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USB file formats for HP and Epson
I'm in the process of finding a new printer, and I have been frustrated
by the big box stores inability to demonstrate anything. I noticed that a number of the printers have USB slots, but what I don't know is what files they will read and if they can traverse a file system (below). Does anyone know as I have not been able to find anything from the manufacturers? My hope is that they can read jpeg and pdf. The files on the usb drive would be: /home /printer test busletter.pdf newsletter.pdf picture.jpg /other Thanks, Dave |
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USB file formats for HP and Epson
From: "Dave Boland"
I'm in the process of finding a new printer, and I have been frustrated by the big box stores inability to demonstrate anything. I noticed that a number of the printers have USB slots, but what I don't know is what files they will read and if they can traverse a file system (below). Does anyone know as I have not been able to find anything from the manufacturers? My hope is that they can read jpeg and pdf. The files on the usb drive would be: /home /printer test busletter.pdf newsletter.pdf picture.jpg /other Thanks, Dave It is called a USB Port. It may be used for a Bluethooth add-on but most allow USB Flash and Hard disks. However NOT for printing documents, only graphics. Note that some require a FAT formatted devie and won't accept a NTFS formatted device. -- Dave Multi-AV Scanning Tool - http://multi-av.thespykiller.co.uk http://www.pctipp.ch/downloads/dl/35905.asp |
#3
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USB file formats for HP and Epson
On 2/4/2016 1:40 PM, David H. Lipman wrote:
From: "Dave Boland" I'm in the process of finding a new printer, and I have been frustrated by the big box stores inability to demonstrate anything. I noticed that a number of the printers have USB slots, but what I don't know is what files they will read and if they can traverse a file system (below). Does anyone know as I have not been able to find anything from the manufacturers? My hope is that they can read jpeg and pdf. The files on the usb drive would be: /home /printer test busletter.pdf newsletter.pdf picture.jpg /other Thanks, Dave It is called a USB Port. It may be used for a Bluethooth add-on but most allow USB Flash and Hard disks. However NOT for printing documents, only graphics. Note that some require a FAT formatted devie and won't accept a NTFS formatted device. As I understand you have a USB drive with a folder Printer Test. This folder contains two PDF files and a JPG. You are trying to carry this USB drive to the various stores and trying to print your files to check the capabilities of the printer. I am unsure of the purpose of this. Do you want to know if the printer will print these types of files directly from the USB Drive, or if the printer will print these files? Whether the printer would print files directly form the USB drive depends not only on the printer manufacturer, but also the model of the printer. (My HP 5740 will print jpg images directly from the USB drive) If you are printing from another device, smartphone,tablet,laptop, or desktop, the software you are print the file from, will put it into the format that will print on the printer you are sending the file to. So in this case it is not the capabilities of the printer, but the capabilities of the software and print driver on device. The stores selling a printer, or computer are the worst place to go for technical information on these devices. If they give you advice, the chances are it is wrong. There are a few stores that have competent sales people but the quality of the sales force varies by the from location to location, not from chain to chain. The best source of this information for anything you are buying is from the manufacturers website. Google for the manufacture of the printer you are interested in. Look for the sections where the e-manuals area stored. Download the manual for the model printer you are interested in, and read the manual. The printer manual will tell you if you can print from the USB drive, and the file formats ie jpg,bmp,PDF, that are recognized by the printer. Hope this helps |
#4
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USB file formats for HP and Epson
On 02/04/2016 02:32 PM, Keith Nuttle wrote:
On 2/4/2016 1:40 PM, David H. Lipman wrote: From: "Dave Boland" I'm in the process of finding a new printer, and I have been frustrated by the big box stores inability to demonstrate anything. I noticed that a number of the printers have USB slots, but what I don't know is what files they will read and if they can traverse a file system (below). Does anyone know as I have not been able to find anything from the manufacturers? My hope is that they can read jpeg and pdf. The files on the usb drive would be: /home /printer test busletter.pdf newsletter.pdf picture.jpg /other Thanks, Dave It is called a USB Port. It may be used for a Bluethooth add-on but most allow USB Flash and Hard disks. However NOT for printing documents, only graphics. Note that some require a FAT formatted devie and won't accept a NTFS formatted device. As I understand you have a USB drive with a folder Printer Test. This folder contains two PDF files and a JPG. You are trying to carry this USB drive to the various stores and