> Date: Tue, 16 Oct 2007 02:26:06 -0700
quoted text
> From: "Pawel Veselov" <pawel.veselov@gmail.com>
> Subject: Re: Brother HL-5250DN printer w/OpenBSD
>
> On 10/16/07, Predrag Punosevac <punosevac@math.arizona.edu> wrote:
> 
>> Forgive me for saying this but I just do not get it. Why did you need
>> to use Linux compatibility layer when CUPS is OpenBSD packages?
>
> The processing filter for the printer is a pre-compiled Linux binary.
> The GPL license is because of Brother CUPS and LPD drivers.

I know that you may not like this option, but I just thought I would
throw this out there. I always prefer to use the native LPD daemon when
I can, since it is already installed, and it is relatively easy to
configure. It doesn't require keeping track of strange drivers and CUPS
installations.

Looking in the Linux Printing database [1], it seems to me that you
don't need to use the provided binary blob for your printer. I have a
Brother HL-2070n which I had some issues configuring just a while ago,
and I imagine that these printers are similar in their setup. I actually
broke down the scripts provided by Brother for their Linux drivers, and
found out what I needed to know. There are a variety of Free drivers out
there that will allow you to print nicely on your Brother.

I am using the pxlmono driver with my networked Brother printer, and it
works like a charm. It is easy to set up. I use APSFilter to do the
configuration. I highly recommend it. You can avoid having to install
CUPS at all, unless you like CUPS. The only gotcha to remember is that
instead of doing a network based installation using APSFilter, you have
to specify a file (usb/parallel) setup, and then give the IP and port of
the printer instead of a device (port@ip) [2]. 

This should be the easier way to get everything working, and it feels
more OpenBSD-ish to me.

[1] http://www.linuxprinting.org
[2] printcap(5); note section FILTERS and the lp entry.

-- 
((name "Aaron Hsu")
 (email/xmpp "arcfide@sacrificumdeo.net")
 (phone "703-597-7656")
 (site "http://www.aaronhsu.com"))

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