Retro-Printer Software Updates

[RWAP]

v3.6 Release

We have now released v3.6 of the software. This mainly incorporates changes to the way that HP printer emulation is handled.

We have now included GhostPCL, and re-written printpcl.sh so that the printpcl.sh can be used as a standalone product in your own applications.

Printpcl.sh now runs automatically if you set the emulation mode to HP (no need to change rc.local anymore) and uses the various configuration settings to apply the correct pagesize and handling of output options.

As usual, the latest version can be downloaded from our dropbox folder

[RWAP]

v3.7 Release

There were some issues with the Epson emulation on v3.6. These have now been addressed and we have added some user specific options too.

The user specific options are probably not too useful to the general user at the moment!

As usual, the latest version can be downloaded from our dropbox folder

[RWAP]

v3.9 Release

I have just completed testing the latest software and it can be downloaded from:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/zler0cfi6nv5u ... 9.img?dl=0

There is also an updated manual:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/17elpf6n6t38t ... B.pdf?dl=0

The key issues here are around the timing of the handshaking - this should now be improved although you may need to alter the type of handshaking used (there are 5 options!) - see page 32 of the manual

Because of these changes, I do not think that the printer_delay value is required, so this now defaults to 0.

I have also added a new character_threshold configuration option, so that if only a few characters are received by the Retro-Printer before the capture times out, these are ignored. This defaults to just 2 characters.

[RWAP]

v3.12 Release

THe latest version of our software has various speed improvements and now includes a preliminary IBM ProPrinter emulation mode, as well as a faster plain text emulator (with no graphics / control codes) and an improved manual.

This is certainly worth updating to.

One downside is that the Pi 4 seems to require a different version of the main software!

The latest manual appears at:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/qyi47ujqb1qyh ... 1.pdf?dl=0

Pi 3 - v3.12 Software - https://www.dropbox.com/s/hsnpk9sc55mme ... 2.img?dl=0
Pi 4 - v3.11 Software - https://www.dropbox.com/s/cpbs5fskir562 ... 1.img?dl=0

[RWAP]

v3.13 Release

v3.13 of the software has now been released. This includes IBM ProPrinter emulation support (use ibm in /root/config/emulation) and also has various speed improvements.

It also fixes a minor bug which meant A3 was being printed incorrectly as landscape (and landscape A3 was printed in portrait).

https://www.dropbox.com/s/eztmv3nz981vj ... b.img?dl=0

Updated v3.13 slightly to add more printers in CUPS and corrected an issue with JOBS-STRIP-ESCP2 spool mode (where the pdf was not being created).
A few more minor speed improvements also

[RWAP]

v3.14 Release

As a Christmas present to all of our customers, we have released yet another update to v3.14 of the Retro-Printer software.

Some bugs (including no printing if you use the ram disk option) and some more minor improvements to the code which should help with speed.

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/kjyi7mgeufo1 ... pKr5a?dl=0

[RWAP]

v3.15 Release

This incorporates various minor improvements.

However, it also has some important bug fixes:

- Correction to the ESC/P2 Epson emulation for high resolution screen dumps (ESC.0)
- Correction to handling of printer output - the temporary file could disappear before CUPS started to process it!
- Initial Printronix emulation modes (please ask if you wish to test)
- Installed inotify tools as PCL conversion stopped working with latest Raspberry Pi OS

[RWAP]

v3.16 Release

We have now released v3.16 - this is mainly a maintenance release, which pulls together various changes made as a result of user requests and feedback. There are a couple of minor bug fixes, including the code which recognises when you insert / remove a USB memory stick.

We have also identified and incorporated another speed improvement in the Epson conversion code.

[RWAP]

v3.17 Release

We have now released v3.17 of the Retro-Printer Software.
- Bug fixes mainly for the Epson proportional font mode
- Support for printing upper character set as a default option
- Ability to pass default margins as values in mm
- Further speed improvements
- Start of Tandy DMP emulation support
- Seiko printer emulation support added

[RWAP]

Minor update to Epson emulation.

We have just made a minor change to the Epson printer emulator, as we found a bug in the ESC SI (condensed print) mode. We have not yet released a new version of the full software, as this is not a commonly used control code (it is actually not recommended according to the Epson manual).