I just got the printer 2 days ago and tested from my PC. The print quality was really good and comparable to higher-end and more expensive ones.
The only major con of this printer is that it uses PC (with Windows only) to render printing, and send the raw data to the printer using HP proprietary protocol via USB cable.
After installing the driver, I noticed there were 2 virtual USB ports created. These two ports were proprietary ports and unconfigurable. Print server could not use the port. That's the reason why this printer is not for people who want to network their printer thru print server.
I think the only way to make it networkable is making the USB-connected PC share its port. But then, this PC has to be up and running Windows all the time to make the printer available.
For the same reason, printing process is very fast, because half part of the printing process is done on the PC (which in general nowadays is much faster than even RISC processors usually deployed on various laser printers). From a few tests, I could see the printer started to print a second after I press print.
Yeah, that is true. This printer is in the family of "host-based printer". I found a definition of "Host-based printer" on the net:
"A printer that relies on the computer's CPU to do the rasterization of the pages. Non-host-based printers accept a command language from the computer, such as PostScript and PCL, and perform the rasterization internally. GDI printers are an example of host-based printers, which rely on the CPU's processing power to do the work."
I believe this printer uses Windows' GDI (Graphical Device Interface) commands to rasterize printing. If anybody has come up with brilliant idea how to hack it and make it work on Linux machines?
Host-based printing is a cost-efficient printing technology that enables printers to utilize the processing power and memory resources of the PC (or the Host). In comparison, PDL-based (printer description language) printers use the processor and memory resources of the printer. Host-based printing allows HP to minimize the cost of the printer by significantly reducing the capabilities of the formatter of the printer and relying on the customer's computer processing power.
How does host-based printing work
Host-based printing works by converting Windows GDI commands (graphics commands) generated by the application to the dot pattern to be created on the page. This dot pattern is then compressed and sent from the host PC to the printer, which stores the image of the page before printing. The data MUST be rasterized (converted into dots) when sent to the printer. This function is usually performed by the application itself.
There are, however, some high-end graphics applications such as Quark™, Adobe PageMaker™, Adobe Indesign™, or Macromedia Freehand™ that do NOT rasterize data before sending to the printer. Output from these applications to a host-based printer is typically very poor.
When you print to a PS printer, PS commands are sent from your computer in the form of text commands. This text contains exact information about what is on the page. The text is received, understood and translated by a PS interpreter in your printer. Because of the simplicity of text commands and the consistency of PS interpreters, any PS printer will print the text information in the same way. Sending the same PS information to 560 different printers would yield the same results. PS is an invaluable graphics language because of its consistency and portability.
Workarounds such as saving EPS files to different file formats such as JPEG’s or TIFF’s aren’t acceptable to users of high-end graphics applications who rely on PostScript specifically for the reasons above.
In comparison, PDL-based printers require a more extensive formatter with higher RAM and ROM requirements, as well as a more powerful processor on board the printer.
Benefits of Host-Based Printing:
A host-based printer utilizes the host computer’s processing power to convert the software application’s page information into a raster format to be printed by the printer. Since newer computers process at much faster speeds than most printer processors, complex jobs can often print faster when utilizing a host-based printer driver. Most host-based printers utilize USB ports which typically print much faster than parallel ports.
Host-based printing requires a software print engine in the host operating system, and unlike a PDL (Printer Description Language) printer, cannot accept ASCII text direct from a computer. This means that the Host based printer will only work in the Windows and Macintosh environments that are specifically supported with the print engine written for that environment. Users of unsupported Windows and Macintosh environments, as well as users of Linux, Unix, OS/2 should consider a PDL printer like the HP Color LaserJet 2550 or CLJ3700.
Limitations of Host-Based Printing:
Host-based printers are excellent small workgroup printers suitable for Windows and limited Mac printing to include internet and typical office printing but NOT EPS file printing.
The drawback is that it is not possible to network such printers. A printer needs a steady flow of data, which is easily accomplished when it is connected directly to a PC, but cannot be guaranteed when the printer is connected via a LAN. Also, these technologies require intensive handshaking between the driver and the printer. However, the communication will time-out often enough over the LAN to make the solution impractical.
