HP Designjet 800 and HP Jetdirect 610N connection arghh Help !

[Multifacet Digital Print]

Hi guys, need some serious help with this.
Ive just got a Designjet that will not run well with the usb connection via shiraz rip
they told me to use ethernet.

So ive got a normal CAt5 cable and plugged it in, but no joy.
I was wondering if I needed a crossover cable to accomplish this, as I have no ethernet network, and I have plugged the Mac straight to the printer with a normal cat5.
From what I can see from the old HP Mac software its possible to have a direct connection, but how to accomplish this I have no clue at all.
I have never quite grabbed the language of networks and TCP IP and all that stuff.
Any help here would be very much appreciated.

Regards

Chris

 

[stratman]

I don't know Macs or your printer, but from what I've read it is not as simple as plug in an Ethernet cable and RIP away.

I think you you need to install the printer as a networked printer. This may require you to completely uninstall the printer and begin as if you are taking it out of its box as brand new. There appear to be a number of considerations involved that are more complicated than a usual home printer installation.

I would recommend you hire a knowledgeable person to install the printer for you if the instructions are too much. Also, I would lean on Shiraz RIP people for either installation help (which I doubt they will do) or to guarantee their software works with you set up. I see they state it works with your printer. But do they guarantee ALL the features of the software work with your printer?

In my reading I saw that HP states (in a different printer's manual) there may be issues with functionality if not using a properly certified USB cable. Could that be why you are having difficulties? Maybe calling HP could provide advice.

 

[PeterBJ]

I checked the specs of the HP Designjet 800. The printer is very old as the OS requirements are Win 9.x, Win NT or Win 2000 and Mac OS 8.1 or later. The USB is also specified as version 1.1. The printer also has a Centronics/parallel port.

In the Win 98 days I struggled with an HP DJ 930 and USB connection. After install the computer couldn't see the printer connected to the USB port. I studied the instructions and noticed that a certified USB cable should be used, There was even an HP part number for a suggested cable. I asked some knowledgeable IT people and nobody had heard about an HP certified USB cable. But back then some USB cables came with a label saying Certified USB or something similar. I gave up on making the printer work with a USB connection after a clever IT guy told me the USB port must be defective.

Luckily the printer also had a Centronics or parallel port connector. Back then all computers had parallel ports so I used the parallel port instead. This worked and everything was fine. Later I got a new new computer with Win XP. I tried connecting the printer to the new computer via USB. To my surprise the printer was recognised and Windows installed a driver and the printer was functional. Nothing was wrong with the USB port but the Win 9.x USB driver was flawed.

Newer computers don't have parallel ports, but USB to Parallel port printer adapter cables are still available. I have a such adapter cable and it works with Win 10. Install is plug and play.

I don't know if a such cable will work with a Mac? but maybe it was worth trying?

 

[stratman]

Further thoughts.

1) We don't know what the issue(s) are. Is it due to hardware, software or both?

2) We don't know who it was that recommended ethernet cable and why.

3) The HP printer has a parallel port, a USB 1.1 port, and a 10/100 ethernet port.

This is old tech and may have compatability issues with new software requirements.

Maybe the printer has difficulty with the slower USB 1.1 port -- cannot receive enough data fast enough to function properly. Maybe the Shiraz RIP software does not work well with a USB 1.1 connection and requires the faster ethernet connection. Maybe the Shiraz application used to work fine over the slow USB 1.1 connection but upgrades to the software create throughput issues.

Maybe a USB 3.0 printer cable would resolve the issue. You still cannot go faster than the 1.1 supported speeds but you might get all the speed capability of 1.1 USB that an old cable cannot achieve. Just because a cable is rated doesn't mean you achieve all that rating theorizes.

As I wrote before, a certified USB printer cable is recommended by HP. There was a link in the User Manual that linked to a list. The quality of material and construction of a USB cable affect performance.

4) We don't know if OP plugs the printer directly into his computer or uses an intermediary device

Problems can occur if you use a USB Hub (which OP did not say he uses).

If OP uses a Switch - dumb, smart, managed, wireless router, etc then it may be a possible solution for OP so he can use an ethernet cable without directly connecting printer to computer.

5) A network of some kind needs to be established when using an ethernet cable. If you have a wireless router then you can plug the printer into it via ethernet cable. The a different ethernet cable that goes from the wireless router to your computer would then form the network of your computer, the modem, the wireless router and the printer. You still need to configure the network which require TCP IP / address configurations. A standalone Switch instead of a wireless router would do as well, though the type and quality of the Switch can affect funtionality/performance.

You can plug the printer directly into the computer (assuming Macs and Windows are generally the same in this regard) but unless you have 2 NIC Card (Network Interface Cards) ethernet ports on the computer then you will will need a wireless NIC connection to use internet or else not have internet access on that computer. This is why using a switch like a wireless router makes things easier - You only need one ethernet port on the computer since both the internet and the printer data flow via only one ethernet cable from the wireless router (or switch) to your computer.

Setting up the network is the part you may need to hire someone to do.

6) Maybe the Mac hardware or Operating System are too old to support the full functionality of the Shiraz RIP software. Does OP know if his computer and OS meet the requirements of the Shiraz RIP? Check the Shiraz web site or call them to find out. Could be the OS needs an update or you need a newer computer.

 

[Multifacet Digital Print]

Further thoughts.

1) We don't know what the issue(s) are. Is it due to hardware, software or both?

