🚀 go-pugleaf

dalekim@Ingres.COM (FREEBIRD!) writes:


>I'm using Microsoft C 6.0 to dump text to a printer using the 'fprintf'
>statement to the stream 'stdprn.'  The expected output is about 58 lines
>long, and is followed by a form feed character.

>This works fine for dot-matrix printers, but I've tried this on an HP
>Laser Jet, and a Desk Jet, and they both eject a page with only 1 line
>on it.

>It works when I dump the text to a file, and then use a system call to
>the 'print' command, but I'm interested in knowing why my original code
>doesn't work correctly.  Does anyone know what's happening, and how I
>can correct it with a minimum of code changes?  Thanks a lot.

>Dale Kim
>dalekim@ingres.com
>ASK Computer Systems
>Ingres Division


First Guess:  Is there a significant time period between writing lines
to STDPRN (ie a few seconds)?  If so, there could be a question of
printer timeout.  I don't believe that the HP's have a method of simply
dumping out the hex characters they receive.  But if they did, then you
could run your program and see EXACTLY what the printers are getting.
This might reveal an extra form feed or whatever!

If you happen to have access to an IBM 4029 Laser Printer, then try using
it instead (for testing purposes).  It has a hex dump mode, and can show
you every character that the printer gets.  It's very handy when 
troubleshooting these things!

A third idea is to find one of those little neat utilities for redirecting
the standard LPT1 or STDPRN to a file.  PC Mag has this in their utils I
believe.  If you could do this, it would hopefully be equivalent to the
hex dump from the printer.  

Good Luck!!

Ron Garnett,
University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana