printing problems chez le gimp

[Toppinfo@xxxxxxx]

hi there

just a little prob printing to an epson stylus color 400
if its sold under a diff name stateside  -- a short descriptif
epson color inkjet stated max res 720dpi
2 cartidge 4 color system
 
 on installation of linux i chose  
-epson stylus color-  
-360dpi- -a4- -lp1-

printed the  text test page   no problem
printed the postscript test page no problem
printed asci text  direct on paralell port   no problem

well  almost   the last test did produce some funny charaters
with a file containing french letters (and no i dont mean rubbers)

thats not too bad cos usually i dont use the accented characters
anyway,  but is it possible to send the printer a command to use another
character set  like fr-latin   or maybe use a filtre on the output to the port
or something

however the main problem is with the gimp
when i print an image from there the printer
has a fit  the print head bashes up and down
the carridge  like something possesed
it hits the end stops so hard that the printer
even moves across the desk


and how the hell do you remove a roque print from the queue
once in there  cos the dam printer kept on psyching out
even after a cold reboot


thanx

   je vous remercie bien d'avance et joyeux noel a tous