Subject: SGI impressario Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Supersedes: <impressario_818233319@viz.tamu.edu>
Date: 20 Dec 1995 07:03:38 GMT
Expires: 17 Jan 1996 07:02:46 GMT

Archive-name: sgi/faq/impressario
Posting-Frequency: Twice monthly

    SGI impressario Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

This is one of the Silicon Graphics FAQ series, which consists of:

    SGI admin FAQ - IRIX system administration
    SGI apps FAQ - Applications and miscellaneous programming
    SGI audio FAQ - Audio applications and programming
    SGI graphics FAQ - Graphics and user environment customization
    SGI hardware FAQ - Hardware
    SGI impressario FAQ - IRIS Impressario
    SGI inventor FAQ - IRIS Inventor
    SGI misc FAQ - Introduction & miscellaneous information
    SGI movie FAQ - Movies
    SGI performer FAQ - IRIS Performer
    SGI pointer FAQ - Pointer to the other FAQs
    SGI security FAQ - IRIX security

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Topics covered in this FAQ:
---------------------------
   -1- What is Impressario?
   -2- What version of Impressario runs on what OS?
   -3- What should I know before updating to Impressario version 1.2?
   -4- Why are my printer icons now shell script icons?  Why do I no
       longer see printstatus and printpanel?
   -5- Do I need Impressario to print PostScript documents?
   -6- What printers are supported under Impressario?
   -7- What scanners are supported under Impressario?
   -8- What types of image files can Impressario print?
   -9- Can I write my own Impressario printer/scanner device plug-in?
  -10- What happened to the client software option in Impressario 1.2?
  -11- What is the mkbsdpr script (included with Impressario) used for?
  -12- What is the impr_desktop product?
  -13- Why do I need Display PostScript?
  -14- Can I use the serial port for HP printers with Impressario?
  -15- Is the Ikon 10088 parallel interface controller supported by
       Impressario?
  -16- Does Impressario support the HP Jet Direct card?
  -17- Why won't my HP PaintJet work with Impressario?

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Subject:    -1- What is Impressario?
Date: 18 Aug 1994 00:00:01 EST

  Impressario software provides a visual printing and scanning
  environment.  Impressario allows the user to control resolution,
  paper size, double-sided printing, text orientation, etc.
  Impressario gives you full printer status in a network-transparent
  manner, so you can find out locally or from a remote system when the
  printer is out of toner, out of paper, has a jam, isn't turned on,
  etc.

  Impressario contains device plug-ins for many popular printers and
  scanners.  (Printer manufactures may also provide device plug-ins
  that work under the Impressario environment.)  See the Impressario
  release notes or the question "What printers are supported by
  Impressario" for a list of supported printers.

  Impressario allows you to print many types of files (text and
  graphics).  See the question "What types of image files can
  Impressario print?" for details.

  Impressario contains a PostScript interpreter, and can often drive
  the same printer faster than the printers' built-in interpreter (at
  equal or lower cost then adding a PostScript interpreter to the
  printer).

  Impressario also supports scanners.  The Graphical Scan tool allows
  you to scan data from a scanner, file, local or remote workstation
  display and send the data to a printer, file, or workstation
  display.  The Scanner installation tool provides a simple interface
  for installing and configuring scanners on your workstation.

  The Impressario Developer's Kit allows application and device plug-in
  developers to create software that fully supports printing and
  scanning in a manner that is consistent with the Impressario
  architecture.

  The Impressario fonts subsystem contains 22 Type 1 PostScript fonts,
  which complement the base 13 fonts provided with Display PostScript.
  These additional fonts provide you with a complete set of industry
  standard fonts used in most PostScript printers.  In addition, these
  fonts can be used with the Display PostScript system to create true
  WYSIWYG applications.

  See the impressario(1) man page for additional details.

------------------------------

Subject:    -2- What version of Impressario runs on what OS?
Date: 18 Aug 1994 00:00:01 EST

  Irix      Impressario Version
-----------------------------
  3.3.*     Not available
  4.0.*     1.1
  5.0-5.1.* 1.1
  5.2-5.3   1.2
  6.0       1.2

  Impressario 1.0 users should update to version 1.1 or 1.2.  If you
  are under support, your upgrade is free.

