Re: Looking for an AS/400 printer "boot camp"

I'm not sure that it is possible to learn everything that you could
possibly want to know to solve any/every printer problem (as the original
post had asked).  You've got a variety of connection options such as lan,
twinax, or PC-attached via Client Access, serial, parallel, internal card,
external adapter, etc.  These can be configured as devices, output queues,
and/or remote OUTQ's.  They can be postscript or not.  You've got an
endless variety of manufacturers, makes, and models.  There are different
types of printer files such as *SCS, AFPDS, etc.  You've got overlays.  You
can do user data transform, host print transform, and workstation
customizing objects.  If you're writing your own program to print bar-code
labels that's another can of worms.

My advice is to study how your current environment is set up then find
reading material based on that hardware/software/configuration.  If you
have specific issues that come up from time to time study those.  When you
have problems write it down and how you solved it or what you did as a
work-around.  As you are doing these things start to branch out in your
research to find what may improve your situation such as lan devices over
twinax.  If you are burning up print heads on your bar-code printers then
work with the temperature settings or contact your supplier for other
options and suggestions.  After awhile you will find that you've written
your own book.  It may take longer but it will most likely be more
beneficial to you and your company than reading the manuals just to
accumulate a stockpile of all available information.  The world is
constantly evolving and that stockpile is both growing and becoming
obsolete.


Dave Parnin
--
Nishikawa Standard Company
Topeka, IN  46571
daparnin@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx