The following was contributed by Linux Today reader Joshua Kramer.
When using your Okipage 6e under Linux, you need to keep the
following things in mind to keep your Okidata running happy:
- The easiest way to set this printer up is using RedHat’s
Printtool. In the filter selection dialog, be sure to use LaserJet
4/5/6 emulation; check the first two boxes for EOT after each job
and StairStep fix. Do NOT check “fast text printing”. For some
reason, these printers tend to eat the last two lines of text on
each page if you just feed them text. As a result, you need to run
the text through nenscript to convert it to postscript, and then
through GS to convert the PostScript to PCL. - If your printcap isn’t set up correctly, weird things will
happen. For example, my printer would print five pages, then print
blank pages after that. Turning the printer off, then on, fixed the
problem. A repaired printcap fixed this. - If this printer is shared with any Windows boxes, make sure
that NONE of the Windows boxes use the Okidata Hyper-W protocol. By
default, when you install the printer on a Windows box, it uses
this protocol. If you use this protocol, the printer becomes
useless under DOS and Linux because it no longer recognizes PCL.
You can go into the Oki control panel to set the printer back to
PCL, and install the PCL drivers from the Oki CD if this is a
problem. - Contrary to what Okidata will tell you, a bidirectional mode is
NOT needed for PCL. This printer works through my Zip drive with no
problem… and thanks to the new kernel, I can print even when I
have a Zip disk mounted.
Any questions feel free to e-mail me!