Re: Looking for a program to perform true page manip. for a remote outq

[Paul Tykodi <ptykodi@xxxxxxxxx>]

Dear Mike,

The LPR/LPD protocol (used when printing through
AS/400 remote output queueus) is a very old TCP/IP
based  protocol originally created to manage the
movement of files to be printed from a workstation
without a printer to a different workstation with a
printer. It is effectively a file transfer oriented
protocol specifically created to handle files to be
printed.

The protocol allows the originating host to request
certain printing features to be enabled when the file
being transferred is finally processed by the target
printer. The error recovery is either an ack (printing
completed successfully) or a nack (some type of
printing problem occurred). The typical originating
host response to a nack is to send the complete file
again. 

The OS/400 exit you mentioned copies the spool file to
a temporary work space and then allows the user to
specify a restart page rather than blindly sending the
whole file again.

The LPR/LPD protocol works with spool file sizes,
calculated in k bytes, to determine whether a file was
successfully printed or not. The protocol does not
monitor pages printed, which is why you are having the
error recovery difficulties you have mentioned in your
postings.

One Potential Solution
----------------------

The web page I viewed claimed the Monarch 9820
typically comes with a parallel and serial port. I
assume you have attached a wireless network adapter to
one of these communication ports to create the
wireless version of Monarch 9820.

If I correctly understand your wireless environment,
one solution would be to make the following change:

1. Connect a TN5250E compatible print server to the
parallel port of the Monarch 9820. Connect the
wireless adapter to the ethernet port of the TN5250E
printer server to provide the necessary wireless
connectivity.

2. Configure the EBCDIC to ASCII conversion to occur
within the print server (select generic ASCII printer
driver option) so that Host Print Transform will not
be enabled on the AS/400 for this device.

3. The TN5250E protocol is used by the PC5250 printing
support of iSeries Access and Client Access Express
software as well as many third party software clients
and print servers. The TN5250E protocol uses a Telnet
frame to transfer native EBCDIC 5250 protocol data
from a LAN client device to a target IBM AS/400 or
iSeries host. The device description created on the
IBM host is a standard printing device and not a
remote output queue. 

Because you are effectively transferring the same
format of information used on the original twinax
communication bus across a TCP/IP network when using
the TN5250E protocol, the processing of the spool file
will be managed in pages printed and you will get the
typical End of Forms message displayed on your host,
when the printer runs out of labels, with equivalent
error recovery and continuation capabilities as well.

In the Windows and UNIX environments, the processing
of the information tends to be measured in file size
and not pages. As far as I know, the Monarch printer
language does not offer a page counting capability
like PostScript or PJL for laser printers.

This would be an item to discuss in greater detail
with the printer manufacturer's support department to
see whether the printer has any label management
facilities, which can be installed into either the
Windows or UNIX operating system environments, to
allow for the calculation of labels printed.

HTH

Best Regards,

/Paul
--
Paul Tykodi
Dover, NH

E-mail: ptykodi@xxxxxxxxx

>date: Fri, 11 Jun 2004 16:47:26 -0700 (PDT)
>from: Mike Berman <mikeba777@xxxxxxxxx>
>subject: Looking for a program to perform true page
>manip. for a remote outq
>
>
>Apparently, you cannot have a remote outq act like a
>regular outq w/the writer controlling the pages, when
>for example, the paper runs out on our Monarch
>wireless 9820. 
>
>All that the exit programs do, is allow you 
>to re-start the spool at the point that you want.
>This is not great for our needs, in the warehouse
>w/limited skills there. If someone has a suggestion
>for a solution I also think we would pay for the
>program that would again if this is possible, give us
>this capability. 
>
>On a side note, if someone knows how this would work
>in a Unix or Windows environment, please inform me.
>What the essence  is that there is  if I understand
>correctly, a conversion of the data from EBCDIC to
>ASCII, and supposedly the Monarch label printers are
>not capable of discerning what page it is 'up to'
>when the paper runs out. Please advise if you can
>help.
>
>Thank you, Mike



        
                
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