Printer does not work anymore

[Rene Stanger]

Hello,

in a large IBM-Host, Unix and Windows environment we are running 3 Alpha OpenVMS Server. Now the IT is installing MFP's from Lanier instead of LAN printers. With DCPS Software we can use the LAN printers with tcpip connections. On a first try we could easily bring the new MFP to work properly. (officially not supported by DCPS, but with another MFP profile it's ok)
Shortly before going into production the MFP is no longer responding. It does not signal if it's ready to print, if I send a job, sometimes it will print, but my queue is hanging (printing...) and the MFP ist also blocking any other work, until I stop the queue on OpenVMS.

The Network people said they "only" changed the switches to autosensing, but they likely forget us OpenVMS people. The old LAN printers still work perfectly! From Windows the MFP work as expected.

Any ideas where the problem can be? I don't want our OpenVMS system be the only system that can't print on these MFP!

Regards
René

[Karl Rohwedder]

Are you using RawTCP or LPD for printing?

Often LPD works, whereas RawTCP makes problems, because LPD just copies the files to the printer.

regards Kalle

[Rene Stanger]

We are using RawTCPIP, but after the MFP didn't work anymore, I tried also a queue with LPD, my queue sent the file but the MFP didn't print anything, I just saw a status of "job aborted". With a standard synchronised RawTCP queue, the job remains starting.... With the logical nosync set, the queue stays printing...

Rene

[Karl Rohwedder]

Did you use the spool-file option of LPD?

I experimented last week with some Ricoh printers, some printed using RawTCP others only with LPD, some lost their ability to interpret PS (seem you may NOT switch them off without shutdown...).

regards Kalle

[Art Wiens]

Try defining the "DCPS$your_qname_NO_SYNC" = "TRUE" logical. This prevents problems with system<->printer PS/PCL mode initial negotiation. I know HP printers can be in an AutoSensing mode or hardcoded whether to expect PS or PCL data. If your printers are capable of this, and depending on how they're set, can fail the negotiation.

Do a Google for -> dcps no_sync <- you'll find info about this and more.

Cheers,
Art

[Ian Miller.]

which version of VMS and DCPS?

[Rene Stanger]

Hello,
thanks for your tipps!

I also tried the spool option with LDP queue, no difference.
The parameter dcps$_NO_SYNC = True just changed that my jobs does not hang in the starting state, it does hang in the printing state.

What is still confusing me is that it once worked fine with the MFP and after "some" network-changes it does not work anymore. But the post from Kalle tells me that it could have been just pure luck, that the MFP once worked.

We're using OpenVMS 7.3-2 on Alpha and DCPS V2.3

regards
René

[Karl Rohwedder]

I'm not sure if it makes any difference conc. your problem, but the actual DCPS version is V2.5, maybe you give it a try.

regards Kalle

[Wim Van den Wyngaert]

http://h71000.www7.hp.com/doc/82final/dcps/dcps025_release_notes.PDF

2.1.1 Mentions problems with MFP printers. And many other problems are mentioned furtheron.

Wim

[Jeroen Hartgers_3]

be carefull with lpd. The mfp must be configured for lpd. In default lpd printing is mostly not enabled on the mfp.

to create lpd queues always use the executable and never edit the printcap file. If you make a mistake in the printcap file its behavier is unpredictable. Wrong spaces are very difficuld to find, also authorisation and creation of the directories are also a problem.

use RUN SYS$SYSTEM:TCPIP$LPRSETUP.EXE for creating and deleting off lpd queues.

[Art Wiens]

I would also recommend going to DCPS v2.5. They added more support for more printers. It's a painless upgrade, depending on your cpu ... a few minutes.

Check the release notes for v2.5 for your family of printers, it might be supported now.

BTW, I don't it's actually been mentioned what type of printer you have. What is it?

Cheers,
Art

[Rene Stanger]

Hello,

the MFP they have installed, is a LANIER LD245. On the inside it schould be some Ricoh model, but because the LANIER LD245 is brand new, the handbook (from Ricoh) does not state, which Ricoh model is similar.

Thanks
René

[Bojan Nemec]

Rene,

When I have problems with printers (TCPIP or LAT) I try to go by steps. First try if the connection works. In yours case telnet is yours friend:

$ TELNET printer_ip_address printer_ip_port

If you get errors after this command, you know that you have something wrong in the communication.
Else try to type something end with (form feed). The contents you typed must be printed.
Only after completing this tests OK proceed with a queue.

Bojan

[Rene Stanger]

Thanks Bojan,

I just tried what you proposed. Telnet Connection is ok. I typed something, including ctrl/L, after I excited the telnet session (the escape sequence was hard to find) the MFP started to print my pages.

With all the tries with my queues I sometimes was able to print something, but I never get an answer from the printer about completing the job or an acknowledge of the synchronisation request with standard raw_ip queues.

Any idea if I can do a similar check and establish a connection from the MFP to my OpenVMS server?

greetings
René

[Karl Rohwedder]

Have you tried to create a plain TELNETSYM or LPD queue without using DCPS?
Sinye your TELNET session prints, a TELNETSYM queue should print also.
Have you checked the printer status page, if Postscript is available and language sensing is ON?
On a Ricoh printer I was playing with, someone from remote management disabled Postscript, took me some garbage pages to find out.

regards Kalle

[Bojan Nemec]

Rene,

Most of printers and printer servers does not "talk" with the system. VMS queue symbionts does not expect any response from the printer. They just format and send the file contents to the printer. The symbiont "hangs" if the system can not send the informations (XOFF on a serial line, busy state on a paralel port or on TCPIP the printer just stops to read from the port).


(the escape sequence was hard to find)

its printed yust after the successful connection message, and by default is ^] which means


Bojan

[David Jones_21]

"Most of printers and printer servers does not "talk" with the system. VMS queue symbionts does not expect any response from the printer. They just format and send the file contents to the printer. The symbiont "hangs" if the system can not send the informations (XOFF on a serial line, busy state on a paralel port or on TCPIP the printer just stops to read from the port)."

That is generally untrue for printers using the DCPS 'rawTCP' interface. The DCPS symbiont, after connecting to port 9100, will query the status of printer and get a page count before sending the user data and get a final page count after sending the data. The printer may also send back error messages of the TCP connection which the symbiont reads.

[Rene Stanger]

Hello again,
we found the reason for my printing problem. It was a parameter in the printer config, which was reseted to default causing the printer to stop working. The datatype for postscript files may not be "binary data", it must be "TBCP". When we changed that back to TBCP the MFP worked perfectly again. Funny thing, in the DCPS manuals I tought I've read that TBCP is not valid for network printers??? But the main thing is: It works!

Thanks to everyone who gave me answers to my question.
Rene