No wonder if you have a very fast PC (mine is not considered very fast anymore, eventhough it uses AMD 64-bit 2.4 GHz Athlon w/ 1 GB RAM and USB v2.0), it prints very fast. I haven't tried with USB1.0, but by just looking at the ratio of the rate between USB1.0 and USB2.0, we can tell roughly how it will behave.
Sad to know there is no practical way to network the printer, except maybe by spending a couple of hundred $$ to buy a dedicated PC (with Windows) to be its "print server" (well, it is not going to be a real print server, it may only be "a shared port" PC).
I have this printer working with a D-Link DP-301 USB print server and a D-link Extreme G wireless router (Ver.3) Followed the install instructions and the data was sent from my Windows XP computer, through my router and into the print server (I could see the print jobs in the print history page of the server) but the printer did not print. The solution was to use my printer install disk to remove all of the 1020 print drivers from my computer and reinstall the printer. Reattached the printer to my computer and test printed. That worked, so I reattached the USB cable to the print server and used the Windows Add Printer utility to set-up a new HP-1020 definition using the TCP/IP port I created during the first install attempt. Tested the printer and it works great. It also works with the other computers in my home network.
You're right! At first, I couldn't believe what you said. But then I just followed your steps, it worked! But, somehow, it worked only for the first page after I reset the print server. I think there is some bug in my print server (mine is D-LINK DP-311U).
Hi z1pper and buhadram , i have this printer, and i would like to buy a wireless print server for use with this printer, what printer could you to recommend me? because so far i haven't could to find the D-link dp-301.
i have HP-1200 printer on network
whenever any user send the print to the printer it also prints the current day dates and then send the print and sometime automatically prints the dates .
I just purchased a brand new NETGEAR PS121 print server and successfully installed it yesterday. PS121 receives IP 192.168.1.4 automatically from DHCP server using MAC address on the print server.
Then I set up a printer LJ 1020 through PS121 on the "Administrator" PC and could print without any problems regardless NETGEAR WEB-site listed my "HP LaserJet 1020" as totally incompatible printer. When I used WEB-browser to reach http://192.168.1.4 it successfully showed printer as "HP LaserJet 1020" and I didn't have any problems while printing from any PC on the network.
Today I tried to print again, but couldn't. Tried PING 192.168.1.4 and got "Time Out". After some experimenting I found that if printer turned off - I can PING print server successfully and reach it through WEB-interface. As soon as I turn on the printer - I get "Time out" again.
I changed IP settings from DHCP to manual - same situation. PS121 is accessible from the network only while printer turned off. I reflashed PS121 with the latest firmware downloaded from NETGEAR testerday. It didn't help. I tried to turn PS121 off and then back ON, disconnect and reconnect to the network, etc. Didn't help either. While printer turned off or USB cable disconnected - PS121 is PING'able. Otherwise - NO.
I started to suspect my printer and hook it up directly to PC. No problem. Printer works well on all and any print tasks, but as soon as I switch it back to PS121 - same behaviour.
I could understand if my printer was incompatible with PS121 and couldn't work with it at all. BUT, how did it work yesterday? I even didn't read that stupid statement at all about incompatibility and believed if my printer works well with PS121 NOW - I can expect it will work always.
Can anybody give me a clue what happened and if any possibility to fix?
This printer works well under Linux - just google a little. But with a glitch - it should not be turned off when computer is on. So first printer on, then comp, comp first off, then printer.
Hope it will improve in near future.
Very interesting experience on networking, I'm going to purchase a router (wireless) with printserver integrated and try out all that :)
An update on my print server - HP 1020 relationship. I find that about once a week the printer stops responding to print requests from my print server. I just have to disconnect the printer cable from the print server and re-attach it to my PC, run a job to the printer using my non-networked printer set-up (I have one that sends jobs to the print server and another printer set-up that sends jobs directly to the printer). Then I disconnect the printer cable from my PC and re-attach it to the print server. It's a bit of a pain, but it works.
Jul 20, 2006
Unable to print via Print Server
I just got the printer 2 days ago and tested from my PC. The print quality was really good and comparable to higher-end and more expensive ones.
The only major con of this printer is that it uses PC (with Windows only) to render printing, and send the raw data to the printer using HP proprietary protocol via USB cable.