------------------------------

Subject:    -3- What should I know before updating to Impressario
                version 1.2?
Date: 18 Aug 1994 00:00:01 EST

  1. If you upgrade a system running Irix 4.0.* or Irix 5.1.* to Irix
     5.2 and you already have Impressario 1.1 installed then
     Impressario 1.1 should continue to work under Irix 5.2.  However,
     you should update to Impressario 1.2 as soon as possible after any
     update to Irix 5.2

  2. Once you upgrade to Irix 5.2 do not remove Impressario 1.1.  If
     you do, you should re-install the following subsystems from the
     Irix 5.2 distribution CD (for convenience these subsystems are
     also found on the Impressario 1.2 CD -- see the next item):

      print.man.desktop print.man.relnotes print.sw.desktop

  3. When you install Impressario 1.2 you will find that it has the
     following subsystems on the Impressario 1.2 CD:

     print.man.desktop print.man.relnotes print.sw.desktop

     As a minimum, install the default print subsystems (do not mark
     all the print product as 'keep' from inst).  The reason this is
     done is that the inst procedure removes all files associated with
     Impressario 1.1.  Some of the Impressario 1.1 files now reside in
     the print product and they will be removed when Impressario 1.2 is
     installed.  So, the print product must be re-installed when
     Impressario 1.2 is installed.  For convenience, the print product
     is supplied with Impressario 1.2 and it will  automatically
     install the correct print product (assuming you do not change the
     set of software to be installed using the inst utility).

     Note that the print product shipped with Irix 5.2 is version 1.2.
     The print product found on the Impressario 1.2 CD is version
     1.2.1.  They are both the same.  The higher version number of the
     print product on the Impressario 1.2 CD ensures that they are
     installed by the inst utility when you install Impressario 1.2.

  4. Do not load Impressario 1.1 (client or server software) onto an
     Irix 5.2 system.  There are OS patches in Impressario 1.1 which
     are not necessary for Irix 5.2.  If Impressario 1.1 is installed
     on top of IRIX 5.2, you should be aware that the following files
     are replaced, and their corresponding Irix 5.2 subsystems must be
     reinstalled.

     File name                               Subsystem
       
     usr/lib/lpsched                         eoe2.sw.lp
     usr/lib/lputil                          eoe2.sw.lp
     usr/lib/print/lptops                    eoe2.sw.lp
     usr/bin/lp                              eoe2.sw.lp
     usr/sbin/mkcentpr                       eoe2.sw.lp
     usr/spool/lp/model/netface              eoe2.sw.lp
     usr/lib/filetype/vadmin/printers.ftr    desktop_eoe.sw.FileTypingRules
     usr/lib/filetype/vadmin/vadmin.ftr      desktop_eoe.sw.FileTypingRules
     usr/etc/rshd                            eoe2.sw.tcp

     IMPORTANT: If you install Impressario 1.1 onto an Irix 5.2 system
     you absolutely must re-install the above subsystems -- installing
     Impressario 1.2 (the correct version for Irix 5.2) will not undo
     or replace the OS patches that Impressario 1.1 installed.

     Note: It is not possible to install a single file from a subsystem
     -- you have to install the entire subsystem.

------------------------------

Subject:    -4- Why are my printer icons now shell script icons?  Why do
                I no longer see printstatus and printpanel?
Date: 18 Aug 1994 00:00:01 EST

  You probably updated to Irix 5.2 and then removed Impressario 1.1.
  If you did this, re-install the "print" product from the Irix 5.2
  distribution CD.  The sub-systems are:

    print.man.desktop
    print.man.relnotes
    print.sw.desktop

  See the related question "What should I know before updating to
  Impressario version 1.2?".

------------------------------

Subject:    -5- Do I need Impressario to print PostScript documents?
Date: 18 Aug 1994 00:00:01 EST

  IRIX includes a "Generic PostScript" device plug-in.  This device
  plug-in will convert ISO text files and RGB image files to monochrome
  PostScript and send the PostScript file to your printer (which must
  be able to process PostScript files).  You can install the Generic
  PostScript Device Plug-In using the Printer Manager.

