Simulation of parallel port but without a parallel port
You can try to make this USB2LPT adapter.
Added by RMc:
@xsari3x - This is capable of being a purely software solution if desired.
His english page here notes
- "Contrary to all other USB→Parallel adapters which can connect to printers only, this makes connection to most hardware - without adapting the software! A parallel port will be virtualized by the accompanying driver. "
As he provides the driver source code via this page you will be able to bypass the hardware by modifying the source code.