Yes of course it is the programming - no offense taken.
And yes some printers need a larger quiet zone than others.
But it is frustrating to deal with an OS that is stuck in the 1980s when it comes to printing.
- Spacing from one DDS field to the next seems to be controlled by the printer file's font size (not the current font size being used in the record format or field level)
- DDS BOX command starting at 1/4" from the edge gets pushed out past the quiet zone on printerA, but works well on printerB. OK so printerA seemingly cant print within 1/4" of the edge, yet printerA DOES print an overlay (with a box border) at 1/4" from the edge. How can an overlay access part of the page that DDS cannot?
- Printing an AFPDS doc directly to an Iseries attached HP printer with an IPDS card has all sorts of anomalies and variations from one printer to the next, yet the exact same print file converted to PDF prints identically and perfectly on all HP printers.
-----Original Message-----
From: midrange-l-bounces@xxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:midrange-l-bounces@xxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Vernon Hamberg
Sent: Tuesday, October 23, 2012 11:24 AM
To: Midrange Systems Technical Discussion
Subject: Re: printed reports with font changes and logos, signatures, etc
Hi Joel
One of the main reasons for different scaling and things moving around
is unprintable areas at the edges of laser printer pages. Not that this
is everything, but it is very common.
So it might not be IBM i that's the problem - it may be doing exactly
what it's told - it might be the programming.
OK, I'm ducking now!
Things like page segments and overlays have to be given some offsets, in
order not to have these problems. So maybe push back some, if you can
determine that these are the problem areas.
Now sending PDF in a stream to a connected printer also works - if the
printer understands PDF. It can also be done with PCL form the IBM i,
although you may still have to manage margins.
HTH
Vern
On 10/23/2012 10:20 AM, Stone, Joel wrote:
My mgmt has had it with IBM Iseries-attached printers being fickle with behaving differently from one printer to another.
Fonts don't print the same, scaling behaves differently, logos wont print on some printers, etc.
They want them to work like other OS's in 2012 where things just print right.
The only way I can think of to get OS400 to print consistently would be to create a PDF file and send it to a printer instead of using OS/400's antiquated print facilities.
Is there a better method?
Can OS/400 print a PDF file and still have complete control with the writer such as stop/start, release, start at page 100, etc?
Thanks
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