Print66, a free print server for the Macintosh

What is it ?

Print66 is a print server that implements the Berkeley Line Printer Protocols on the Macintosh. It listens on the TCP port 515, spools files sent from remote hosts and sends them to an USB printer, a Serial printer, or a LaserWriter on the Appletalk network. It can also be used to print any file to a Laserwriter printer.

Print66 should run under System 7 and requires MacTCP or OpenTransport TCP/IP.

This program is really a quick and dirty work, which in many aspects does not conform to Macintosh user interface, but I may rework it if I have enough time and/or someone find it useful. Bug reports and suggestions are welcomed at print66@barijaona.com.

This program is freeware and will stay freeware. As the program is free, it comes without any warranty. You use it at your own risks.

So here’s the situation I found myself in. Hopefully this will help if you find yourself with a similar need.

I have a Beige G3 (300 Mhz) that was my primary desktop system until recently when I finally got on the OS X bandwagon and bought a new 1.5 Ghz 15″ Powerbook running OS X Panther. I had gotten printing from OS X set up by downloading the latest driver from HP for my Deskjet 5100 connected via USB. All very well and good. But, then, another Powerbook entered the family, thereby retiring the old iBook running OS 9. Of course, Kristin wanted to print. A reasonable request.

A little digging revealed a number of references to Print66 – a LPD print server that runs on OS 9. Since we don’t want to have the printer(s) attached directly to the Powerbook the goal was to plug in to the old G3 and use it as a print server for the Powerbooks.

Downloading Print66 and installing wasn’t a problem. It involves simply copying a Spool folder into the System Folder and then editing the config file.

There was a KEY item which had me stumped for a while, (couple of hours), though, which I was grateful to finally figure out.

First of all, in the documentation it suggests using an included USB application to determine the exact name of your printer. Mine was deskjet 5100. So my first move was to put that into the config file, without repeating it. In the examples provided in the config file, it says that for setting up a USB printer you need to put in the printer name:printer model, which were both the same things in my case.

The sample config file reads:


# 3/ for an USB printer
# PRINTER USB [POSTSCRIPT]
# where :
# is the queue name by which the printer is addressed from the
# remote host.
# specifies the printer on the Macintosh.
# For USB, it is of the form "Model_name:Specific_Printer_name".
# If you have no idea about what to put, see what the
# utility DropPrint•USB provided by Apple and included in the
# Print66 package displays in its main dialog box.
# POSTSCRIPT is used only for postscript printers. When used Print66 will
# check for %! as the first two bytes in any file sent to
# this printer, rejecting any that do not have this.
# For instance :
# PRINTER "raw2" USB "Stylus Photo 750:Stylus Photo 750"

important item in this case: it is the NECESSARY name of the print queue. When I went to add the printer in OS X at first I didn’t put this into the field that says, Print Queue. Go figure. So when I tried to print, nothing happened.

Examining the log file, I found the following line: No such printer??

Basically this comes up if you do not specify the print queue name you set up in the config file when you select the printer in OS X. Adding the print queue name resolved the problem, and I was really happy to be printing on my OS 9 machine wirelessly from the OS X machine.

Hope this can help someone else if they’re trying to figure this (kind of simple) issue out.

🙂

Link to Print66 download site: http://homepage.mac.com/barijaona/print66/presentation.html or Google for it.