trying to print your files to check the capabilities of the printer. I am unsure of the purpose of this. To test the printer's ability to print. Not obvious? The files are test documents - a business letter, a news letter with color graphics, and a photo. The usb drive is being used because there is no other way to get a file to these printers to test them short of bringing a laptop with drivers installed and a usb cable. Do you want to know if the printer will print these types of files directly from the USB Drive, or if the printer will print these files? Whether the printer would print files directly form the USB drive depends not only on the printer manufacturer, but also the model of the printer. (My HP 5740 will print jpg images directly from the USB drive) If you are printing from another device, smartphone,tablet,laptop, or desktop, the software you are print the file from, will put it into the format that will print on the printer you are sending the file to. So in this case it is not the capabilities of the printer, but the capabilities of the software and print driver on device. The stores selling a printer, or computer are the worst place to go for technical information on these devices. If they give you advice, the chances are it is wrong. There are a few stores that have competent sales people but the quality of the sales force varies by the from location to location, not from chain to chain. The best source of this information for anything you are buying is from the manufacturers website. Google for the manufacture of the printer you are interested in. Look for the sections where the e-manuals area stored. Download the manual for the model printer you are interested in, and read the manual. The printer manual will tell you if you can print from the USB drive, and the file formats ie jpg,bmp,PDF, that are recognized by the printer. Hope this helps It does, but only a little. The fact is that nothing beats trying something before you buy. Dave, |
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USB file formats for HP and Epson
On 02/01/2016 09:16 PM, Dave Boland wrote:
I'm in the process of finding a new printer, and I have been frustrated by the big box stores inability to demonstrate anything. I noticed that a number of the printers have USB slots, but what I don't know is what files they will read and if they can traverse a file system (below). Does anyone know as I have not been able to find anything from the manufacturers? My hope is that they can read jpeg and pdf. The files on the usb drive would be: /home /printer test busletter.pdf newsletter.pdf picture.jpg /other Thanks, Dave As a follow-up to my problem testing printers, I tried things again. The files were re-created and put on an msdos flash drive. When the usb drive is placed in the slot of the 8610 (or Epson WE-3640), the devices recognize the number of files on the drive, but claim they are corrupt and won't print them. The sales person tried the drive on two different computers, and the files were fine. Any ideas? Dave, |
#6
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USB file formats for HP and Epson
On 2/5/2016 9:41 PM, Dave Boland wrote:
To test the printer's ability to print. Not obvious? The files are test documents - a business letter, a news letter with color graphics, and a photo. The usb drive is being used because there is no other way to get a file to these printers to test them short of bringing a laptop with drivers installed and a usb cable. No it was not obvious. If you want to test a printer in the store there is a function that can be activated to print a test page. It will print some black text and a colored picture. The files that you want to print are universal files types and if you have the proper software to print that file type any printer will print them. All basic printers, even the cheapest, will print the file format you have. What may vary is the quality of the print or images. The best way to learn about this is to read the printer reviews in the Computer magazines or online web sites. You can also compare the manufacturers specification. There are stores in our area that will not even take the item out of the box, no floor models. I doubt very much if you can get the salesperson to set up a computer with the proper software, so you can load your files and then print them to the print of interest. You are going to have to buy the printer take it home and print from you own computer. Remember if you do find a store to set up a computer you are going to pay 20% to 100% more for the printer for the privelge of printing those couple of pages. Most stores have a time period where you can return the item with no question asked. So first do the research select a printer, install it on your home computer, and if you don't like it take it back and try another computer. Don't do this at the same store, they get unhappy if some one returns several printers in a short period. Welcome to the current marketing world of computer printers. As I said there are a few models of printers that will print from a USB drive, but it depends on the model and manufacturer as to which will do it. If you are going to buy a printer for a couple of thousand dollars, you may get more response form the saleman. |
#7
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USB file formats for HP and Epson
On 2/5/2016 9:47 PM, Dave Boland wrote:
On 02/01/2016 09:16 PM, Dave Boland wrote: I'm in the process of finding a new printer, and I have been frustrated by the big box stores inability to demonstrate anything. I noticed that a number of the printers have USB slots, but what I don't know is what files they will read and if they can traverse a file system (below). Does anyone know as I have not been able to find anything from the manufacturers? My hope is that they can read jpeg and pdf. The files on the usb drive would be: /home /printer test busletter.pdf newsletter.pdf picture.jpg /other Thanks, Dave As a follow-up to my problem testing printers, I tried things again. The files were re-created and put on an msdos flash drive. When the usb drive is placed in the slot of the 8610 (or Epson WE-3640), the devices recognize the number of files on the drive, but claim they are corrupt and won't print them. The sales person tried the drive on two different computers, and the files were fine. Any ideas? Dave, I did some research for you on the Epson 3640 This is from the manual http://files.support.epson.com/docid/cpd3/cpd39368.pdf Quote: Memory Card and USB Device File Specifications You can use memory cards and USB devices with your product containing files that meet these specifications. File format JPEG with the Exif version 2.3 standard TIFF 6.0-compliant uncompressed images: RGB full-color or binary (not CCITT-encoded) UnQuote: As you can see the only one of your file fomats recognized by the printer from a USB drive, is the JPG file format Your PDF documents will appear as corupt files, as you learned. As I said my HP 5740 will only recognize the jpg format. As you learned the sales people know little about the products they are selling. |
#8
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USB file formats for HP and Epson
On 02/05/2016 10:22 PM, Keith Nuttle wrote:
As a follow-up to my problem testing printers, I tried things again. The files were re-created and put on an msdos flash drive. When the usb drive is placed in the slot of the 8610 (or Epson WE-3640), the devices recognize the number of files on the drive, but claim they are corrupt and won't print them. The sales person tried the drive on two different computers, and the files were fine. Any ideas? Dave, I did some research for you on the Epson 3640 This is from the manual http://files.support.epson.com/docid/cpd3/cpd39368.pdf Quote: Memory Card and USB Device File Specifications You can use memory cards and USB devices with your product containing files that meet these specifications. File format JPEG with the Exif version 2.3 standard TIFF 6.0-compliant uncompressed images: RGB full-color or binary (not CCITT-encoded) UnQuote: As you can see the only one of your file fomats recognized by the printer from a USB drive, is the JPG file format Your PDF documents will appear as corupt files, as you learned. As I said my HP 5740 will only recognize the jpg format. As you learned the sales people know little about the products they are selling. Keith, When I re-did things, I created only jpg's after reading about the problem on the HP forums. I also made it a flat file system - all files on the root. Still no-go. The only thing I can think of (and will try next) is that the files were created under Linux. I have never had a problem sharing files created under Linux and sharing the files with Win 95, Win 7, or Apple, but this may be different. A little off topic, but when will printer manufacturers get a clue and make all printers that accept jpg's, tiff, png, pdf, open document (LibreOffice), and MS Office files natively? This would eliminate the need for printer drivers. Oh well. Thanks for the help though!!! Dave, |
#9
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USB file formats for HP and Epson
When there is a market driven need, Meaning never. You're asking then
to handle "n" different file formats that may be ever changing and having to write a "translation" for each and every sometime proprietary format compared to a print driver. On Sat, 6 Feb 2016 10:12:51 -0500, Dave Boland wrote: A little off topic, but when will printer manufacturers get a clue and make all printers that accept jpg's, tiff, png, pdf, open document (LibreOffice), and MS Office files natively? This would eliminate the need for printer drivers. Oh well. |
#10
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USB file formats for HP and Epson
On 02/06/2016 02:21 PM, me wrote:
When there is a market driven need, Meaning never. You're asking then to handle "n" different file formats that may be ever changing and having to write a "translation" for each and every sometime proprietary format compared to a print driver. On Sat, 6 Feb 2016 10:12:51 -0500, Dave Boland wrote: A little off topic, but when will printer manufacturers get a clue and make all printers that accept jpg's, tiff, png, pdf, open document (LibreOffice), and MS Office files natively? This would eliminate the need for printer drivers. Oh well. Not at all! Since Linux is the OS for many of these devices, the software for interpretation is already available. As for updates, just do like Linux does - call home (HP, Epson, etc.) to get new updates. Routers do this as well. I'm told that the more expensive printing systems seen in copy centers already do this, so it is not at all anything new or hard. Dave, |
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