After installing the driver, I noticed there were 2 virtual USB ports created. These two ports were proprietary ports and unconfigurable. Print server could not use the port. That's the reason why this printer is not for people who want to network their printer thru print server.
I think the only way to make it networkable is making the USB-connected PC share its port. But then, this PC has to be up and running Windows all the time to make the printer available.
For the same reason, printing process is very fast, because half part of the printing process is done on the PC (which in general nowadays is much faster than even RISC processors usually deployed on various laser printers). From a few tests, I could see the printer started to print a second after I press print.
Jul 20, 2006
Yeah, that is true. This printer is in the family of "host-based printer". I found a definition of "Host-based printer" on the net:
"A printer that relies on the computer's CPU to do the rasterization of the pages. Non-host-based printers accept a command language from the computer, such as PostScript and PCL, and perform the rasterization internally. GDI printers are an example of host-based printers, which rely on the CPU's processing power to do the work."
I believe this printer uses Windows' GDI (Graphical Device Interface) commands to rasterize printing. If anybody has come up with brilliant idea how to hack it and make it work on Linux machines?
Jul 20, 2006
Host-based printing is a cost-efficient printing technology that enables printers to utilize the processing power and memory resources of the PC (or the Host). In comparison, PDL-based (printer description language) printers use the processor and memory resources of the printer. Host-based printing allows HP to minimize the cost of the printer by significantly reducing the capabilities of the formatter of the printer and relying on the customer's computer processing power.
How does host-based printing work
Host-based printing works by converting Windows GDI commands (graphics commands) generated by the application to the dot pattern to be created on the page. This dot pattern is then compressed and sent from the host PC to the printer, which stores the image of the page before printing. The data MUST be rasterized (converted into dots) when sent to the printer. This function is usually performed by the application itself.
There are, however, some high-end graphics applications such as Quark™, Adobe PageMaker™, Adobe Indesign™, or Macromedia Freehand™ that do NOT rasterize data before sending to the printer. Output from these applications to a host-based printer is typically very poor.
When you print to a PS printer, PS commands are sent from your computer in the form of text commands. This text contains exact information about what is on the page. The text is received, understood and translated by a PS interpreter in your printer. Because of the simplicity of text commands and the consistency of PS interpreters, any PS printer will print the text information in the same way. Sending the same PS information to 560 different printers would yield the same results. PS is an invaluable graphics language because of its consistency and portability.
Workarounds such as saving EPS files to different file formats such as JPEG’s or TIFF’s aren’t acceptable to users of high-end graphics applications who rely on PostScript specifically for the reasons above.
In comparison, PDL-based printers require a more extensive formatter with higher RAM and ROM requirements, as well as a more powerful processor on board the printer.
Benefits of Host-Based Printing:
A host-based printer utilizes the host computer’s processing power to convert the software application’s page information into a raster format to be printed by the printer. Since newer computers process at much faster speeds than most printer processors, complex jobs can often print faster when utilizing a host-based printer driver. Most host-based printers utilize USB ports which typically print much faster than parallel ports.
Host-based printing requires a software print engine in the host operating system, and unlike a PDL (Printer Description Language) printer, cannot accept ASCII text direct from a computer. This means that the Host based printer will only work in the Windows and Macintosh environments that are specifically supported with the print engine written for that environment. Users of unsupported Windows and Macintosh environments, as well as users of Linux, Unix, OS/2 should consider a PDL printer like the HP Color LaserJet 2550 or CLJ3700.
Limitations of Host-Based Printing:
Host-based printers are excellent small workgroup printers suitable for Windows and limited Mac printing to include internet and typical office printing but NOT EPS file printing.
The drawback is that it is not possible to network such printers. A printer needs a steady flow of data, which is easily accomplished when it is connected directly to a PC, but cannot be guaranteed when the printer is connected via a LAN. Also, these technologies require intensive handshaking between the driver and the printer. However, the communication will time-out often enough over the LAN to make the solution impractical.
Jul 20, 2006
No wonder if you have a very fast PC (mine is not considered very fast anymore, eventhough it uses AMD 64-bit 2.4 GHz Athlon w/ 1 GB RAM and USB v2.0), it prints very fast. I haven't tried with USB1.0, but by just looking at the ratio of the rate between USB1.0 and USB2.0, we can tell roughly how it will behave.
