Printing PDF documents using DECprint Supervisor

[Eric W. Robertson]

Can you print PDF documents directly using DCPS. If not, is there a DCPS translator for PDF documents? Also, is there any documentation for writing your own DCPS translator software for other electronic document file formats?

[Joseph Huber_1]

I don't use DCPS and don't know if there is a solution inside DCPS, but as always for print transformations, I would put an EXECSYMB queue in front of the DCPS queue:
EXECSYMB runs a command-file (per queue), which can simply convert the PDF (and other formats) to Postscript, then queues the resulting file to the associated DCPS queue.
PDF to PS can be done using Ghostscript.

Independently of DCPS, I use such an approach to queue any document (ASCII text,PDF,PS) to LPD/PS printer queues.

[Bob Blunt]

I was going to say it in a different way... If your PDF *viewer* has the ability to output the file to a printer in Postscript then you're fine. But printing *directly* to a supported printer without that intermediate "viewing" tool? My bet would be that a PDF translator, like some of the other translators/interpreters built-into DCPS, would be required for this to work.

This isn't really much different than wanting to print a JPEG or GIF file to a printer directly or a Word (or DECwrite, DECDocument) file. You have to have that intermediate tool make an output file of the correct "language" for the printing software to print it correctly on the printer.

bob

[P Muralidhar Kini]

Hi Eric,

In case you have not already referred, the following link might be useful -
* HP OpenVMS Systems- Printing
http://h71000.www7.hp.com/openvms/print/

* HP DECprint Supervisor (DCPS) for OpenVMS - Users Guide
http://h71000.www7.hp.com/doc/82final/dcps/dcps025_uguide.pdf

Regards,
Murali

[Jeremy Begg]

Hi Eric,

If you don't need to use any of the DCPS special features (such as forcing 2-sided or n-up printing) you can use any print symbiont that's capable of sending a file to the printer without modification.

On my system I use a MULTINET_STREAM symbiont for this purpose but you could just as easily use TCPIP$TELNETSYM I suspect. The important thing is that the job be printed with a form that specifies no margins, no wrapping and no truncation. Note that you can have two printer queues pointing to the same printer since all current VMS symbions which use TCP/IP will close the TCP/IP session between jobs.

And don't forget that HP LaserJet printers will allow you to submit files via other protocols such as LPD or even FTP.

Regards,
Jeremy Begg

[Rajesh Babu Boyalla]

Hi Eric,

>> Can you print PDF documents directly using DCPS.

No. DCPS doesn't support this feature.


>> If not, is there a DCPS translator for PDF documents?

No. DCPS doesn't have the translator to convert PDF to PS format which could be understood by the printer.

>> Also, is there any documentation for writing your own DCPS translator software for other electronic document file formats?

Currently NO.

But, there are some printers available that has PDF to PS translator within themself. So if we can send PDF file through telnet symbiont or LPD queue then printer should be able to print PDF file.

However, as Joseph mentioned, we can create an environment in which PDF jobs were sent to a queue being monitored by some other software (XPDF, a freeware) that would then convert the file from PDF to PS format and print it.

Regards,
Rajesh

[Hoff]

If you really want to use queues for this processing (and I'm not sure why, but...), use the freeware package EXECSYMB tool, pass the file processing along into some Ghostscript conversion, and then have the DCL send the Postscript file along to DCPS.

For some supporting information, see the pdf2ps tool that's available for various platforms, as that's usually a wrapper for Ghostscript.

[Dennis Handly]

>Jeremy: And don't forget that HP LaserJet printers will allow you to submit files via other protocols such as LPD or even FTP.

I once tried printing a PDF file on a big HP MFP by uploading it into the EWS. But words were jammed together and it was hard to read. When I printed it using acroread, it was fine.