Xy-printing under ECS {was Re: WinXP}

["J. R. Fox" jr_fox@xxxxxxxxxx]

tom horton wrote:

> re: ecS and printers. do you think it will work with dos printer drivers for
> xywrite, which is what I use now (they work fine with win 98 and ME)?
> thanks, tom horton

As I understand it, DOS app.s -- which use their own printer drivers -- bypass
the system level printer objects (drivers), and talk to the printer directly.
Therefore, if you have a *non*-WinPrinter, i.e. one that is capable of working
under DOS, it should work fine with the DOS app. and the DOS app.'s own driver,
under any version of OS/2, including ECS.

Generally speaking, you can rule out the printer in question being a WinPrinter
if it explicitly claims to work under DOS. A printer closer to the top of its
line (and more expensive) is also less likely to be a Winprinter. Of course,
you would still have the problem of determining if there is an appropriate XyDOS
printer driver for it. Even if one exists, because the driver is so much older
than the current models of this printer, it may only support a subset of
available printing functions or options, and may drive some of them
imperfectly. Fortunately, the XyDOS printer drivers are in text-mode and
editable, so, given a Tech. Ref. manual for that printer containing the control
codes, it is possible to modify the driver, or even make a new one from
scratch. For example, the Lexmark line of inkjets did not exist when the XyDOS
drivers were being written, but a DJ-500 driver is supposed to work for them, to
some degree. I have the Tech. manual for my Optra-40, and still plan to do
whatever tweaking may be indicated for that driver at some point. (This hasn't
been a top priority here, since most of my plain-text output goes to an HP
laser. ) This DeskJet driver should also work for my Xerox C-20, since it is a
Lexmark Optra-45 internally. Alternately, it is possible to bypass the regular
Xy-driver in favor of a PostScript solution.

Jordan