Author Topic: Unexeptable printer speed.  (Read 19156 times)

Einar Lygre

  • Jr. Member
  • **
  • Posts: 66
  • Karma: +0/-0
    • View Profile
Unexeptable printer speed.
« on: June 22, 2015, 09:42:46 pm »
I have bought a new printer: Epson WorkForce Pro WF-5190. For the first time for many years I can print in color from eCS, and I am using postscript (psprint.drv and PPD from EPSON). But there is a problem that force me to do the heavy printing in WIN8: The printing is extremely slow. In doble sided printing the first page starts printing 40 sec after sent to the printer and then 12 sec. later the second page is printed. I am going to print 100 copies of the same doble sided letter. Then the next copy also start 40 sec after the first copy is printet and side two of that copy another 12 sec later, and so on. That means that hundred copies take about one hour. I am printing from Lucide 1.3.5 GA.
Printing the PDF-file generated by Scribus in WIN8 is done in about 15 minutes. I guess the PDF-reader in WIN 8 is called Windows Reader.
Any ideas about how to speed up the printing process?
« Last Edit: June 23, 2015, 11:55:54 am by Einar Lygre »

ivan

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 1557
  • Karma: +17/-0
    • View Profile
Re: Unexeptable priner speed.
« Reply #1 on: June 23, 2015, 12:24:12 am »
Are you printing each complete double sided page separately?

Would it be quicker to print all 100 of side one and then turn them over and print all 100 of side two?

With most printers that will do double sided printing it is usually only for the odd document and not a long print run.

Einar Lygre

  • Jr. Member
  • **
  • Posts: 66
  • Karma: +0/-0
    • View Profile
Re: Unexeptable printer speed.
« Reply #2 on: June 23, 2015, 01:36:53 am »
No, it does not help. It will take longer time. Each page is printed as if it is a complete new job, therefore it takes so long time to start each page. In this case it takes about 30 sec. to start printing each page. If I should turn them over and start again it still will take 30 sec for each page. And that in stead of 12 sec for page number 2.
I think everything is started over again for each page, that includes downloading the fonts to the printer.

ivan

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 1557
  • Karma: +17/-0
    • View Profile
Re: Unexeptable priner speed.
« Reply #3 on: June 23, 2015, 03:14:11 am »
I would think there should be something about the number of copies in the print dialogue or even in the printer setup (something like number of copies as in the attached screen grab).  That does assume that your printer is a real printer and not one that relies on the computer for printing (a winprinter) and also that it has enough memory to hold the print image. 


Edit:
I have now downloaded the manuals for this printer and on a quick run-through this appears to be the modern day version of the old winprinter.  Your computer does all the processing of what you want to print.  Both PCL and PS are software emulations running on the computer with little or no processing power being in the printer itself hence your slow print output. 
All our HP laserjet printers, colour and B&W, all have processors and reasonably large memory on board which means that we can send the raw print data to them and let them do the printing while we get on with other work.
Since your printer is designed to work with windows and the software emulation is tweaked to that end you will find printing through windows will always be faster.   
« Last Edit: June 23, 2015, 03:33:57 am by ivan »

Neil Waldhauer

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 1024
  • Karma: +24/-0
    • View Profile
    • Blonde Guy
Re: Unexeptable priner speed.
« Reply #4 on: June 23, 2015, 06:28:27 am »
How does that software emulation work on OS/2? The printer (I have one, too, but a 4090) seems to have PS on board. Also here, it prints at a similar speed to Mac (don't have Windows handy).

What I found is that PostScript support on OS/2 is kind of messed up. There are three PS drivers for the 4090, IBM, eCups and PSPRINT. All seem to work, but with minor differences.
Expert consulting for ArcaOS, OS/2 and eComStation
http://www.blondeguy.com

Einar Lygre

  • Jr. Member
  • **
  • Posts: 66
  • Karma: +0/-0
    • View Profile
Re: Unexeptable printer speed.
« Reply #5 on: June 23, 2015, 11:29:17 am »
Hi Ivan.
As you understand, I don't like your answer. If you are right I have wasted money.
But some of the specifications of the printer: Ram: 197MB, Rom: 5MB, Disk: 360 MB, Fonts: 137.  There should be enough processor power for my jobs.
When starting to print a message is displayed: Generating PostScript file. This is done only for the first page. When printing I can see that the processor utilization is about 0,5 %, and that is next to nothing. Writing this answer takes about 4 %. That means that the software emulation must be a very light one.
I get the same behavior printing from OpenOffice - one page -waiting -one page - waiting. I printed a letter without pictures and colors and that was faster, but still waiting between pages.
Now I ask Alex Taylor to comment this.

ivan

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 1557
  • Karma: +17/-0
    • View Profile
Re: Unexeptable printer speed.
« Reply #6 on: June 23, 2015, 12:52:04 pm »
Hi Einar,

OK, I may have downloaded the wrong manual and it was only a quick skim through while I waited for clients nightly backups to complete.  I do hope that your problem can be solved and I am not the bearer of bad news.