------------------------------

Subject:    -6- What printers are supported under Impressario?
Date: 18 Aug 1994 00:00:01 EST

  This section lists two sets of device plug-ins: first, those bundled
  with Impressario itself, and second, those provided by third
  parties.  Impressario is an open architecture, and relies on third
  parties to provide support for devices which SGI cannot.  The
  Impressario Developer's Kit makes this easy.

  Devices supported in Impressario 1.1 (from the Impressario release notes):

      Apple LaserWriter Plus, II, IINT, IINTX, IIf, and IIg
      Hewlett-Packard DeskJet 500C, 550C, and PaintJet XL300
      Hewlett-Packard LaserJet IIP, IIP+, III, IIIP, and 4

  Impressario Version 1.2:

      Apple LaserWriter Plus, II, IINT, IINTX, IIf, and IIg
      Hewlett-Packard DeskJet 500C, 550C, and PaintJet XL300
      Hewlett-Packard DesignJet 650C.
      Hewlett-Packard LaserJet IIP, IIP+, III, IIIP, 4, 4P and 4L.

  All Apple LaserWriter printers must be connected to system using a
  serial port.  All Hewlett-Packard printers must be connected to the
  system using a builtin parallel port.

  Hewlett-Packard LaserJet II and III series printers do not work
  properly with less than 1.5 Mbytes of memory.  LaserJet 4 series
  printers require at least 4 Mbytes of memory.

  Apple LaserWriter IIf printers with less than 4 Mbytes of memory are
  not supported.

  Third Party Device Plug-Ins:

   ** The following printer manufacturers supply Impressario device
      plug-ins for some or all of their printers.  They are arranged in
      alphabetical order:

      Company       Product name
      -------       ------------ 
      Genicom       GenicomPrint 1.1 for Impressario 1.1
..    Supports Genicom 9080, 9170, 9170A

      Seiko         SeikoPrint for Impressario 1.1
..    Supports Professional ColorPoint CH-6104

      Tektronix     PhaserPrint for Impressario 1.0
..    Supports Phaser 200e, 200i (w/ or w/o 4511A)
...     Phaser PXi        (w/ or w/o 4511A)
...     Phaser II PXi.   (w/ or w/o 4511A)
...     Phaser II SD, SDX (w/ or w/o 4511A)
...     Phaser II SX, DX  (fast raster)
...     Phaser III PXi    (w/ or w/o 4511A)
...     Phaser III RX     (fast raster)

      As of July 1, 1994, SGI no longer resells printers manufactured
      by Tektronix, Genicom and Seiko. Tektronix, Genicom and Seiko can
      provide the Impressario device plug-in for their respective
      printers.

      All of the above device plug-ins have been tested and work under
      Impressario version 1.2.

   ** The following software companies supply Impressario device
      plug-ins for the following printers.  They are arranged in
      alphabetical order.

      Company                   Product name
      -------                   ------------ 
      Easy Software Products.espPrint 2.0.1
....Supports Canon CJ-10  (see also scanners)
..... Epson 24-pin
..... Fargo Primera
..... HP DeskJet 500, 520
..... HP DeskJet 550C, 560C, 1200C
..... HP LaserJet,LaserJet+,LaserJet 500
..... HP LaserJet II & compatibles
..... HP LaserJet IIp, III
..... HP LaserJet 4
..... IBM ProPrinter

      espPrint is available via ftp in
      ftp://swedishchef.lerc.nasa.gov/printing/. See also SGI's Hot Mix
      9 CD for more information.

      GW Hannaway & Associates.(contact info@gwha.com)
    ....Supports Kodak XL7700, XLT7720
  ..... Fujix Pictrography 3000

      Torque Systems..Torque RIPServer
    ....Supports Calcomp 68000GA
  ..... HP DesignJet 650C

      Where third parties support the same printer that Impressario
      does, there are generally differences in how they are supported.
      For instance, some third parties support error-diffusion
      dithering, while Impressario does not.

------------------------------

Subject:    -7- What scanners are supported under Impressario?
Date: 18 Aug 1994 00:00:01 EST

  This section lists two sets of device plug-ins: first, those bundled
  with Impressario itself, and second, those provided by third
  parties.  Impressario is an open architecture, and relies on third
  parties to provide support for devices which SGI cannot.  The
  Impressario Developer's Kit makes this easy.

