setting up /etc/printcap on SunOS 4.1

[Roger Gonzalez]

I'm new to the use of /etc/printcap; I'm used to using lp on old clunky
SysV clones.

One thing that the old lp gave me was the ability to write my own
shell script that would be run for any particular printer.  Every time,
not just on receipt of certain filter options, like specified in
/etc/printcap.

I miss this ability, because we use a funny system here.  We have 3
printers and a prom burner connected to one serial port via a PrintMaster
box.  The PrintMaster selects a port on receipt of a string that looks
like "$PRINTER3".  I need to be able to send a string like this before
every print job.

Also, I RTFMed briefly about the flag bits, but started to get a whopping
headache.  All I want to do is set the stupid thing for 9600 baud, 8
data bits, no parity.  Thats all.  No jumping through hoops.  Could 
someone who has gone through this before please help an impatient
and frustrated wreck of a sysop?  Pretty please?  

Its really strange right now.  All the printers work except the HP laserjet,
which spews out a garbagy version of what I send, if anything.  I did a
stty -a < /dev/ttya and found that its being set to 7 bits, even parity.
Sure enough, the garbage chars on the HP look vaguely like what you'd get
if you sent it 8-bit characters...

I've got a headache.  Please have pity and spare me further RTFMing.


-Roger

-- 
"The question of whether a computer can think is no more interesting
 than the question of whether a submarine can swim" - Edsgar W. Dijkstra 
rg at unhd.unh.edu               |  UNH Marine Systems Engineering Laboratory
r_gonzalez at unhh.bitnet        |  Durham, NH  03824-3525