Problem with Lexmark printer

[emh]

I've been lurking on this board for a while, and I've learned quite a lot.  I switched to Mandrake Linux 8.2 about a month ago, and while I had a little trouble at first, I'm enjoying it much more than I ever enjoyed Windows 98.  

With that being said, I'm having a small problem that nobody on the Mandrake user forums were able to help with.  

When I try to print a document, it cuts off the top 1-2 inches of the document.  I tried it in both Open Office and KWord.  For the time being, I'm working around the problem by setting the Lexmark settings to think I'm using 8.5" x 12" paper rather than 8.5" x 11", but is there some other setting somewhere that I should check on?

[voidmain]

What model of Lexmark printer do you have? Here is some talk on the Mandrake forum regarding the success of Lexmark printers:

http://www.mandrakeforum.com/article.php?sid=2149

Did you install the Linux printer software from Lexmark's web site?

[ October 19, 2002: Message edited by: void main ]

[emh]

It's a z23 printer, USB only.

I am using the drivers from Lexmark's site.

I did see that posting on Mandrake's site concerning printers, however, I couldn't actually find where to download the updated packages.  Guess I'll look harder when I have time.

[voidmain]

I know you are new to Linux but having been working with it for quite some time I have learned to research hardware before buying. I have always used HP printers without problem and without requiring special vendor drivers.

Here is the driver listed on Lexmark's site but it only lists up to Mandrake 8.0. Is this the one you tried? They also list a support phone number on that page that you can call if you need help. I don't know if that phone support is free or not but you might want to try it if this doesn't help.

[ October 20, 2002: Message edited by: void main ]

[emh]

I did research the hardware before buying it, and I bought this particular printer, first because it was cheap    and second because Lexmark themselves provided a driver for Linux.  So I really had no question at all about whether or not it would work in Linux.  I'll try the support number and e-mailing them later and tell them about the problem.  (I know of at least one other person from the Mandrake forums, that uses the same printer and has the same problem)

[voidmain]

quote:Originally posted by emh:
I know of at least one other person from the Mandrake forums, that uses the same printer and has the same problem

That's part of the research.    I don't like proprietary printers that require proprietary drivers (like this one) because you are then dependent on the manufacturer to keep up with the Linux driver support. Hopefully they will help you, especially if you tell them that is the specific reason you bought this printer (for the Linux compatibility). Also I always check http://www.linuxprinting.org/ before buying.

For instance, look at the vendor info here:
http://www.linuxprinting.org/vendors.html

and look at the specific model here:
http://www.linuxprinting.org/show_printer.cgi?recnum=Lexmark-Z23

which claims that particular printer to be a "paper weight". But before making that conclusion on your own contact that vendor phone number.

[emh]

Well, even if the tech support number can't help me, I know how to get around the problem, so it's not that big of a deal. (I just tell Lexmark that I'm using 8.5" x 12" paper rather than 8.5" x 11" paper)  I just wanted to see if there was some find of fix for it that I wasn't aware of.

[Pantso]

quote:Originally posted by emh:
I've been lurking on this board for a while, and I've learned quite a lot.  I switched to Mandrake Linux 8.2 about a month ago, and while I had a little trouble at first, I'm enjoying it much more than I ever enjoyed Windows 98.  

With that being said, I'm having a small problem that nobody on the Mandrake user forums were able to help with.  

When I try to print a document, it cuts off the top 1-2 inches of the document.  I tried it in both Open Office and KWord.  For the time being, I'm working around the problem by setting the Lexmark settings to think I'm using 8.5" x 12" paper rather than 8.5" x 11", but is there some other setting somewhere that I should check on?

We have exactly the same printer model and I had exactly the same problem with SuSE 8.0 and Mandrake 8.2 both in StarOffice and OpenOffice.org. I tried to fix it by changing the printer settins but I had no luck with the printer software. So my guess is that it is the driver's fault. Furthermore, Lexmark haven't updated the specific driver at all! Jeese... How's that for customer support?

Anyway, you either have to do with that or get another printer by selling this one (if that's an option). Get an HP printer as void main suggested. Most of them work great in Linux.
 

[emh]

The problem, for my purposes, is fixed.  So I don't really see a need to buy a new printer when this one works just fine.