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OS 10.6.2 vs. Epson SP1280
#6115 11/26/09 10:27 PM
Joined: Aug 2009
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jchuzi Offline OP
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I took the plunge and upgraded to 10.6.2. Unfortunately, this OS doesn't see the Epson driver for my trusty SP1280 and it wants me to use the Gutenprint driver (which, BTW, I updated to version 5.2.4). Unfortunately, that driver has some serious flaws:

1. Epson Print Utility doesn't work. Gutenprint has a script that can be used for running nozzle checks, cleaning nozzles and aligning the heads but it can't tell me which ink (black vs. color) is running low and the physical printer simply tells me that an unspecified color is low.
2. I can't turn off the ability to have the printer manage colors, which I need to do when printing from Photoshop.
3. The choices of paper are only for various sizes, not specifically Epson papers.
4. There may be other things missing, but I haven't found them yet.

I have done the following:

1. From advice at Epson's Snow Leopard FAQ page, I downloaded the 10.4 driver, installed it, and then downloaded and installed the Common Updater. Both came from this page. Snow Leopard doesn't see that driver at all when I try to add it to the printer list.

2. Uninstalled old Gutenprint drivers before installing version 5.2.4.

3. Re-applied the Combo 10.6.2 Update.

4. Went to the Snow Leopard DVD, Optional Installs, and installed all printer drivers.

5. Imported the SP1280 plugin from my Leopard hard drive.

6. Downloaded and installed Apple's Epson Printer Driver update for Snow Leopard.

Despite everything, I can't get Snow Leopard to see the Epson driver. BTW, the version of Epson Utility that worked in Leopard is not working in Snow Leopard.

Fortunately, I'm smart enough to keep one drive dedicated to Leopard so that I can run the utilities and print photos. I will email Epson about this but I thought that I would post the problem here, in case they can't solve it. They'll probably tell me to buy a new printer. That isn't a bad idea but I wasn't planning on it yet.

Last edited by jchuzi; 11/26/09 10:55 PM. Reason: added info about downloading Apple update for Epson drivers

Jon

macOS 11.7.10, iMac Retina 5K 27-inch, late 2014, 3.5 GHz Intel Core i5, 1 TB fusion drive, 16 GB RAM, Epson SureColor P600, Photoshop CC, Lightroom CC, MS Office 365
Problem solved
jchuzi #6120 11/27/09 01:44 PM
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jchuzi Offline OP
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I managed to solve this problem. I did the following:

1. Repaired permissions. Yes, I know that some people think that this is voodoo but I got the following:

2009-11-26 18:16:13 -0500: Repairing permissions for “SnowLeopard HD”
2009-11-26 18:16:49 -0500: Permissions differ on "Library/Printers/EPSON/EPSON PIC Folder", should be drwxrwxr-x , they are drwxrwxrwx .
2009-11-26 18:16:49 -0500: Repaired "Library/Printers/EPSON/EPSON PIC Folder".
2009-11-26 18:18:53 -0500: Permissions differ on "private/etc/postfix/main.cf.default", should be -rw-r--r-- , they are -r--r--r-- .
2009-11-26 18:18:53 -0500: Repaired "private/etc/postfix/main.cf.default".
2009-11-26 18:20:05 -0500:
2009-11-26 18:20:05 -0500: Permissions repair complete


This still did not solve the issue so I:

2. Rebuilt the directory with Disk Warrior. DW found the following:

• 4 files had a directory entry with an incorrect text encoding value that was repaired.
• Critical values in the Volume Information were incorrect and were repaired.


The above did not solve the problem so I decided to reinstall the 10.4 driver and the Common Updater. I probably should have tried this right after repairing permissions, in view of the repair listed above. I followed Epson's instructions to the letter (delete the printer, reinstall the 10.4 Update and then reinstall the Common Updater). I then turned on the printer and voilà! I had a minor glitch in that the Print Queue dialog box still did not give access to Epson Utilities but I looked in /Library/Printers/Epson/Inkjet Printer/Utilities and found EPSON Printer Utility2.app and EPSON Printer Utility3.app. The latter could not find the printer but the former did. I tested it and it worked. Consequently, I put the former in the Dock for easy access.

Had the above not solved the problem, I would have reset the printing system but that was a last resort because I didn't want to lose my presets. Resetting them wouldn't have been a big deal but I preferred to avoid it, if possible.

Actually, the last resort would have been to buy a new printer but money is tight at the moment so I wanted to postpone it. Happy Thanksgiving to me!



Jon

macOS 11.7.10, iMac Retina 5K 27-inch, late 2014, 3.5 GHz Intel Core i5, 1 TB fusion drive, 16 GB RAM, Epson SureColor P600, Photoshop CC, Lightroom CC, MS Office 365
Re: Problem solved
jchuzi #6121 11/27/09 04:51 PM
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Jon, FWIW I was helping a friend get a new MacBook up and running last week and encountered a very similar problem with the drivers for her older Epson printer. I went through essentially the same drill — delete the drivers, reininstal the drivers, run the general update process you described with no luck. In her case it took a cold boot before the printer finally decided to work. Apparently a restart was insufficient. confused All I can attribute it to is a quirk in the Epson drivers.


If we knew what it was we were doing, it wouldn't be called research, would it?

— Albert Einstein
Re: Problem solved
joemikeb #6122 11/27/09 05:06 PM
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jchuzi Offline OP
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A cold boot didn't solve it for me. I suspect that the permissions error caused a bad or incomplete installation of the Epson drivers and that re-applying the installer(s) after repairing permissions was the ticket. Unfortunately, I ran DW before reinstalling so I don't know which one was the cure. Of course, I'm happy that DW fixed some problems so I'm not complaining.


Jon

macOS 11.7.10, iMac Retina 5K 27-inch, late 2014, 3.5 GHz Intel Core i5, 1 TB fusion drive, 16 GB RAM, Epson SureColor P600, Photoshop CC, Lightroom CC, MS Office 365
Re: Problem solved
jchuzi #6128 11/27/09 10:39 PM
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jchuzi Offline OP
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For others in a similar situation, here is Epson's response:

Thank you for taking the time to contact Epson. It is my pleasure to respond to your inquiry.

Here are the steps to resolve your issue:

1. Go to System Preference > Print & Fax.
2. Highlight the Epson printer and click - to delete.
3. Go to MAC HD > Library > Printers.
4. Drag the whole Epson Folder to the trash.
3. Go to MAC HD > Applications
6. Drag Epson Print CD folder to the trash.
5. Go to Epson.com and download thePrinter Driver v3.0aAs, Epson EasyPrint v3.10, and Common Updater from your printer's support site.
6. Install the all downloaded applications.
7. Once installed restart the computer.
8. Once restarted, make sure the printer is on and connected. Go to System Preference > Print & Fax.
9. Make sure the printer is on the list.

Try printing again.


It wasn't necessary for me to do any of this but it may have worked. Right now, nothing's broke so I ain't fixing it. grin


Jon

macOS 11.7.10, iMac Retina 5K 27-inch, late 2014, 3.5 GHz Intel Core i5, 1 TB fusion drive, 16 GB RAM, Epson SureColor P600, Photoshop CC, Lightroom CC, MS Office 365

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