  Devices supported in Impressario 1.1 (from the Impressario release
  notes):

      o Hewlett-Packard ScanJet IIc
      o Ricoh FS1
      o MicroTek ScanMaker 600 ZS
      o Sharp JX 320
      o Epson GT 6000

  Impressario version 1.2:

      o Hewlett-Packard ScanJet IIc and IIcx, with or without optional
        document feeder and transparency options.
      o Ricoh FS1
      o MicroTek ScanMaker 600 ZS
      o Sharp JX 320
      o Epson GT 6000

  o NOTE: The Epson GT-6000 cannot scan more than 4096 dots per scan
    line.  Thus, at higher resolutions, it might not be possible to
    scan all of the scannable area.


  Third Party Device Plug-Ins:

  ** The following software companies supply Impressario device
     plug-ins for the following scanners.  They are arranged in
     alphabetical order.

     Company                   Product name
     -------                   ------------ 
     Easy Software Products.espPrint 2.0.1
  ....Supports Canon CJ-10  (see also printers)

     espPrint is available via ftp in
     ftp://swedishchef.lerc.nasa.gov/printing/. See also SGI's Hot Mix 9
     CD for more information.

     Ricoh ...RicohFS2
  ....Supports Ricoh FS2
  ..... with or without document feeder
  ..... w/ or w/o transparency adaptor

------------------------------

Subject:    -8- What types of image files can Impressario print?
Date: 18 Aug 1994 00:00:01 EST

  All versions of Impressario support SGI RGB ImageLib image file
  format, RGB and RGBA, color and grayscale, compressed and
  uncompressed.

  Starting with Impressario 1.2, direct printing of JPEG JFIF, PhotoCD,
  TIFF 6.0, GIF 87a and 89a, and FIT images are supported.  In addition
  both ASCII and binary PPM, PGM and PBM images can be directly
  printed.  Finally, Impressario 1.2 adds support for SGI image files
  with 16 bits per channel, in all formats.

  Tektronix printer device plug-ins cannot accept the new formats
  included with Impressario 1.2, but they can accept XWD and Sun Raster
  files.

  More file formats can be added to Impressario quickly and easily,
  without knowing anything about PostScript or printer device
  plug-ins.  See the Impressario Developer's Guide or the Indigo Magic
  Integration Guide for more details.  Every new file conversion filter
  is automatically available to all printers, so that file conversion
  filters need only be written once for all uses.

------------------------------

Subject:    -9- Can I write my own Impressario printer/scanner device
                plug-in?
Date: 18 Aug 1994 00:00:01 EST

  Yes.  You will need the Impressario Developer's Kit (an optional
  product that is not part of the Impressario Server product).

  From the Impressario 1.2 release notes:

  The Impressario Developer's Kit allows application and device plug-in
  developers to create software that fully supports printing and
  scanning in a manner that is consistent with the Impressario
  architecture.

  A full developer's template for both scanner and printer device
  plug-ins along with a complete developer's manual are included.
  Starting in Impressario 1.2, the manual is supplied in both paper and
  online Insight format.

------------------------------

Subject:   -10- What happened to the client software option in
                Impressario 1.2?
Date: 18 Aug 1994 00:00:01 EST

  Impressario versions 1.0 and 1.1 were sold in two packages: client
  and server. The server software contained filters and device plug-ins
  for sending print jobs to a printer connected directly to a host
  workstation.  The server software was installed on the system that
  had the printer physically attached to it.  The Client software
  provided a graphical interfaces to the printing and scanning
  software.  The client software was installed on systems that would
  access the Impressario print server via a network connection.

  Starting with Impressario version 1.2 and IRIX 5.2, the client
  product has been obsoleted.  The graphical interfaces to printing now
  ship as part of IRIX 5.2 and later, so any SGI system can now be an
  Impressario client.  If your clients are all running IRIX 5.2 or
  later, you need only install Impressario Server on the system that
  has the printer or scanner physically attached to it.

  Scanner support, imprint, and psroff are not bundled: they are still
  part of Impressario Server.

------------------------------

Subject:   -11- What is the mkbsdpr script (included with Impressario)
                used for?
Date: 18 Aug 1994 00:00:01 EST

  Background:

  There are two common print spoolers in use with Unix systems: 

      The lp spooler.
      The lpr spooler.

