RE: Host-Based Printer

Thanks Scott.
We get what we pay for I guess. As interesting as what you explained
sounds, I think I would only end up hating the printer more than I
already do. So I think we'll just get a different printer.

-----Original Message-----
From: midrange-l-bounces@xxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:midrange-l-bounces@xxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Scott Klement
Sent: Friday, March 28, 2008 4:23 PM
To: Midrange Systems Technical Discussion
Subject: Re: Host-Based Printer

"Host-Based" means that the printer doesn't have "a brain". At least
that's the way I think of it... It doesn't have logic internal to the
printer that tells it how to format a page of paper.

That logic is replaced by code written by the printer vendor. The
vendor writes a printer driver (usually for Windows) that contains all
of the logic to format the page of paper, all done in software, and then

the complete formatted page is transferred to the printer.

This results in two problems:

a) Printing can only be done via calls to the Windows GDI API. (Which
isn't a problem for Windows apps, since that's their normal procedure
anyway.)

b) It takes longer to transfer the data from the PC to the printer since

the data isn't as compact. (Though, with today's USB speeds, this isn't

a big issue.)

c) It's nearly impossible for anyone (besides the manufacturer) to write

their own drivers for the printer, since an in-depth knowledge of the
internals of the printer is required.


Because of these flaws, the only printers you'll see that are host-based

are the extremely cheap (under $150 USD) printers for Windows, typically

the cheap PC junk you get at your local Best Buy.

In a business scenario, I think it makes sense to pay the extra $100 or
$150 to get a real printer that understands printer languages like PCL,
PPDS, PostScript or PDF. Really, these are usually available for under
$400, and the hassle you'll save is more than worth it.

But... if your question is "is it possible to make it work", the answer
is YES... but not with Host Print Transform. you'll need to find (or
write) software that receives SCS and AFPDS documents, interprets their
format, and converts the SCS or AFPDS data stream into calls to the
Windows GDI driver.

I don't know if the iSeries Access printer interface has that capability

or not. I want to say (though it's been many years, and I may be
misremembering) that Rumba's print emulation does this.

You could, of course, write your own... but for me it's a lot easier to

buy a good printer than to spend months (maybe even years) writing the
software. Though, if you only needed SCS, it might not be TOO bad...
but AFPDS would be a major investment of resources. But of course, most

people probably wouldn't even consider writing their own... I'm just the

sort of person that has to know how to code every possible thing under
the sun :)