Do you get a print dialogue similar to the one in my previous post?  If you do what happens when you up the number of copies?  Normally when we print multiple copies the first page takes a short time to appear (15 seconds) but after that they arrive as fast as the engine can produce them (15 ppm average).  This is using a laser printer, inkjet printers are slower because of their printing method (print head physically moving back and forth across the page as against a laser beam scanning on to a drum).

The one thing I find strange is the message you see <i>Generating PostScript file,</i> what generates this, the printer or the program you are printing from?  I have never seen anything like that with any printing we do and have always assumed that is taken care of by the printer.

I will try and find time to check I have the correct manual for your printer and read it from cover to cover to see if there is anything that might point to a way of speeding up printing for you (assuming I have a quiet night shift tonight).
 

Einar Lygre

  • Jr. Member
  • **
  • Posts: 66
  • Karma: +0/-0
    • View Profile
Re: Unexeptable printer speed.
« Reply #7 on: June 23, 2015, 04:42:25 pm »
I get the same print dialog as you. I also have a B/W laser printer that prints fast as yours.
The message "Generating PostScript file../i] is displayed by Lucide. I found that by searching for the text using the search program comming with eCS. This is of course because I have selected to use PostScript, and the installed driver for this printer is psprint.drv from Alex Taylor. There is no PCL driver for os2 for this printer

Alex Taylor

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 387
  • Karma: +5/-0
    • View Profile
Re: Unexeptable printer speed.
« Reply #8 on: June 24, 2015, 01:06:46 pm »
Are printing direct, or using CUPS?

Einar Lygre

  • Jr. Member
  • **
  • Posts: 66
  • Karma: +0/-0
    • View Profile
Re: Unexeptable printer speed.
« Reply #9 on: June 24, 2015, 01:16:13 pm »
I am not using CUPS. The printing is directly.

Silvan Scherrer

  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 200
  • Karma: +1/-0
    • View Profile
Re: Unexeptable printer speed.
« Reply #10 on: June 24, 2015, 02:11:16 pm »
I am not using CUPS. The printing is directly.

Direct means USB or parallel or Network?
kind regards
Silvan
CTO bww bitwise works GmbH

Please help us with donations, so we can further work on OS/2 based projects. Our Shop is at https://www.bitwiseworks.com/shop/index.php

Einar Lygre

  • Jr. Member
  • **
  • Posts: 66
  • Karma: +0/-0
    • View Profile
Re: Unexeptable printer speed.
« Reply #11 on: June 24, 2015, 03:55:16 pm »
USB

Silvan Scherrer

  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 200
  • Karma: +1/-0
    • View Profile
Re: Unexeptable printer speed.
« Reply #12 on: June 24, 2015, 05:15:54 pm »
USB

I wouldn't wonder this is a USB problem. Do you use latest USB drivers?
Do you have a chance to try as network printer?
kind regards
Silvan
CTO bww bitwise works GmbH

Please help us with donations, so we can further work on OS/2 based projects. Our Shop is at https://www.bitwiseworks.com/shop/index.php

Pete

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 1281
  • Karma: +9/-0
    • View Profile
Re: Unexeptable printer speed.
« Reply #13 on: June 25, 2015, 02:55:15 am »
Hi Einar

Maybe it is the use of psprint that is slowing down the ps file generation.

Have you tried using the epson PPD file with the IBM ps driver?


Regards

Pete

Einar Lygre

  • Jr. Member
  • **
  • Posts: 66
  • Karma: +0/-0
    • View Profile
Re: Unexeptable printer speed.
« Reply #14 on: June 25, 2015, 02:21:55 pm »
I have installed the latest USB-drivers from ArcaNoae. and I now also have set up a network printer and am using the same driver as for the USB connection. The output port is SLPR1 (is that correct?). Anyway I can print using the network, but the speed is the same as with USB connection.
I have not tried using the IBM ps driver yet.
When printing from Lucide the message "Generating PostScript File" last for about 2 sec. Then a message about spooling last for about half a sec. It may be different for bigger files. But anyway it seems to be clear for me that a new print job is started for every page/new copy to be printed. And the time is still about 40 sec from the end of one copy till the start of the next.