Archive-name: sgi/faq/impressario
Last-modified: Thu Jun 23 17:53:33 CDT 1994

    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 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

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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 driver?
  -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 subsystem?
  -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: Mon Mar 21 14:34:50 PST 1994

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-queryable format, 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 drivers for many popular printers and scanners.
(Printer manufactures may also provide drivers 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 view 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 driver
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: Mon Mar 21 14:34:50 PST 1994

Irix      Impressario Version
-----------------------------
3.3.*     Not available
4.0.*     1.1
5.0.1     1.1
5.1.*     1.1
5.2       1.2

Impressario 1.0 users should update to version 1.1.

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

Subject:    -3- What should I know before updating to Impressario
                version 1.2?
Date: Mon Mar 21 14:34:50 PST 1994

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

   As a minimum, install the default print subsystems (do not mark all
   the print subsystems 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 subsystem and they will be removed when Impressario 1.2 is
   installed.  So, the print subsystem must be re-installed when
   Impressario 1.2 is installed.  For convenience, the print subsystem
   is supplied with Impressario 1.2 and it will  automatically install
   the correct print subsystem files (assuming you do not change the
   set of subsystems to be installed using the inst utility).

   Note that the print subsystem shipped with Irix 5.2 is version 1.2.
   The print subsystem found on the Impressario 1.2 CD is version
   1.2.1.  They are both the same.  The higher version number of the
   print subsystem 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: Mon Mar 21 14:34:50 PST 1994

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

  print
  print.man
  print.man.desktop
  print.man.relnotes
  print.sw
  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: Mon Mar 21 14:34:50 PST 1994

No.  Irix includes a generic PostScript driver.  This driver will
convert ASCII files and RGB image files to PostScript and send the
PostScript file to your printer (which must be able to process
PostScript files).  You can install the Generic PostScript Driver using
the System Manager tools.

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

Subject:    -6- What printers are supported under Impressario?
Date: Mon Mar 21 14:34:50 PST 1994

The Impressario release notes list the supported printers.  From
the release notes:

Impressario Version 1.1:

    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 Drivers:

    The following printer manufactures supply Impressario drivers for 
    some or all of their printers.  

	Company                Product name
	-------                ------------ 
	Tektronix              PhaserPrint for Impressario 1.0
	Genicom                GenicomPrint 1.1 for Impressario 1.1
	Seiko                  SeikoPrint for Impressario 1.1

    SGI re-sells printers manufactured by Tektronix, Genicom and
    Seiko.  Printers purchased through SGI will include an Impressario
    driver.  Tektronix, Genicom and Seiko can also provide the
    Impressario driver for printers that are not purchased through
    SGI.

    All of the above drivers have been tested and work under
    Impressario version 1.2.

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

Subject:    -7- What scanners are supported under Impressario?
Date: Mon Mar 21 14:34:50 PST 1994

From the Impressario release notes:

Impressario version 1.1:

    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
    o Ricoh FS1
    o MicroTek ScanMaker 600 ZS
    o Sharp JX 320
    o Epson GT 6000

o Ricoh can supply an Impressario driver for the Ricoh FS2 scanner.

o 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.

o The MicroTek ScanMaker 600ZS scanner driver does not support Black
  and White scanning.  Only Color and Greyscale scanning are supported
  for this scanner.

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

Subject:    -8- What types of image files can Impressario print?
Date: Mon Mar 21 14:34:50 PST 1994

Starting with Impressario 1.2 direct printing of Kodak Photo CD, GIF,
TIFF, FIT, and JPEG images are supported. In addition both ASCII and
binary PPM, PGM and PBM images can be directly printed.

Note that the above types apply to printer drivers that are supplied
with Impressario.  If your printer vendor supplied an Impressario
driver you should check with the printer vendor (also check the
Impressario release notes which may have some information for some of
the drivers supplied by printer vendors).

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

Subject:    -9- Can I write my own Impressario printer/scanner driver?
Date: Mon Mar 21 14:34:50 PST 1994

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

From the Impressario 1.2 release notes:

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

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

Subject:   -10- What happened to the client software option in
                Impressario 1.2?
Date: Mon Mar 21 14:34:50 PST 1994

Impressario versions 1.0 and 1.1 were sold in two packages: client and
server. The server software contained filters and drivers 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, the client product has been
obsoleted.  You install Impressario on the system that has the printer
physically attached to it.  The client printing functionality now ships
as part of Irix (starting with Irix 5.2) so any SGI system can now be
an Impressario client.  Scanner support still resides in Impressario
(that is, the scanner support is not shipped as part of Irix).

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

Subject:   -11- What is the mkbsdpr script (included with Impressario)
                used for?
Date: Mon Mar 21 14:34:50 PST 1994

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 spooler 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 subsystem?
Date: Mon Mar 21 14:34:50 PST 1994

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
subsystems are:

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

Note that with Impressario version 1.2 a version of the "print"
subsystems 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: Mon Mar 21 14:34:50 PST 1994

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: Mon Mar 21 14:34:50 PST 1994

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: Mon Mar 21 14:34:50 PST 1994

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: Mon Mar 21 14:34:50 PST 1994

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

Users of the HP Jet Direct card are encouraged to contact HP and
request that a driver 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: Mon Mar 21 14:34:50 PST 1994

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

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

End of sgi/faq/impressario Digest
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