NAME
escputil - maintain Epson Stylus inkjet printers SYNOPSIS
escputil [ -P printer | -r device ] [ -m model ] [ -S ] [ -C ] [ -p ] [
-u ] [ -c | -n | -a | -i | -d | -o | -s | -l | -M | -h ] [ -q ] DESCRIPTION escputil is a command line utility to perform various maintenance tasks on Epson Stylus inkjet printers. These tasks include head alignment, head cleaning, nozzle check, printer identification, and retrieval of ink level from the printer. OPTIONS escputil accepts the following options:
-P, printer-name=printer Specify the name of the printer to operate on. The default is the default system printer.
-r, raw-device=device Specify the name of the device to write to directly rather than going through a printer queue. You must use this (rather than specifying a printer) when retrieving ink levels or identifying the printer, or if you wish to perform head alignment without specifying the printer model.
-m, model=model Specify the precise printer model for head alignment.
-u, new The printer is a new printer (Stylus Color 740 or newer).
-S, short-name Print the short name of the printer with identify.
-C, choices Specify the number of pattern choices for alignment.
-p, patterns Specify the number of sets of patterns for alignment.
-c, clean-head Clean the print head. This can also be performed from the printer front panel.
-n, nozzle-check Print a nozzle test pattern. Dirty or clogged nozzles will show as gaps in the pattern. If you see any gaps, you should run a head cleaning pass or two.
-a, align-head Align the print head. CAUTION: Misuse of this option may result in poor print quality and/or damage to the printer. You must
either specify the printer model with the -m option, or use the raw printer device to allow escputil to detect the printer model.
-i, ink-level Obtain the ink level from the printer. This requires read/write access to the raw printer device.
-d, identify Query the printer for make and model information. This requires read/write access to the raw printer device.
-o, align-color Align the color print head (used by Stylus Color 480 and 580 only). CAUTION: Misuse of this option may result in poor print quality and/or damage to the printer.
-s, status Retrieve printer status.
-l, license Display the license/warranty terms of this program.
-M, list-models List the supported printer models.
-h, help Display a list of all command line options.
-q, quiet Suppress the banner. BUGS
USB-connected printers sometimes fail to identify or return ink levels. You may have to repeat the command. This is probably a timing issue in escputil, not a flaw in the printer. Anything requiring bidirectional communication with the printer (iden‐ tify, ink levels, or head alignment without specifying the printer model) requires read/write access to the printer port (for example /dev/lp0). This may require these operations to be performed as root. In addition, kernel support is required for bidirectional communica‐ tion. For Linux version 2.2, CONFIGPRINTERREADBACK should be enabled; this is called CONFIGPARPORT1284 on 2.4 and later kernels.
If the printer is performing self-test or head cleaning on power up, the identify and ink level commands will time out, although the printer successfully receives the command. The command will need to be reis‐ sued when the printer is quiescent. AUTHORS Robert Krawitz. COPYRIGHT Copyright © 2000 Robert Krawitz (rlk@alum.mit.edu) This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by the Free Software Foundation; either version 2 of the License, or (at your option) any later version. OTHER INFORMATION The homepage of the Gutenprint project from which this utility was con‐
tributed is located at http://gimp-print.sourceforge.net/. SEE ALSO lp(4), tunelp(8). Version 5.2.9 07 Jul 2012 ESCPUTIL(1)