PRINTER ISSUE

I have this Epson LX-300+ printer which is behaving really weird. When i connect it and put it on- in windows XP it is detected and automatically installed but when i command it to print a test page it prints gibberish trash that looks like arabic—— when i install it in an older OS like win98 or Winme i still av the same prob. If i install it manually and choose Epson LX-300 drivers not the 300+ (plus) driver it atleast prints but the print out is broken unevenly spaced but atleast legible. Why would this printer refuse its own drivers…. av even tried downloading new drivers but it simply wount print with its own LX-300+ drivers. What the satan is happening.