Re: TCP/IP printing to PC printers

I gave up trying to use HOST TRANSFORM PRINT on our AS/400's a long time ago.
Our network consisted of so many different kinds of printers that I could never
get a report from the AS/400 to look the same on 2 differnet printers which
resulted in being continually bombarded with "printer problems" from our 500+
users!

So we decided to replace our standalone PC printers with a group of departmental
LAN attached printers that can receive print from ALL of our servers and desktop
environments.  

We have a network consisting of AS/400's, UNIX Servers, NT Servers, Novell
Servers, Macintosh PC's, and Windows/95 PC's. We found something that works
remarkably well with every one of these systems.

We recently deployed IBM Network printers (4312, 4317 and 4324) to over 70
school buildings in our county. 

These printers have proven to provide a very stable IP printing solution from
our production AS/400's (RISC 9406's). This IP printing solution also lets us
send AFP/IPDS output too, all without using host transform print. 

The IBM Network printer also support duplex and mulitup printing directly from
an AS/400 and is easily implemented via a couple of spool file attribute
settings. It is great to be able to print a large report 2up/duplex and use 1/4
the amount of paper!

In addition, these same printers have been easily integrated into local Novell,
Appletalk and UNIX server networks too.

We are very happy with how this solution has come together. The IBM Network
printers we have installed were all ordered with at least 20 MB of memory though
since we have been asking them to do a lot.... 

As we move toward a 100% distributed AFP print environment from our AS/400's,
the IBM Network printer is the best solution I've seen, IMHO.

The ability to interface this printer with Novell Servers, NT Servers, UNIX
systems and MAC's (appletalk) is a HUGE PLUS too and has made it very easy to
justify the slightly higher cost of this platform. 

Recently IBM has posted a LPR Remote Printing Utility.  Which will let a Win 95
PC print over IP to an IBM or compatible LPR IP printer. This utility provides
print sharing to an IBM Network printer without the need for a print server
(I.E. Novell or NT...)

            http://www.printers.ibm.com/util.html

Overview:
---------

The IBM LPR Remote Printing Client utility provides a TCP/IP print
monitor port driver for seamless Window 95 (TM) network printing.
This port driver can be used on Windows 95 to direct print jobs from
Windows 95 to the IBM network printers or any other printer or printer
server that runs a TCP/IP LPD print server. The port driver can be
used on mobile systems for remote printing or it can be used on
department print servers in an unattended print server mode.

This package also includes a DOS command line LPR executable program
for printing jobs directly.  The IBM LPR program, called IBMLPR.EXE,
provides standard RFC 1179 interfaces and allows the -S and -P
parameters to be set by way of environment variables so that drag
and drop printing can be enabled for a default printer.

----------

I love it....  :) As long as my network stays up, I don't have printer problems
anymore!

Kenneth


-- 
* *************************************** *
Kenneth E. Graap               
Coordinator - Network Operations Center 
Clackamas Education Service District   
PO 216 / Marylhurst,  OR  97036-0216   
503 635 0551        FAX 503 635 0578   
 
kgraap@clackesd.k12.or.us 
http://www.clackesd.k12.or.us/~kgraap       
* *************************************** *
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