Parallels Technology Network

After weeks of experiment, and thanks to the info on this forum, particularly the
idea from member mkstevo, I finally got the Epson Photo R800 working in a Windows XP
VM using Bonjour and native Epson driver. I can now print regular document as well as 
CD/DVD label using CD Label Creator (part of Roxio Easy CD Creator package). The only 
thing I cannot do is to check ink level. 

Here is how to make it work step-by-step.

On the OS/X side:

1. Create a RAW CUPS printer
    1.1. Start Safari or any web browser.
    1.2. Type http://127.0.0.1:631 to start CUPS web admin page.
    1.3. Click Printers tag.
    1.4. Click Add Printer.
    1.5. Type in Name, Location, and Description for the new printer, click Continue. 
           In my case, I use

        Name:  R800
        Location:  iMac 
        Description: R800 CUPS Printer

    1.6. In the next screen, select "USB Printer (usb)" from the drop down. I suspect
           FireWire would work if I connect the printer to FireWire, but I haven't tried it. 
           Click Continue.

    1.7. Next screen is a tricky one. The URI of the printer can be found from the System 
           Profiler. Make sure your printer is connected and powered on. Launch System 
           Profiler (it should be inside Applications/Utilities folder).  Click Hardward/Printers 
           in the left panel and select Stylus Photo R800 in the upper right panel. In the lower 
           right panel you should see a URI line about half way down.  Mine looks like this:

                usb://EPSON/Stylus Photo R800?serial=NE0050403172222460

           Copy everything before the question-mark and paste it in the Device URI field. 
           Click Continue.

    1.8.  Select Raw, click Continue.
    1.9.  Select Raw Queue, click Continue.

Note: don't bother to print test page. You can't print to this printer from OS/X because it 
doesn''t have a real printer driver associated with. What it does is pass along whatever 
data it receives to the R800 and that is what we want because all the processing should be 
done by the Windows native driver.

2.  Share the printer
    2.1.  Launch System Preferences.
    2.2.  Click Sharing icon.
    2.3.  Check Printer Sharing.
    2.4.  Click Firewall tag, make sure Printer Sharing is checked under "Allow:" as well.

Now we go to the Windows VM side:

1. Start Parallels, select XP VM, don't start it just yet.
2. Click USB Controller under Configuration, make sure "Connect USB devices automatically" 
    is unchecked.
3. Start XP VM.
4. Download and install the latest Epson driver for Windows XP.
5. Download and install Bonjour.
6. Launch Bonjour Printer Wizard.
    6.1.  Click Next.
    6.2.  In the Browse Bonjour Printer screen you should see two printers listed. Choose 
            the one that matches the CUPS printer description (in my case it is R800 CUPS 
            Printer), click Next.
    6.3.  In the Install Bonjour Printer screen, select EPSON under Manufacturer and EPSON 
            Stylus Photo R800 under Model. This will install the Windows native driver for the 
            Bonjour printer. Click Next.
    6.4. Click Finish. Your printer is installed.

This is it. Make a test print from the Windows VM and it should work.