Printing with netcat #
I recently discovered thanks to this blog[1] that you can print with netcat. This was impressive to me, but even still, it doesn't completely solve the problem. Instead it moves it from handling the data for printing on the client's side to handling it on the printer's side.
These issues will arise when you try to print a pdf(pdf is a particularly complex file format. More explanation and discussion can be found here[2]). As such, because there's a long precedent in supporting it, it's best to conver a PDF to Postscript(otherwise the printer will spend a long time processing the file, or just fail because like I said, it's a complex file format).
The command for printing if people are interested is nc printerIP 9100
P.S. In the example provided, where pdf is the proposed alternative, I disagree. I think Gemini is the current viable alternative. I don't think it's in a position where network effects multiply, so the only adopters are technology enthusiasts(and even then it's relatively close in structure to HTML in the mid 90s).
[1] Retrohacker, bye cups, printing with netcat
[2] Lab6.com, pdf as an alternative to the HTML standard
Email your feedback about "Printing with netcat"
Published on 2021/08/07
Articles from blogs I follow around the net
OLD MAUDE #6
IN THEORY, IT'S SIMPLE It is said a path cannot be taught, only lived. —Ogami Itto By the stroke of the sword they are as they are. Young master Horp sensed an opportunity and immediately he seized his chance. Maude became his lover, teaching him things…
via I'm not really Stanley Lieber. September 12, 2026I Hate Women and I Don't Know What to Do About It
I know it's not good. There's valid reasons that the gender divide of today exists but I don't know how to be part of the solution when I'm filled with hatred.
via goeshard.org September 12, 2026Movies: Coyote vs. Acme (2026)
After enduring years of malfunctioning products, Wile E. Coyote teams up with a local personal injury attorney to take on ACME, the manufacturer of anything and everything used by the Looney Tunes characters. Remember “Space Jam”? While this is not as memo…
via andrei.xyz September 8, 2026Generated by openring