Slow network printing

Hi,
I'm using a printer connected to the Airport Express base station
from a Linux host. I've configured the printer and it prints
correctly, however, extremely slowly. It starts well enough possibly
printing a whole duplex page and then it slows to a single line
printing. I suspect that the problem has to do with an initial buffer
which is filled in the Airport Express, and once it empties it is
refilled character by character. I've tried to sniff the
communications and here is the (partial) textual output of follow TCP
stream for the computer to Airport Express dump. The printer is a
Canon Pixma IP4000.

...BST:84;PID:01,01,01;TRB:00A800;CHD:CL;LVR:GAL,A T;MID:23AD64;HCU:
00000004,K+00,C+00,M+00,Y+00,LC+00,LM+00,LK+00;DJS :PR;DBS:NO;DWS:
1502;DOC:5,01,NO;DSC:NO;PFS:FSF;FSI:03;PRF:01
...BST:84;PID:01,01,01;TRB:00A800;CHD:CL;LVR:GAL,A T;MID:23AD64;HCU:
00000004,K+00,C+00,M+00,Y+00,LC+00,LM+00,LK+00;DJS :PR;DBS:NO;DWS:
1502;DOC:5,01,NO;DSC:NO;PFS:FSF;FSI:03;PRF:01
...BST:84;PID:01,01,01;TRB:00A800;CHD:CL;LVR:GAL,A T;MID:23AD64;HCU:
00000004,K+00,C+00,M+00,Y+00,LC+00,LM+00,LK+00;DJS :PR;DBS:NO;DWS:
1502;DOC:5,01,NO;DSC:NO;PFS:FSF;FSI:03;PRF:01
...BST:84;PID:01,01,01;TRB:00A800;CHD:CL;LVR:GAL,A T;MID:23AD64;HCU:
00000004,K+00,C+00,M+00,Y+00,LC+00,LM+00,LK+00;DJS :PR;DBS:NO;DWS:
1502;DOC:5,01,NO;DSC:NO;PFS:FSF;FSI:03;PRF:01
...BST:84;PID:01,01,01;TRB:00A800;CHD:CL;LVR:GAL,A T;MID:23AD64;HCU:
00000004,K+00,C+00,M+00,Y+00,LC+00,LM+00,LK+00;DJS :PR;DBS:NO;DWS:
1502;DOC:5,01,NO;DSC:NO;PFS:FSF;FSI:03;PRF:01
...BST:84;PID:01,01,01;TRB:00A800;CHD:CL;LVR:GAL,A T;MID:23AD64;HCU:
00000004,K+00,C+00,M+00,Y+00,LC+00,LM+00,LK+00;DJS :PR;DBS:NO;DWS:
1502;DOC:5,01,NO;DSC:NO;PFS:FSF;FSI:03;PRF:01
...BST:84;PID:01,01,01;TRB:00A800;CHD:CL;LVR:GAL,A T;MID:23AD64;HCU:
00000004,K+00,C+00,M+00,Y+00,LC+00,LM+00,LK+00;DJS :PR;DBS:NO;DWS:
1502;DOC:5,01,NO;DSC:NO;PFS:FSF;FSI:03;PRF:01

Any help would be appreciated.

Yuval.