DCPS Printer Queue Page Boundaries

[Branko Dachevski]

I am trying to print a page with 69 lines via VMS operating system on HP 8150 printer. The VMS queue is created via DCPS software and using this queue, the printer prints only 68 lines pp. The printed text contains ANSI escapes for bolding "[1m"...
Can anyone help me solve this problem?

P.S. This thread has been moved from Archived Printing Boards > Black and White to OpenVMS > sysadmin - HP Forums Moderator

[Paul Anderson_7 · Accepted solution]

I assume this is a text file. Are there any other ANSI escape sequences being used? The sequence to bold text should not affect the lines per page.

Is this file being printed in portrait or landscape mode? If landscape, is the orientation selected with an ANSI escape sequence or with the DCPS parameter PAGE_ORIENTATION=LANDSCAPE?

Are you using a form (PRINT /FORM) or setup module (PRINT /SETUP)? If you're using a form, what is the definition of the form (SHOW QUEUE /FORM /FULL).

Without knowing the answers to these questions, it is likely you'll have to use another ANSI escape sequence to select 69 lines per page and/or change your form definition if you have one.

Paul

[petr jaeger]

you can try to change the default settings in printer. Somewhere in menu configure device/printing/pcl change setting FORM LENGTH to 69 (or 70) - note that this may not work with every font, so you may need to change also the FONT NUMBER (which may then change look of your forms)
and then in menu configure device/printing change setting for WIDE A4 to yes (if it is supported by this printer)

Don't know VMS at all, so I can't suggest if and how to change this in the system - basically you should be able to do the same somehow

good luck
petr

[Paul Anderson_7]

It appears PCL is not being used in this case, as ANSI escape sequences are present, and DCPS software on OpenVMS is being used. DCPS converts ANSI sequences to PostScript, so it is PostScript that is being sent to the printer.

Paul
HP OpenVMS Engineering

[Paul Anderson_7]

I am replying here, rather than in the new thread the author entered, to keep things in one place.

Branko, you said in the other thread:

> I am trying to print a page with 69 lines via VMS operating system on HP 8150 printer. The VMS queue is created via DCPS software and using this queue, the printer prints only 68 lines pp. The printed text contains ANSI escapes for bolding "[1m"... and the job is printed "Portrait" with no "SETUP" or "FORM" quallifiers in the VMS command.

There are ANSI escape sequences that could help you. The DECSLPP sequence changes lines per page and the DECVERP sequence changes vertical pitch. You might have to add one or both of those sequences, or others, to get 69 lines per page. These sequences are documented in the "DIGITAL ANSI-Compliant Printing Protocol Level 3 Programming Reference Manual". If you cannot get a copy of this manual, I can send it to you in PDF form.

These sequences might not offer what you want, as they jump from 66 to 88 lines per page, so a 69-line page might have lots of white space at the bottom.

To change to 88 lines per page:

8t2z

where is ASCII character 155.

> Would anyone know the commands in Postscript language to facilitate 69 lines via "setup postscript module"?

Since you're using ANSI escape sequences, you would probably not use a PostScript setup module to accomplish this.

> I can use the PCL commands that can help me: "&l#Z" (move the logical page along the physical page ), but I do not know the font settings for the line spacing and line height in postscript printing, as I need them to be the same via PCL as they are when the printer prints via DCPS software....

If you want to use PCL escape sequences, then you would have to change the ANSI "bold" sequence you are using to a comparable PCL sequence.

When using DCPS, text files are usually treated as ANSI files and converted to PostScript and then sent to the printer. If you print a PCL file, it is not translated to PostScript, but sent directly to the printer as a PCL file.

The DCPS documentation has more information on this.

But it sounds like you just need the proper ANSI sequences to do this. You may also want to look at the documentation for DEFINE /FORM so that you can use something other than the default DCPS form, which gives you a page length of 66. To see your form definitions, do a SHOW QUEUE /FORM /FULL.

Paul