escputil - maintain Epson Stylus inkjet printers

       Robert Krawitz.

       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 (identify, 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 communication.  For  Linux  version  2.2,  CONFIG_PRINTER_READBACK  should  be
       enabled; this is called CONFIG_PARPORT_1284 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
       reissued when the printer is quiescent.

       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.

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.

       escputil - maintain Epson Stylus inkjet printers

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).

       -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.

       The  homepage  of  the  Gutenprint  project  from  which  this  utility  was  contributed  is  located at
       http://gimp-print.sourceforge.net/.

lp(4), tunelp(8).

Version 5.3.4                                      24 Jun 2022                                       ESCPUTIL(1)

escputil [ -Pprinter | -rdevice ] [ -mmodel ] [ -u ] [ -c | -n | -a | -i | -d | -o | -s | -l | -M | -h
       ] [ -q ]