Printing to a USB printer through a DOS app?

[Chaotic42]

My friend at work has Windows 2000 and a USB printer, but needs a way to print using a DOS app that has no concept of USB. It's options are ltp1 and 2 and so on.

Is there a way to redirect the output to the USB printer? Any hacks or ideas are appreciated.

 

[vailr]

If this is needed on a routine basis, then seriously consider updating to a Windows application.
Try running the DOS program in Windows, using a command-prompt window. Start/Run/Command (or cmd).
If the DOS program won't work (or doesn't print to USB) in a command-prompt window, then try "printing to file". At the DOS command prompt, enter "copy con lpt1 > output.txt" (could be wrong on the specific DOS command). Then once back in Windows, open output.txt with Notepad & print via USB. A document with graphics, as opposed to plain text, could be more problematic.

 

[Chaotic42]

Originally posted by: vailr
If this is needed on a routine basis, then seriously consider updating to a Windows application.
Try running the DOS program in Windows, using a command-prompt window. Start/Run/Command (or cmd).
If the DOS program won't work (or doesn't print to USB) in a command-prompt window, then try "printing to file". At the DOS command prompt, enter "copy con lpt1 > output.txt" (could be wrong on the specific DOS command). Then once back in Windows, open output.txt with Notepad & print via USB. A document with graphics, as opposed to plain text, could be more problematic.

This will work, but we need to use it everyday, and that's a lot of work. An upgrade to a Windows app would be hundreds, if not thousands of dollars. It's a music scheduling program for our radio staiton.

 

[Mday]

get another printer.

 

[dullard]

Yes, upgrade to a better printer. Parallel ports have higher bandwidth than USB 1.1 (The fastest printers that come with both will print faster on parallel than USB since USB is bandwidth limiting, although yes USB 2.0 has fixed that if you have a new computer and a new printer). And your parallel port is probably going unused. Printers are one thing that should have never gone to USB - or at least not yet.

 

[McCarthy]

Tip 1

Tip 2 some software thing

Tip 3

Though I'd just get a parallel hookup printer for simplicity.

dullard - thought the parallel port was 300kb/s or so?

 

[dullard]

Originally posted by: McCarthy
dullard - thought the parallel port was 300kb/s or so?

I've been laughed off of forums for stating that parallel port can be faster.

HP peripheral page on connections says:
USB 1.0/1.1: 12 Mb/s (1.5 MB/s)
USB 2.0 full speed mode: 12 Mb/s (1.5 MB/s)
ECP parallel port: 24 Mb/s (3 MB/s you were just off by a factor of 10)
USB 2.0 hi-speed mode: 480 Mb/s (60 MB/s)

Of course the USB bandwidth must be split amongst all the peripherals - while the parallel bandwidth is almost always devoted to one device.

Note some older computers made you set a BIOS setting to use ECP mode, without that setting, they used standard mode with much lower bandwidth.