fred@cs-col.Columbia.NCR.COM (Fred Spreuwers) (02/13/90)
In response to John Alsop's questions about the NEC LC890 printer. >>Does anyone have a PostScript printer connected to the Tower? >>We've been using ours (NEC LC890) for a while connected to an HPSIO port, >>sending the output straight to the port using "cat". >>I'd like to use it through the "lp" spooler instead, and I'm hoping >>someone has already written a suitable interface program, to save me >>re-inventing the wheel. I have been using the "lpr" spooler to print to the NEC LC890 printer for about 6 months without a problem. There are a few things that you have to do to get the "postscript batch" mode on the printer to work properly. 1. Remove the entry for the printer out of the /etc/inittab file. 2. Always use the -b option of "lpr/print". 3. Set up the printer for 9600 baud and even parity. These changes are necessary because anything other than a postscript file will cause the printer to start processing and not properly process the postscript file. Removing the entry from "/etc/inittab" will prevent the system from sending that tty port a login banner. This will work because the HPSIO ports default to 9600 baud and Even parity. If you have any additional questions feel free to ask. __________________________________________________________________ | Fred Spreeuwers | e-mail: \ | NCR Corporation | fred@cs-col.Columbia.NCR.COM \________ | Corporate Customer Services | ...!uunet!ncrlnk!ncrcae!cs-col!fred | | 3325 Platt Springs Rd. | ...!ucbvax!sdcsvax!ncr-sd!ncrcae!cs-col!fred | | West Columbia, S.C. 29169 | ( Bug-Busters ) _____________________________| |_____________________________|________________/
joe@dayton.UUCP (Joseph P. Larson) (02/15/90)
In article <1990Feb12.161547.5882@cs-col.Columbia.NCR.COM> fred@cs-col.Columbia.NCR.COM (Fred Spreuwers) writes: >In response to John Alsop's questions about the NEC LC890 printer. > >>>Does anyone have a PostScript printer connected to the Tower? >>>We've been using ours (NEC LC890) for a while connected to an HPSIO port, >>>sending the output straight to the port using "cat". >>>I'd like to use it through the "lp" spooler instead, and I'm hoping >>>someone has already written a suitable interface program, to save me >>>re-inventing the wheel. We have Diconix Dijit 1/PS printers -- Inkjet postscript printers -- connected to each of our 34 store towers, another one connected to our lab tower, and some Data Products PostScript printers connected to a few other towers. 4 years ago, when we started installing Towers, we decided we didn't like the way NCR's lp spooler worked (sorry). It was eating processes like crazy, for one thing. We have a set of screen-based programs that the end-users use to keep track of what's going on, which we update constantly. In any case, we wrote our own spooler. One of the concepts we installed in it was the idea of report forms. Any file that we print prints under some form or other such as portrait -- normal file printed in portrait orientation; landscape -- ditto but rotate 90; port2 -- 2-up portrait; port2d -- 2-up portrait duplexed, etc. Each *form* contains information such as text or a file to send before each job. Thus, we then wrote jobs that emulate line printers. So when I want to print a file, all I have to say is: lpr -qps -fland file.name It'll print through the queue called "ps", format "land". The system is pretty cool. We've added other things like report archiving, piping the file through a program before feeding it to the printer, compression with print-time uncompression, report manipulation so overstriking, etc, print correctly, etc. Also, unlike other systems I've seen, our PS program doesn't require a lot of PS commands to be sent down (lots of nasty overhead that way). Instead, we send down a postscript program immediately followed by the text to print -- the program reads until end-of-file and print accordingly, handling page breaks, commands to change fonts, etc. ---- In any case, if you want to talk further about this, you can drop me a line. I do not have authority to send you all our code if you decide you'd like to use it, but I can talk to you about what we've done, and if you're interested, request permission to send you a copy. In any case, anyone who is dissatisfied with NCR's spooler should complain to NCR. Our one voice managed to get some changes made, but the underlying ideas behind it remained. If *we* didn't like it so badly that we wrote our own replacement, I'll bet others out there feel the same way... Not to bash NCR -- I love our Towers -- but one can't expect them to do *everything* right. :-) -Joe -- UUCP: rutgers!dayton!joe (Picts 1-16 are DHDSC - Joe Larson/MIS 1060 ATT : (612) 375-3537 now ready.) 700 on the Mall, Mpls, Mn. 55402