing nothing and takes (well last year when it "worked") about 5 head cleans to get a decent page of text.

I'm looking at the canon now, or a cheap laser printer.

[ebuddy]

I'm using a very old Epson Stylus 740 and it works great. Print shared across 3 macs. If you did not run disk 3 of Panther, I'd recommend taking another look.

When you select "print" from file menu it will open a window. Click on the third tab and go to Print settings. Print settings is really the only "rocket science" to this. Click on print settings and I think you'll be pleasantly surprised with how familiar and simple it will be.

[ryaxnb]

Originally posted by barney ntd:
I have an Epson printer so old it isn't even in the "Additional Epson Printer Drivers" list: the Stylus Photo 1200. The driver is on Epson's website, I downloaded it, and it works perfectly in Panther. Beautiful output, and easy but powerful controls. Shares over airport without hassle. I've never regretted buying it.

All this "Junk the stupid thing and get any Canon" from Mr. Star-Wars-obsession is just FUD.

Barney.

My 785EPX has drivers in the additional epson printer drivers set. Works well.

[fmalloy]

Originally posted by mokolabs:
That did the trick, Developer! I installed the Epson drivers when I upgraded to Panther, but deleting my printer and adding it seemed to restore things.

How did you do this?

I have an Epson Stylus 740. I installed Panther, and got the GIMP drivers. I don't care so much about the complex menus, but the print output for photos sucks! The prints are way too dark, and the colors are all off. I spent days messing around with the brightness options, resolution, ColorSync, etc. and still it looks lousy. Looks great in 10.2 with the older drivers.

I loaded Disk 3 and re-installed the print drivers, but I still got the GIMP drivers, apparently. Looks no different, and the print quality is still bad.

What exactly do you do to get the Epson drivers from Disk 3?

Frank

[Spheric Harlot]

Try this; it worked for me:

http://homepage.mac.com/spheric/Print_Aid.pkg.zip

-s*

[blackbird_1.0]

my epson printer works fine in panther

[fmalloy]

I followed the instructions to remove my existing GIMP driver, insert Panther Disk 3, and install the "real" Epson (or Canon, HP, or what-have-you) drivers. Now, prints look great again, and the printer dialogs look like what they used to.

I'm convinced that the generic GIMP drivers, which do function, however produce awful photo images. I found they are slower to print, and the prints were much darker that what was displayed. I tried playing with all the GIMP controls (brightness, gamma, contrast, etc.) which only helped things slightly.

I'm wondering how many folks got stuck with the GIMP drivers and don't know it, and are getting poor quality prints.

Here are the detailed instructions for Epsons. Should work for other printers:

1. Double click on the MAC HARD DRIVE
2. Double click on the LIBRARY folder
3. Double click on the PRINTERS folder
4. Drag the EPSON folder to the trash can

*NOTE* If you receive an access denied error message, this indicates
that
you do not have root access. You will need to contact Apple for
assistance
on obtaining Root Access.

Then follow the steps below to install your printer in OS 10.3:

1) Insert the Panther Installation Disk #3 CD and double-click on the
icon
created by it on your desktop.
2) Double-click the Packages folder.
3) Double-click the EPSONPRINTERDRIVERS2.PKG folder.
4) Enter your administrator password and hit CONTINUE, then follow the
prompts to complete the installation.
5) Make sure the printer is connected and turned on, then restart your
computer.
6) After the computer restarts, open your PRINTER SETUP UTILITY (you
can
open the printer utility by opening your HARD DRIVE, APPLICATIONS,
UTILITIES, PRINTER SETUP UTILITY).
7) If your printer is listed, simply close the print center and try to
print. If not, click the ADD button.
8) In the window that appears, select EPSON USB from the drop-down
menu,
then select your printer and hit ADD.
9) Try printing.

Frank