Windows printing to HP 4014N from filePro

Wed Jul 21 05:28:02 PDT 2010

John,

First, thanks for your detailed note.

Please notice that the subject of my original e-mail was "SCO printing
to HP 4014N from filePro".  Somewhere along the line someone changed it
to what you see above.  I did not do this.  I know the difference
between printing from Windows and printing from SCO OpenServer 5.  Since
this customer has both an SCO OpenServer system and a Windows 2003
server, I did change the print driver on the Windows server just to be
sure the first one wasn't leaving the printer in a state that was not
overcome by the SCO printer interface script and filePro print codes.
This had no effect on either system's printing.

The printer interface script on the SCO system I have been using for the
printer at this IP address has not changed.  It has worked as needed for
15 or so years.  It was only the introduction of this new printer that
seemed to have caused this rather bizarre behavior - the same SCO
filePro print job that is properly formatted when it prints from tray 1
is not properly formatted when it prints from tray 2.  It is not the SCO
interface script or a filePro print code that is choosing the tray.  The
printer is set to print from tray 1 if there is paper in it.  Simple as
that.  If tray 1 is empty and/or closed, the printer prints from tray 2
(the built-in tray that pulls out to load paper).  This is as designed
and I have no problem with that.

I am well aware of Jim's handiwork with filePro and other printing and
have used him to develop special forms for my customers several times
over the years.  (I even have his phone number).

filePro support did send me some suggestions about this issue but, like
some others, were under the impression I was trying to select trays with
print codes.  However, I appreciated them contacting me about the issue.

HP tech support was totally unhelpful on this.  They simply didn't have
any clue as soon as I said "Unix".

The customer did tell me something new yesterday, however, and I'm going
to be on-site later today to check it out.  

Thanks,
Steve Wiltsie

-----Original Message-----
From: John Esak [mailto:john at valar.com] 
Sent: Tuesday, July 20, 2010 9:27 PM
To: Steve Wiltsie; 'filePro Mailing List'
Subject: RE: Windows printing to HP 4014N from filePro

Steve,

1)
First, your best bet is to contact Jim Asman and enlist his aid. Your
problem will be diagnosed and solved quicker than you can imagine. Jim
will
read this note because he follows the list...and he might give some
"real"
advice... But I would contact him at jlasman at telus.net and ask for his
phone
number. I could provide it of course, but we haven't ever done that here
in
30 years, no need to start now.

2)
I will make some hopefully helpful comments. Whatever the problem is, it
will NOT be solved with a PCL6 driver. I'm a little unclear as to
whether
you're working in Unix/SCO or windows... But if your old 2015 worked
fine,
you were most likely using PCL5.  In both cases even though on Windows
it's
called a "driver" and on SCO it is not at all that but just an interface
file which filters and adds some simple formatting codes. They both
don't
really "do" anything. All the commands in PCL5 are just simple character
strings usually starting with an ESC and ending with a particular
pattern.
Combine all these sequences and you get your document sent to the
printer
which follows all the plain ascii commands and builds your output. This
is
sent to the printer which rasterizes it all into one big page feed and
prints it.  All this "blather" to say this next thing.

3)
The trays and the order of printing is stored as choices and preferences
in
the printer itself. You can send codes to pick one tray over another,
but
lots of the preferences stored in the printer still hold sway. In other
words, you may have it set up to accept printouts in the top tray, but
if
the printer finds that tray empty, it might look for another tray that
has
been assigned the same "paper type" like "letterhead". If no tray is
assigned to print the same kind of paper as the empty tray, nothing is
printed even though three other trays are full of paper. The printer
thinks
it's the wrong kind.

4)
Obviously, I'm getting into lots of strange and maybe unhelpful stuff,
but
this I'm sure. The problem is NOT in the "driver". ON Windows you want
to be
using something that doesn't muck up your designated codes from a PCL5
type
printer table, and on Windows, the same applies, but you MUST use a PCL5
driver. The PCL6 driver does not interpret the filePro PCL5 print code
table
commands. It tries to build an image and sends this to an essentially
dumber
printer.  The older printer you had was built with enough smarts to
decode
the stuff from filePro and a clear driver and build the final page
itself in
its own innards.  So, this is why I think the strange behavior is
external
to all the stuff coming from the outside world. It is a setting that
needs
to be fiddled with to get proper operation.

I know Jim has dealt with this issue on other HP printers. As long as
you
continue to use strict PCL5 all the way to the printer, and not move to
PCL6
for any reason. You will I'm sure end up getting the same behavior from
the
new printer as the old.  What amazes me is that the HP tech couldn't
help.
They usually don't get baffled when they hear the word Unix or SCO, but
filePro thrown into the mix and something called a filePro printcode
table
mess them up pretty good. They start thinking it's something outside
their
ken... And it really isn't.

Jim sounds great on the phone and is slowly getting over his near-death
(no
lie) experience.  

Good luck.

John

> -----Original Message-----
> From: filepro-list-bounces+john=valar.com at lists.celestial.com 
> [mailto:filepro-list-bounces+john=valar.com at lists.celestial.co
> m] On Behalf Of Reggie Freedman DC1
> Sent: Tuesday, July 20, 2010 5:15 PM
> To: Steve Wiltsie; filePro Mailing List
> Subject: Windows printing to HP 4014N from filePro
> 
> 
> Since filePro has an HP PCL5 driver to use...
> On my Windows Server(s), I always create a generic
> printer, i.e., no codes, so what is sent from filePro
> is passed through to the printer without added
> 'flavoring'. For different printers, I add another
> generic printer, no codes, in Windows Server.
> 
> Reggie
> 
> 
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "Steve Wiltsie" <swiltsie at micro-mui.com>
> To: "filePro Mailing List" <filepro-list at lists.celestial.com>
> Sent: Monday, July 19, 2010 5:08 PM
> Subject: SCO printing to HP 4014N from filePro
> 
> 
> >I have something I don't think I've seen before going on with a new
> > LaserJet 4014N at a customer site.  They recently replaced an old HP
> > 2015N that had failed with this new 4014N.  We can print to 
> it just fine
> > from Windows with either the PCL5 or PCL6 drivers from HP.  
> The printer
> > has the latest firmware installed.  The SCO HPLaserJet 
> driver is still
> > the one we have used with the 2015N, so that hasn't changed.
> >
> > My problem is this:  if the drop-down tray 1 is open and 
> has paper in
> > it, filePro print jobs will print properly with pitch, orientation,
> > lines per inch, whatever, from that tray.  If that tray is 
> closed, the
> > print jobs will come out WITHOUT ANY FORMATTING from the 
> standard tray
> > 2.
> >
> > To fix this I've switched from PCL5 to PCL6 drivers on the Windows
> > server to make sure that Windows printing wasn't leaving 
> the printer in
> > a state that Unix couldn't overcome but that didn't help.  We have
> > rebooted Unix and the printer to clear everything but that 
> didn't help.
> > I have updated the printer's firmware.
> >
> > I've been on the phone with HP tech support who couldn't help me and
> > sent me to an Active Chat who couldn't help me and sent me 
> to a phone
> > number that turned out to be 'contract support' who 
> couldn't help me and
> > sent me back to standard support who kept suggesting that 
> we re-download
> > the PCL6 drivers for Windows.  So they weren't too much 
> help in addition
> > to being hard to understand.
> >
> > That's why I'm turning to this group.  Has anyone seen this issue
> > before?  If so, what did you do to fix it?
> >
> > Thanks,
> > Steve Wiltsie
> >
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