Artisan 50 CD/DVD CD DVD Printer

English Hardware
1

Hi. I’m new here, (first post) new to OpenSuSE 11.1, and new to Linux! :slight_smile: The reason I loaded Linux is because I print CD’s. ALOT of CDs. I was told by someone else who does what I do, (which is not illegal BTW) that at least with an Epson R220 printer, (which is discontinued) print times can be dropped from about 2 minutes per disk to about 30 seconds per disk, and ink consumption is much improved by using Linux with the gutenprint drivers.

Well, being as the R 220 is a discountinued model and I have an Artisan 50 at my disposal, and they are still available from Epson and major retailers I figured I give that a try. I installed OpenSuSE 11.1. Finding there was no driver for the Artisan 50, I compiled and installed gutenprint 5.2.4, and updated CUPS to 1.4rc1. The Artisan 50 driver is still not available in the latest gutenprint, but I tried the Artisan 700 drier figuring the print engine might be the same. No joy. I did, however, previous to updating gutenprint, load the Stylus Photo RX700 driver thinking that was the Artisan driver, and I did get the CD tray to move in and out when attempting to print. That’s more than I got from the Artisan 700 driver.

I loaded the driver supplied at 進のソフトウェア開発｜アヴァシス株式会社](http://www.avasys.jp/lx-bin2/linux_e/ink/DL2.do) and though the printer will print to paper, there is no way to get the CD tray working that I can find.

I’m hoping someone here can offer some insight, or maybe point me in the right direction.

Thanks in advance for any and all replies.

Johnny

2

Looking at OpenPrinting database - Printer Listings it doen’t look like any of the artisan printers are listed.
Trouble with epson is thay aren’t too good at linux support.
You could try using the mac drivers in freebsd/bsd and see if they work. (You can download a live frebsd disc and try)

3

Well, I actualy found an R220 localy that’s in really great condition. I’m just waiting on carts to show up so I can check it out and make sure the print head isn’t clogged with dry ink.

The trouble is, if I’m using Epsons ink-thirsty drivers, it kind of defeats the purpose of printing from Linux instead of just using the Windoze drivers. The drivers in Gutenprint for the R220 are much better than Epsons, and I was hoping someone might be developing drivers for the Artisan 50 that are also superior to Epsons.

I deffinately appreciate the response whych. The Mac drivers would probably get the printer working, but it’s not quite what I’m looking to do.

Johnny

4

It’s not the end - usually Epson cartridges are easily refilled.
Just nake sure linux supports the printer.

5

Well, the ink consumption being reduced is a secondary benefit. The speed is really what’s important. For example, I have an event coming up where I will need to print at least 840 disks. Two minutes a piece is a long time.

Johnny