Debian Installation :: Apt-get -d Won't Work 'cos Of Unmet Dependency?

I'm trying to install the driver for my printer, from a repo at Kyoto University. Did it before on other distros (Etch, Lenny,...). One of the three packages has an unmet dependency, libcupsys2-gntls..... (or something- doesn't matter, it's long gone). I expected to be able to use the -d option in apt-get to download it, and unpack it by hand, and place the vital parts in the right positions manually. Done that before, somehow, not necessarily this way. But apt-get won't let me download it, because of the unmet dependency.

Is apt-get really that stupid? If I only want to download it, why does it matter if there is an unmet (and, these days, unmeetable) dependency? Could I download it some other way? I've looked at Aptitude, and can't make head nor tail of it. Synaptic? Have I got the command right? #apt-get -d install package. EDIT: Tried #apt-get install -d package. Also apt-get --download-only --force-yes package. Or I could be really subversive, and copy the two essential files across from my Puppy system. Puppy didn't notice that this lib was missing, just got on with it. Funny old world, isn't it?