USB printer w/ OS 9.2.2

[ed belknap]

This is really a corrolary to my rant on the orphaning of Mosaic (posted elsewhere, years ago).

So I have a perfectly viable OS 9.2.2 boot drive in my dual-1GHz G4 (MDD), and I can run Mosaic 1.58 just fine... but the only printer I own is an HP DeskJet F4280 that I bought to work w/ my PC laptop

...and as far as I can tell, there's no such thing as an F4280 driver for Mac OS9.

Is there such a thing as a "generic" USB printer driver for OS9?

Or, is there some other way I can use this USB printer w/ my G4 so I can print Mosaic charts? Any suggestions/help would be greatly appreciated!

[Nigel Keay]

Hi, I'm not sure about the printer driver, but one certain way around the problem is, if Mosaic 1.58 is working fine, is to save your files as .pdf and print from those.

It's definitely possible to do the conversion but I remember I had to fiddle around a bit to find the right setting the first time. From memory it's export as an .eps file then open that in OSX, then save it as .pdf.

[ed belknap]

From memory it's export as an .eps file then open that in OSX, then save it as .pdf.

Thanks. But I'm pretty sure Mosaic doesn't let you "export" as an .eps file; rather, it saves the .eps file to your Clipboard, and then you have to open up a graphics program that uses .eps files and Paste the Mosaic image into a new document.

...and unless Microsoft Word or PowerPoint have some new features that I somehow never noticed, I don't have any OS9 apps that can handle .eps files!

I think I probably need to pursue the Print-To-PDF-File approach. Anyone know if there's a Mac OS9 equivalent to ScanSoft PDF Create! ?

[Nigel Keay]

I've already done it with my old G3 running OS 9.04, and I'm certain that the .eps were saved directly to the G3 HD without passing by the clipboard. I then simply put the .eps on a USB memory stick then opened them up on my OSX machine. It was the settings to create the .eps that weren't evident at first - make sure font substitution is disabled.

Edit: I'd kept a note of the settings and just came across it.
Font downloading, Preferred Format Type 1
Always Download.... - leave unchecked
Never generate.... - leave unchecked
Save as File ->Format: Postscript Job
Postscript Level; level 1 compatible
Data Format; ASC11
Font Inclusion; All

The files created were .ps (not .eps as I first said). These should open under Preview, then just use "Save as"

[ed belknap]

I'm certain that the .eps were saved directly to the G3 HD without passing by the clipboard.

You're right, I just re-read the Mosaic manual. I was wrong.

Now I just have to figure out if I have anything on any of my other computers that will open an .eps file!

Thanks.

[Nigel Keay]

Now I just have to figure out if I have anything on any of my other computers that will open an .eps file!

Sorry, I made an error in the first part of my previous post as I was just writing off the top of my head, then added extra info after when I found my notes on it.

It was .ps files that I created - (I just saw a folder of them on my HD).

I needed no extra software other than a standard pdf reader such Preview that comes with OSX, and I think I may have also opened them up using Adobe Reader on OS 9.04.

See the edit I made to my previous post for the settings. I remember that with the first attempts there were some oddities in the fonts, but after tweaking it worked 100%.

My old G3 with Mosaic on it is still operational, so I can verify all this if necessary.

[mikehalloran]

USB printing isn't the issue as long as there is a driver. You need to boot in OS 9 to install the driver, however. This is also true if you want to print in Classic mode.

A lot of times, older drivers will work with newer printers. Scanning, however, will likely not be supported.

Unfortunately, you need someone who knows HP printers a lot better than I.

Worst case, keep checking CraigsList for an older HP printers compatible w/ OS 9. You can have multiple printers hooked up to your machine (I have three hooked up to mine).