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[Heath]

Hello all, I am having trouble printing a FlexForm job when it prints through a users PC running the LPD software.  I can print this same job out on a network printer without problem, but it is corrupted and prints garbage when it goes through LPD.

According to FlexForm support I am sending a PCL job to the print queue and I need it to go raw with absolutley no filtering.  There assumption is that since it prints ok to a network printer, the ICE software must be doing some filtering to cause the issue.

I am running ICE TCP PRO v 5.1.26.
Windows XP
In the profile settings for the printer I am printing "Direct"  (I have tried both normal and raster with no change)
In LPD under Options>Filters all filtering appears to be off.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Heath

[Bob]

That doesn't make much sense since our current version of LPD.EXE is  supposed to ONLY do raw printing! The profile settings are used for passthrough printing, not LPD printing.

If you were using WINDOWS LPD printing, you must supply the raw flag on the spooler line on the unix side since windows LPD will not print raw without it.

Finally, assuming you are using the PRO LPD you can try the alternate version on the CD in the /TOOLS/ICE.TCP directory.
(rename the existing LPD.EXE in your pro directory to LPDSTOCK.EXE and then copy one from the CD into it's place and restart LPD).

You may find that if you are not using windows LPD printing you should switch to it (add/remove programs->add/remove windows components->other network file and print services). Rename your printers to something simple (because that name is used on the unix side) and be sure the you set the raw flag on the unix spool line.

Note that LPD printing in ICE is primarily for versions of windows prior to windows 2000. In win2k MS added unix print services.

[Heath]

Bob,

Thanks for you response.

Let me append a few things to my original post that I originally ommitted for the sake of brevity.

When I first started this little project I setup PRO LPD on the users computer and attempted to send job that used a form to the printer.  All that printed was garbage.  Random characters all over the page.  I could however send a generic (no form included) print job to the same queue and it would print just fine.  I looked into it a bit further and realized that this user was on version 5.1.07.  I realized she was behind because based on another thread that I read yesterday it was mentioned to try printing direct, raster, etc.  However, when I checked her settings those options were not available on 5.1.07.  So, I upgraded her software to 5.1.25 as that was the latest version I have on CD. 

On 5.1.25 the job would print out almost right.  There is still some garbage at a few spots on the page.  I remembered from another post that I read a few weeks ago that I could download the trial version of the latest software and install it without problem.  So I downloaded 5.1.26 and tried again.

On 5.1.26 the result was the same.  Still some garbage, but about 95% of the page looks good.

Per your post yesterday, I tried the old lpd.exe file and it went back to total garbage.  I have put it back to the original LPD.exe and have my partial garbage back.

I can print this same report to a standard network printer without any problem.  I have even pointed the users LPD to the network printer, but it prints garbage there too when directed through LPD.

I am not familiar with windows LPD, do you have link that would help me with setup?

Thanks again for your help.

[Bob]

I don't have anything special for windows LPD, but it's pretty easy to setup. Once you install the windows component as I pointed out in the previous message, your printers show up on your machine as lpd printers. The only trick is the name of the printer queue is EXACTLY the way the printer shows up in your windows printers folder. You can rename your windows printer to make things easier. I suggest a name all lowercase with no spaces. Then restart the tcp/ip print service on your windows machine or simply reboot it.

I'd be interested in hearing how it works out for you.

[Heath]

Bob,

Thanks again for your response, I have been out of town so I am just getting back to this issue.

Let me explain this in more detail to make sure there isn't any confusion.

I have a HP Laserjet 3050 connected via usb cable to a Windows XP machine.  From XP we use JRiver to telnet into an AIX server an run an application from there.  I am attempting to print from that application to the printer attached to the XP machine.  This is why I originally was using JRiver's LPD, I can configure it to associate a unix queue name with a Windows printer.  However, to make the problem a bit more complicated I also use a program called FlexForm that sends a form design along with the data to the laser printer.  Using JRiver's LPD it prints, however, there is some garbage on the page.  Flexform support thinks that there is some filtering happening somewhere becuase they claim to be sending raw data (for the record I can print this same form to a laserjet printer attached directly to the network without problems).

Given that, and based on your suggestion I am attempting to use "Windows LPD."  My first question is are you refering to Print Services for Unix?  If yes, I think I am missing a step somewhere (I'll explain in a moment).  If no, is there a program called Windows LPD that I haven't found?

I have installed Print Services for Unix on the XP machine and created a print queue to match the print queue on my AIX server.  When I attempt to send a print job to the queue it makes it all the way to the Windows print queue, but then nothing.  This actually makes sense to me, but I think this is where I am missing something.  I have not found a place to associate this LPD port with any of the windows printers.  I don't see how to do it if it is possible.  It is a separate port and doesn't link to the usb port the printer is physically on.  So the print job makes it to the computer, but the computer doesn't know what to do with it when it gets it.

Am I missing something?

Thanks,

Heath

[Heath]

Bob,

Disregard my last post.  I was overthinking the problem.  After installing Print Services for Unix I though I needed to create a new printer.  After looking back over your post I tried just renaming the printer to match my AIX print queue name and it worked like a champ.

Thanks,

Heath

[Bob]

Good work!