Sad to know there is no practical way to network the printer, except maybe by spending a couple of hundred $$ to buy a dedicated PC (with Windows) to be its "print server" (well, it is not going to be a real print server, it may only be "a shared port" PC).
Sep 15, 2006
I have this printer working with a D-Link DP-301 USB print server and a D-link Extreme G wireless router (Ver.3) Followed the install instructions and the data was sent from my Windows XP computer, through my router and into the print server (I could see the print jobs in the print history page of the server) but the printer did not print. The solution was to use my printer install disk to remove all of the 1020 print drivers from my computer and reinstall the printer. Reattached the printer to my computer and test printed. That worked, so I reattached the USB cable to the print server and used the Windows Add Printer utility to set-up a new HP-1020 definition using the TCP/IP port I created during the first install attempt. Tested the printer and it works great. It also works with the other computers in my home network.
Sep 15, 2006
Hi z1pper,
You're right! At first, I couldn't believe what you said. But then I just followed your steps, it worked! But, somehow, it worked only for the first page after I reset the print server. I think there is some bug in my print server (mine is D-LINK DP-311U).
Thanks anyway for your comment.
Oct 9, 2006
Hi z1pper and buhadram , i have this printer, and i would like to buy a wireless print server for use with this printer, what printer could you to recommend me? because so far i haven't could to find the D-link dp-301.
Thank you
Denis
Oct 10, 2006
i have HP-1200 printer on network
whenever any user send the print to the printer it also prints the current day dates and then send the print and sometime automatically prints the dates .
Oct 13, 2006
Go get the network version of the printer (the price is offcourse higher): HP 1022n (the networking is optional, so make sure you get the n series)
Nov 30, 2006
I just purchased a brand new NETGEAR PS121 print server and successfully installed it yesterday. PS121 receives IP 192.168.1.4 automatically from DHCP server using MAC address on the print server.
Then I set up a printer LJ 1020 through PS121 on the "Administrator" PC and could print without any problems regardless NETGEAR WEB-site listed my "HP LaserJet 1020" as totally incompatible printer. When I used WEB-browser to reach http://192.168.1.4 it successfully showed printer as "HP LaserJet 1020" and I didn't have any problems while printing from any PC on the network.
Today I tried to print again, but couldn't. Tried PING 192.168.1.4 and got "Time Out". After some experimenting I found that if printer turned off - I can PING print server successfully and reach it through WEB-interface. As soon as I turn on the printer - I get "Time out" again.
I changed IP settings from DHCP to manual - same situation. PS121 is accessible from the network only while printer turned off. I reflashed PS121 with the latest firmware downloaded from NETGEAR testerday. It didn't help. I tried to turn PS121 off and then back ON, disconnect and reconnect to the network, etc. Didn't help either. While printer turned off or USB cable disconnected - PS121 is PING'able. Otherwise - NO.
I started to suspect my printer and hook it up directly to PC. No problem. Printer works well on all and any print tasks, but as soon as I switch it back to PS121 - same behaviour.
I could understand if my printer was incompatible with PS121 and couldn't work with it at all. BUT, how did it work yesterday? I even didn't read that stupid statement at all about incompatibility and believed if my printer works well with PS121 NOW - I can expect it will work always.
Can anybody give me a clue what happened and if any possibility to fix?
Feb 27, 2007
This printer works well under Linux - just google a little. But with a glitch - it should not be turned off when computer is on. So first printer on, then comp, comp first off, then printer.
Hope it will improve in near future.
Very interesting experience on networking, I'm going to purchase a router (wireless) with printserver integrated and try out all that :)
peACE
May 11, 2007
An update on my print server - HP 1020 relationship. I find that about once a week the printer stops responding to print requests from my print server. I just have to disconnect the printer cable from the print server and re-attach it to my PC, run a job to the printer using my non-networked printer set-up (I have one that sends jobs to the print server and another printer set-up that sends jobs directly to the printer). Then I disconnect the printer cable from my PC and re-attach it to the print server. It's a bit of a pain, but it works.