How to add a recognizable file to a printer ?

[Externet]

Greetings.

My Brother monochrome printer MFC-L5850DW does not recognize .odt files (from LibreOffice programs); refuses to print them.  It works well with .txt ; .doc ;  .jpg... and many others.  Is there a way to enable/add a format to the printer ?   Is that in a memory chip inside ?

[KJW]

How are you printing the files? From the LibreOffice program or from File Explorer? Can you print to a PDF file? Can you print PDF files? What does Google say? I would've thought that it is the program sending the data to the printer that handles the file type, not the printer.

 

 

[pzkpfw]

Brother printers can print direct from USB memory, but only certain formats are supported.

e.g. https://help.brother-usa.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/76908/~/how-do-i-print-documents-or-data-directly-from-a-usb-flash-drive-or-digital

To print the odt files, install Libre Office on a computer connected to the printer.

If no PC is connected, try KJW's suggestion to print to pdf, then stick that in the printer.

Edited December 20, 2023 by pzkpfw

[Externet]

10 hours ago, KJW said:

How are you printing the files?

( How am unable to print the .odt )   The file saved in a thumb drive and plugged to the printer USB jack.  Not recognized file   Other formats do print.

10 hours ago, pzkpfw said:

but only certain formats are supported.

Correct.  That is the point, the printer decides what to accept, not the compfuser.  Also, cannot save the .odt as .pdf   No option shown to do it.

[swansont]

I think some printers allow you to update the firmware to modify the file formates. IIRC this was a feature of a large-scale plotter we had at work. But you need to connect a computer to it to do so.

[KJW]

3 hours ago, Externet said:

Also, cannot save the .odt as .pdf   No option shown to do it.

I don't know what operating system you're using but on my computer, I can select "Print to PDF" as my printer. It's part of the printer options rather than save options.

 

[Externet]

Thanks. Linux only, where cannot save .odt as .pdf in the memory stick.  It is the printer ignoring .odt formats.

Edited...  The printer manufacturer technical support finally showed up and told me on the phone there is no .odt support from memory stick, nor planning to fix it.  Am fried done. 

Edited December 20, 2023 by Externet

[Sensei]

28 minutes ago, Externet said:

Edited...  The printer manufacturer technical support told me on the phone they do not support .odt from memory stick.

I would be a very surprised that such odd file, non-standard, file format is supported...

28 minutes ago, Externet said:

Am done. 

Not really..

Option which always work is to press print screen key and save file as PNG..

Repeat for every page manually, or make script which will do it for you..

AutoHotkey should help.

https://www.autohotkey.com/

There is also Linux alternative. It is built-in my distro, IIRC.

32 minutes ago, Externet said:

Thanks. Linux only,

It is irrelevant. You can use VirtualBox or VMWare. It is not a big download..

https://www.virtualbox.org/

Download Windows 10 ISO from the Microsoft website. It is a huge download > 4 GB.

 

48 minutes ago, KJW said:

I don't know what operating system you're using but on my computer, I can select "Print to PDF" as my printer. It's part of the printer options rather than save options.

Windows have virtual printer and any document can be printed to the file.

 

 

LibreOffice should have an option to export to PDF:

https://www.google.com/search?q=LibreOffice+export+pdf

 

[pzkpfw]

Searching [ linux print to pdf ] gives plenty of results.

[Sensei]

10 hours ago, pzkpfw said:

Searching [ linux print to pdf ] gives plenty of results.

But he has to do it with the finished ODT document.. so not "linux print to pdf", but "convert/export odt to pdf"..

Thinking and research should be done prior buying printer. After, it is too late.

 

For a few pages, print screen solution could be used even on smartphone. That's how some Android apps work. They load document in proprietary file format to which there is library, and then print to PNG and then merge to final PDF (therefor it is damn huge).

Edited December 21, 2023 by Sensei

[pzkpfw]

24 minutes ago, Sensei said:

But he has to do it with the finished ODT document.. so not "linux print to pdf", but "convert/export odt to pdf"..

...

I don't really understand the point you're making in reply to my post.

To me it seems simple:

1. Enable [print to PDF] on the Linux machine (I use Windows so have no specific instructions, but it seems googleable)

2. Open Libre office, use it to open the .ODT file.

3. Print, selecting the "to pdf" option (it may show as "to file") instead of an actual printer, that'll stick the content formatted into a PDF in a file, directly on the memory stick for ease.

4. Shove the stick in the printer; it can handle PDF.

(That'll give a much better quality result, easy and repeatable - especially for multiple pages, than a bunch of screen shots.)

Of course it's all a bit weird. The OP doesn't tell us until their 3rd post they use Linux. Gets grumpy when their idea (like heck Brother will bother making their printers handle ODT files). And hasn't told us why they can't just print directly from their PC. I'm guessing it's because their PC is in their sex dungeon and their printer is in their laundry. Too far for a cable and they can't get the WiFi to work.

(Yes, I googled whether a MFC-L5850DW has WiFi.)

[Sensei]

11 minutes ago, pzkpfw said:

Of course it's all a bit weird. The OP doesn't tell us until their 3rd post they use Linux.

He has repeated this many times on other occasions. BTW, I am also on Linux..

..and it is irrelevant.... because anyone can use VirtualBox/VMWare and switch from Linux to Windows or vice versa in no time..

 

11 minutes ago, pzkpfw said:

I don't really understand the point you're making in reply to my post.

Let's imagine a hypothetical situation that he does not have root privileges or does not want to install additional software.

With a non-important (personal data), you can even do it online:

https://www.google.com/search?q=convert+odt+to+pdf+online

 

 

Printing itself on Linux is tough without resorting to strange file formats..

Linux drivers are often created by third-party developers by reverse-engineering Windows drivers, from executable not source code, since manufacturers have not created their own.

Edited December 21, 2023 by Sensei