[Athen] USB to LPT printing

[Robert Beach]

Awesome!  Thanks for this info.


Robert Lee Beach
Assistive Technology Specialist
Kansas City Kansas Community College
7250 State Avenue
Kansas City, KS  66112
Phone: 913-288-7671
Email: rbeach at kckcc.edu<mailto:rbeach at kckcc.edu>

From: athen-list [mailto:athen-list-bounces at mailman13.u.washington.edu] On Behalf Of Todd Schwanke
Sent: Monday, May 23, 2016 10:56 AM
To: Access Technology Higher Education Network <athen-list at u.washington.edu>
Subject: Re: [Athen] USB to LPT printing

Robert:

Another approach to think about that avoids the USB to parallel adapter issue is to get an external printer server with a parallel port on it.  We have been using HP 300x external print servers with our Juliet embossers and that has been working well.  As an added bonus, your IT staff may have these sitting unused on their shelves from old printers before NIC cards were standard on many printers... and they may be willing to repurpose them to you.  Besides giving you flexibility about where the embosser is located relative to the computer sending the files, you can then also send to the embosser from multiple computers (including, subject to the network and permissions, a student who wants to stop by and emboss their own file).  You can either set the print server up either for printing directly to the print server or having your server team set up a network printer queue.  How you get the drivers to the network staff depends a bit on the software you are using.  For example, Duxbury can use a Generic/Text Only driver, whereas Braille 2000 has its own driver.

Another problem that using the print server helps avoid is needing to keep the USB>Parallel adapter plugged into the exact same USB port on the computer all of the time.  We found that with using an adapter, each time you plugged the USB adapter into a different port it would assign a different virtual printer port number and it isn't obvious which number is associated with which USB port.  Thus when you plugged the adapter into a different USB port on the computer, the previously functional local print queue would stop working, and you would either have to set up another local queue or find which port the adapter was originally plugged into.  Either of these USB work-arounds creates training/documentation issues, especially if multiple users are involved.

As far as your question, if you plug in the adapter and install the drivers for the adapter, the adapter should show up as a Port on the Ports tab in "Printer Properties" for a printer.  Therefore, if you install the Juliet and assign it to a non-existent LPT port initially, you can then go in and change the port from something like "LPT1: Printer Port" to "USB001: Virtual printer port".

All in all, the network printer route may take a little time to get set up, but I think it is very worthwhile over the long run, especially with the added benefits it provides.

Todd Schwanke
UW-Madison



From: athen-list [mailto:athen-list-bounces at mailman13.u.washington.edu] On Behalf Of Robert Beach
Sent: Thursday, May 19, 2016 7:38 AM
To: Access Technology Higher Education Network <athen-list at u.washington.edu<mailto:athen-list at u.washington.edu>>
Subject: Re: [Athen] USB to LPT printing

Thanks, I'll check it out.


From: athen-list [mailto:athen-list-bounces at mailman13.u.washington.edu] On Behalf Of Wink Harner
Sent: Wednesday, May 18, 2016 4:15 PM
To: 'Access Technology Higher Education Network' <athen-list at u.washington.edu<mailto:athen-list at u.washington.edu>>
Subject: Re: [Athen] USB to LPT printing

Robert,

Not entirely sure this is the answer you're looking for is I can't test it out myself for you.

If it's a driver issue, here is a link for downloading & installing drivers for the embossers which allow you to print to a USB port with your converter cable.

http://www.brailler.com/drivers2.htm

If it some other issue, here's a link with some Q&A's from Duxbury on this very topic. Here's the link:

http://www.duxburysystems.com/documentation/dbt11.1/troubleshooting/Common_Problems.htm

Hope some of this is helpful.

Wink
Wink Harner
Adaptive Technology Consulting & Training
Alternative Text & Media Production
The Foreigntype

foreigntype at gmail.com<mailto:foreigntype at gmail.com>
winkharner1113 at gmail.com<mailto:winkharner1113 at gmail.com>

(Disclaimer: this email was dictated with Dragon NaturallySpeaking. Please forgive any quirks, mis-recognitions, or omissions.)




PS: And the answer, if you want to just glance at this first:

" Q: My Braille embosser was working fine until I installed a new ink printer. Now my braille embosser won't work at all.

A: The chances are that you have set-up DBT in Global/Embosser Setup to print direct to a printer port such as LPT1. In Windows, go to Settings, Printers, and Add New Printer. Under Printer Manufacturers select "Generic", and under Type, select Text Only. Now run DBT, go to the Global menu, then Embosser Setup, and under Windows devices, select the Generic/Text Only printer which you have just installed."
From: athen-list [mailto:athen-list-bounces at mailman13.u.washington.edu] On Behalf Of Robert Beach
Sent: Wednesday, May 18, 2016 1:26 PM
To: Access Technology Higher Education Network (athen-list at u.washington.edu<mailto:athen-list at u.washington.edu>)
Subject: [Athen] USB to LPT printing

Hey all,

I'm having new computer blues.  My new box doesn't have a Parallel port which I need for the Juliet Pro embosser I have.  I can't remember how to setup to print to a USB port and have it go to the LPT1 port.  I have the USB to LPT cable but I can't think how to set it all up.  Major brain dead day.

Thanks for any help.

Robert

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