Windows 7 64 bit with 32 bit printer driver?

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colinuu

246 posts

Master Geek

#116617 4-May-2013 20:00

So I decided to try installing Windows 7 64 bit professional on my laptop so as to open up the DRAM above 3GB. All went well, and I am happy with the overall experience.

The only hitch is that my printer, attached to another PC on my network, is apparently "too old", even though it performs well and does all I require of it. Epson in their wisdom have decided it is better to sell new printers rather than provide 64 bit drivers for the older machines, so I am unable to connect to it with the 64 bit system.

Some research would suggest that I am stuffed on this one, just thought I would check with the GZ communnity in case anyone knows of any work around, given that a printer upgrade is not exaactly top of my priority list at the moment.

Cheers,
Colin

cyril7

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#811336 4-May-2013 21:01

Hi, pretty much your stuffed, other than by placing it on another machine that has a valid dirver source (ie is running a 32bit compatible driver) and sharing it, or using a network server device.

Honestly unless its a really flash printer that has some super unique features, its easier to let it hold the local landfill in place and buy a new one.

Or if it supports a generic language like PCL5 etc and just use a generic print driver on the PC (which may not support printer specific features like paper source etc).

Cyril

theUpload

137 posts

Master Geek

#811341 4-May-2013 21:14

Normally the way to get around 32bit and 64 bit issues is to change the in app path, because most incompatibility issues arnt downto the version but more an issue to which the path they want to save in does not exist.

gzt

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#811688 5-May-2013 18:11

Interesting comment about the app path there and worth investigating.

Sometimes it is possible to use a more recent driver and it will work with an older printer. Never tried this with x64 but costs nothing to try.

If you get really desperate then print to pdf or postscript to a network share and have a process on the print server pick it up from there and print it. Could be the simplest solution.

sidkumar

84 posts

Master Geek

#811926 6-May-2013 11:01

Check if Epson have driver for Vista x64 or Win Xp x64 or Win 2008 Server x64. Sometimes they work. Otherwise the best option is to buy new. I don't think the App path option will work as hardware drivers work differently than other standard applications.

colinuu

246 posts

Master Geek

#812260 6-May-2013 20:10

Thanks all for the suggestions.

@gzt: your suggestion to print to ps or pdf on a network share looks like the most likely solution. I will investigate further. Thanks.

theUpload

137 posts

Master Geek

#812268 6-May-2013 20:18

What about converting to XPS?
Is that an option?

raytaylor

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#812280 6-May-2013 20:32

What model of printer do you have?

Often a manufacturer will put out a generic driver (HP and Brother are good for this) that will give you some backward compatibility.

However you are usually stuck if they havent made a 64bit and there is no generic avaliable. Often with win7 32bit you can get away with using a vista 32bit driver but thats about it.
I always ask people what model of printer they have before upgrading to a 64bit OS.

Ray Taylor

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colinuu

246 posts

Master Geek

#816459 12-May-2013 22:37

Update:

Open source software to the rescue...

I installed Ghostscript and Redmon on the XP machine, so as to create a shared virtual postscript printer. Instructions to do this are found at this link: http://www.stat.tamu.edu/~henrik/GSPSprinter/GSPSprinter.html

Then installed a local ps printer on the 64 bit machine, pointed it at the network share, now we're away laughing.

Many thanks to all responders in this topic.

Cheers,
Colin

raytaylor

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#817806 15-May-2013 00:30

Im bookmarking this - its genius.

Ray Taylor

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colinuu

246 posts

Master Geek

#817818 15-May-2013 06:17

And here's an even better solution using gsprint with ghostscript & redmon. It does it's work a lot faster!
http://www.cubeowner.com/forums/index.php?act=Attach&type=post&id=3188