question about printing

[Jim Asman]

--------------- Original Message ---------------
At 05:07P Tue May 10 2005, Jay R. Ashworth wrote:

> On Tue, May 10, 2005 at 10:00:02AM -0700, Jim Asman wrote:
> > > It sounds like this is a "Windows-only" ("brain-dead") printer. ICE-TCP 
is
> > > succeeding because it's using the Windows printer driver. But pumping
> > > characters directly to the printer does not. If I am right, then you 
will
> > > not be able to use the printer directly from Unix.
> > 
> > I suspect that this is NOT a Windows only printer as Bob suggested,
> > but rather that when connected to the RS-232 port on SCO a NULL MODEM
> > is required.
> 
> It might well require one... but, from personal experience, you *still*
> have to send it the appropriate Datamax setup strings before you can
> print to it.  And, yes, to my knowledge, there *is* a Windows driver
> for it, which would explain why he could print to it from Windows.
> 
> You never *did* say, dude, whether you were interested in our Datamax
> output formats.  :-}

My experience with label printers is that WINDOWS applications basically
rasterize the entire label and send it to the printer as a single bitmap.
That will permit the use of Truetype fonts and line draw mechanisms etc.
None of this has anything to do with the native language of the printer.

The SATO printers can read a .BMP or .PCX, for example and similarly the
provision exists on Zebra printers and others as well.

If you want to print directly from filePro, then you have to understand
the native language of the printer well enough to construct the output
as wanted. As many of the commands require runtime arguments, it doesn't
lend itself particularly well to printcodes off a table. You build the
printcode in a fp variable which is placed on the output format.

I did some Datamax labels a few years ago, and as I recall the printcode
table only had a half dozen init and reset codes on it. The REAL codes
were all built in processing. Download the programming manual and have
a look. Once you get your head around it, you will do just fine.

It would be the LAST RESORT for me to send my fp data from UNIX to WINDOWS
just to print something.


Jim 
--
jlasman at telus.net                       Spectra Colour Services Ltd.
Jim Asman                               10221 144A Street
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