2) We don't know who it was that recommended ethernet cable and why.

3) The HP printer has a parallel port, a USB 1.1 port, and a 10/100 ethernet port.

This is old tech and may have compatability issues with new software requirements.

Maybe the printer has difficulty with the slower USB 1.1 port -- cannot receive enough data fast enough to function properly. Maybe the Shiraz RIP software does not work well with a USB 1.1 connection and requires the faster ethernet connection. Maybe the Shiraz application used to work fine over the slow USB 1.1 connection but upgrades to the software create throughput issues.

Maybe a USB 3.0 printer cable would resolve the issue. You still cannot go faster than the 1.1 supported speeds but you might get all the speed capability of 1.1 USB that an old cable cannot achieve. Just because a cable is rated doesn't mean you achieve all that rating theorizes.

As I wrote before, a certified USB printer cable is recommended by HP. There was a link in the User Manual that linked to a list. The quality of material and construction of a USB cable affect performance.

4) We don't know if OP plugs the printer directly into his computer or uses an intermediary device

Problems can occur if you use a USB Hub (which OP did not say he uses).

If OP uses a Switch - dumb, smart, managed, wireless router, etc then it may be a possible solution for OP so he can use an ethernet cable without directly connecting printer to computer.

5) A network of some kind needs to be established when using an ethernet cable. If you have a wireless router then you can plug the printer into it via ethernet cable. The a different ethernet cable that goes from the wireless router to your computer would then form the network of your computer, the modem, the wireless router and the printer. You still need to configure the network which require TCP IP / address configurations. A standalone Switch instead of a wireless router would do as well, though the type and quality of the Switch can affect funtionality/performance.

You can plug the printer directly into the computer (assuming Macs and Windows are generally the same in this regard) but unless you have 2 NIC Card (Network Interface Cards) ethernet ports on the computer then you will will need a wireless NIC connection to use internet or else not have internet access on that computer. This is why using a switch like a wireless router makes things easier - You only need one ethernet port on the computer since both the internet and the printer data flow via only one ethernet cable from the wireless router (or switch) to your computer.

Setting up the network is the part you may need to hire someone to do.

6) Maybe the Mac hardware or Operating System are too old to support the full functionality of the Shiraz RIP software. Does OP know if his computer and OS meet the requirements of the Shiraz RIP? Check the Shiraz web site or call them to find out. Could be the OS needs an update or you need a newer computer.

food for thought, I'll go through all this thanks

 

[springermichelleend]

Further thoughts.

1) We don't know what the issue(s) are. Is it due to hardware, software or both?

2) We don't know who it was that recommended ethernet cable and why.

3) The HP printer has a parallel port, a USB 1.1 port, and a 10/100 ethernet port.

This is old tech and may have compatability issues with new software requirements.

Maybe the printer has difficulty with the slower USB 1.1 port -- cannot receive enough data fast enough to function properly. Maybe the Shiraz RIP software does not work well with a USB 1.1 connection and requires the faster ethernet connection. Maybe the Shiraz application used to work fine over the slow USB 1.1 connection but upgrades to the software create throughput issues.

Maybe a USB 3.0 printer cable would resolve the issue. You still cannot go faster than the 1.1 supported speeds but you might get all the speed capability of 1.1 USB that an old cable cannot achieve. Just because a cable is rated doesn't mean you achieve all that rating theorizes.

As I wrote before, a certified USB printer cable is recommended by HP. There was a link in the User Manual that linked to a list. The quality of material and construction of a USB cable affect performance.

4) We don't know if OP plugs the printer directly into his computer or uses an intermediary device

Problems can occur if you use a USB Hub (which OP did not say he uses).

If OP uses a Switch - dumb, smart, managed, wireless router, etc then it may be a possible solution for OP so he can use an ethernet cable without directly connecting printer to computer.

5) A network of some kind needs to be established when using an ethernet cable. If you have a wireless router then you can plug the printer into it via ethernet cable. The a different ethernet cable that goes from the wireless router to your computer would then form the network of your computer, the modem, the wireless router and the printer. You still need to configure the network which require TCP IP / address configurations. A standalone Switch instead of a wireless router would do as well, though the type and quality of the Switch can affect funtionality/performance.

You can plug the printer directly into the computer (assuming Macs and Windows are generally the same in this regard) but unless you have 2 NIC Card (Network Interface Cards) ethernet ports on the computer then you will will need a wireless NIC connection to use internet or else not have internet access on that computer. This is why using a switch like a wireless router makes things easier - You only need one ethernet port on the computer since both the internet and the printer data flow via only one ethernet cable from the wireless router (or switch) to your computer.

Setting up the network is the part you may need to hire someone to do.

6) Maybe the Mac hardware or Operating System are too old to support the full functionality of the Shiraz RIP software. Does OP know if his computer and OS meet the requirements of the Shiraz RIP? Check the Shiraz web site or call them to find out. Could be the OS needs an update or you need a newer computer.

Thanks for providing this information, it is so detailed, and it helped me a lot. I am sure that I couldn't find such explicit information on the Internet. I have 2 printers because I print daily and in case one breaks down I have a spare one. When my new hp envy 7640 not printing, I didn't know what was the problem, but I couldn't wait for the specialist because it could take days, so I started to search for the information on the Internet. I found a site where were presented some common issues of this printer, where I found some solutions to my problem, and I repaired it by myself.

 

[stratman]

It helped me a lot.

YW