printing with apsfilter

After installing slackware 9.1 I got a nice email from Patrick
Volkerding saying that, in his opinion, apsfilter is the way to go
with printing.

So I tried running /usr/share/apsfilter/SETUP, as suggested. The
printer I want to use is a Hewlett Packard 8000 N laser printer, which
I believe is a postscript printer. Mainly I want to print postscript
files. After entering
all the info into the SETUP script, the second last step was to print
a test page. SETUP then successfully printed the file "test.ps".

Now, from the command line, I can print plain ascii text files just
fine.
But if I try typing "lpr somefile.ps", that file never comes out of
the printer;
although "lpq" tells me that it is in the queue.

Does anybody know how I can get this to work so that I can print ps
files?

Since my printer is a postscript printer, do I even need or want to
use apsfilter?

TIA rgb.

P.S. Here is my /etc/printcap file:

# See "man printcap" for information on editing this file.
#
# In most cases it is better to use a tool to write the printcap
# for you (at least initially), such as apsfilter
# (/usr/share/apsfilter/SETUP, used in conjunction with the
# LPRng lpd daemon), or with the web interface provided by the
# cupsd print daemon at this URL: http://localhost:631
# (if you use CUPS).
#
# APS1_BEGIN:printer1
# - don't delete start label for apsfilter printer1
# - no other printer defines between BEGIN and END LABEL
lp|PS;r=300x300;q=medium;c=full;p=letter;m=auto:\
:lp=:\
:rm=NPI0905A8:\
:rp=lp72m:\
:if=/etc/apsfilter/basedir/bin/apsfilter:\
:sd=/var/spool/lpd/lp:\
:lf=/var/spool/lpd/lp/log:\
:af=/var/spool/lpd/lp/acct:\
:mx#0:\
:sh:
# APS1_END - don't delete this

On 20 Jan 2004 07:42:35 -0800
roygbiv1905@yahoo.com (Roy G. Biv) wrote:

> So I tried running /usr/share/apsfilter/SETUP, as suggested. The
> printer I want to use is a Hewlett Packard 8000 N laser printer, which
> I believe is a postscript printer.
> Since my printer is a postscript printer, do I even need or want to
> use apsfilter?

If you only print postscript files, you don't need apsfilter. But I
think it checks the file type of files that are sent to the printer and
converts as needed.

> P.S. Here is my /etc/printcap file:
>
> lp|PS;r=300x300;q=medium;c=full;p=letter;m=auto:\
> :lp=:\
> :rm=NPI0905A8:\
> :rp=lp72m:\
> :if=/etc/apsfilter/basedir/bin/apsfilter:\
> :sd=/var/spool/lpd/lp:\
> :lf=/var/spool/lpd/lp/log:\
> :af=/var/spool/lpd/lp/acct:\
> :mx#0:\
> :sh:
> # APS1_END - don't delete this

This is from a printcap that I setup with apsfilter. And using LPRng
print spooling software.

hp2200|PS;r=600x600;q=medium;c=gray;p=letter;m=aut o:\
:lp=:\
:rm=132.246.176.86:\
:rp=raw:\
:if=/etc/apsfilter/basedir/bin/apsfilter:\
:sd=/var/spool/lpd/hp2200:\
:lf=/var/spool/lpd/hp2200/log:\
:af=/var/spool/lpd/hp2200/acct:\
:mx#0:\
:sh:

"rm" is the address of the remote machine. Is your printer a networked
printer?

I think (It's been a long time since I did this.) that "rp" is the
remote printer, ie. the print queue on the remote machine. "raw" is
typical for a printer.

Also note that you have the resolution set at r=300x300. I would guess
that is kind of low for your machine.

I'm wondering if you made some mistakes with choices running apsfilter
SETUP. Perhaps you could try running it again. I can't explain why you
can print a text file and not postscript.

Mike