  SGI uses the lp spooler.  If you wish to use a printer on a remote
  system that uses the lpr spooler then you need a way to submit print
  jobs to it.  SGI does supply the lpr spooler software (it is in the
  subsystem eoe2.sw.lpr and is not loaded by default).

  If you wish to use an lpr printer (which would be on another system
  on your network) then you should install the lpr spooler subsystem
  and configure it (see the lpr(1) and printcap(4) man pages for
  details).  At this point you could print to the lpr printer using the
  lpr(1) command.  However, you might also want to print from the
  Indigo Magic environment or from an application that only prints to
  the lp spooler.  The way to do this is set up an lp printer queue
  that forwards all of its print requests to the lpr spooler (which is
  what mkbsdpr does):

  From the mkbsdpr(1M) man page:

       mkbsdpr registers a BSD spooling system printer with the System
       V spooling system. This provides the ability to submit a print
       job via System V and have that job printed on a BSD based
       printer.

       mkbsdpr creates a System V printer interface program to
       communicate with a BSD print spooler. This interface program
       will normally keep a log of its activities in the file
       /var/spool/lp/log.  The -l option causes the interface program
       to keep its log in /var/spool/lp/etc/log/lp_printer-log
       instead.  The -v option causes the interface program to keep a
       more verbose log.

       mkbsdpr only provides connectivity from the System V print
       spooler to BSD print spooler. The program cannot be used for
       installing or registering a local BSD printer.

------------------------------

Subject:   -12- What is the impr_desktop product?
Date: 18 Aug 1994 00:00:01 EST

  This is the Impressario printer client software that was shipped with
  Irix 5.1.* systems.

  Starting with Irix 5.2 it has been renamed to "print".  The new
  product subsystems are:

    print.man.desktop    
    print.man.relnotes   
    print.sw.desktop     

  Note that with Impressario version 1.2 a version of the "print"
  software is included on the Impressario CD.  See the related question
  "What should I know before updating to Impressario version 1.2?" for
  details.

------------------------------

Subject:   -13- Why do I need Display PostScript?
Date: 21 Mar 1994 00:00:01 EST

  Impressario requires the Display PostScript software.  All SGI
  systems that were delivered from the factory with Irix 4.0.* or
  higher include Display PostScript.

  Systems delivered with an Irix release earlier then 4.0.* did not
  include Display PostScript.  In addition, the 4.0.* update to these
  systems did not include Display PostScript (requiring 4.0.* upgrade
  users to purchase Display PostScript).  This has changed: all Irix
  5.2 updates will include Display PostScript.

------------------------------

Subject:   -14- Can I use the serial port for HP printers with
                Impressario?
Date: 21 Mar 1994 00:00:01 EST

  No.  Only builtin parallel ports can be used.  Note that some older
  SGI systems do not have a builtin parallel port.

  The hinv(1M) command can be used to see if the system has a parallel
  port.

------------------------------

Subject:   -15- Is the Ikon 10088 parallel interface controller
                supported by Impressario?
Date: 21 Mar 1994 00:00:01 EST

  No. The Ikon board is not supported.

  Note: The Ikon 10088 parallel interface controller is an optional VME
  board that provides a parallel port for older systems that do not
  have a built-in parallel port.

------------------------------

Subject:   -16- Does Impressario support the HP Jet Direct card?
Date: 21 Mar 1994 00:00:01 EST

  No.  At this time SGI does not supply an Impressario device plug-in
  for the HP Jet Direct card (HP does not provide a device plug-in for
  SGI, either).

  Users of the HP Jet Direct card are encouraged to contact HP and
  request that a device plug-in for SGI be made available (HP can
  supply the source code if you wish to tackle this yourself).

  It is recommended that you connect HP printers directly to the
  parallel port of an SGI workstation.

------------------------------

Subject:   -17- Why won't my HP PaintJet work with Impressario?
Date: 21 Mar 1994 00:00:01 EST

  Impressario supports the HP PaintJet XL300.  The PaintJet (a
  different printer) is not supported.

------------------------------

End of sgi/faq/impressario Digest
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