Technical Memo: HP 4000, 5000, and 8000 Printer Compatibility with ScriptServer





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HP 4000, 5000, AND 8000 PRINTER COMPATIBILITY WITH OLDER VERSIONS OF SCRIPTSERVER® FOR OPENVMS

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Abstract

The following document gives technical information on configuring HP 4000, 5000 and 8000 printers to be fully compatible with older versions of ScriptServer for OpenVMS.

NOTE: The following technical memo only applies to ScriptServer for OpenVMS versions 5.1-3 and lower; the symptoms described in this technical article are addressed in ScriptServer 5.1-4. This memo does not apply to the ScriptServer PAN Printing System.

Problem Synopsis:

With the release of the HP x000 series of printers, there is a known problem in the "backchannel" conversation conducted by ScriptServer when starting a queue. In querying the printer for its various attributes and capabilities, ScriptServer reports the printer as being a color PostScript printer (as signified by the characteristic number 8). This can be verified by looking at the queue characteristics:

$ SHOW QUEUE/FULL HP_TEST

  Printer queue HP_TEST, idle, on SQUALL::"lifeboat1.graysoft.com", mounted form DEFAULT
  <ScriptServer V5.1-3 Queue on HP LaserJet 8000 Series [idle]>
  /BASE_PRIORITY=4 /CHAR=(4,6,8,10,20,21,22,23,24,25,26,27,28,29,30,31,32,33,34,
  35,36,37,38,39,40,41,42,43,44,45,46,47,48,49,50,51,52,53,54,55) 
  /DEFAULT=(FEED,FORM=DEFAULT) /LIBRARY=SSV$DEVCTL Lowercase /OWNER=[1,4] 
  /PROCESSOR=SSV$SMB /PROTECTION=(S:M,O:D,G:R,W:S)

The main problem with this queue configuration is that the HP 4000, 5000 and 8000 models are not color PostScript printers. However, as a result of ScriptServer incorrectly assuming color capability, both the flag and trailer pages will not print out correctly. These pages will appear smaller and "faded" on the page.

Technical Rationale:

Without going into too much detail, the reason that ScriptServer thinks this is a color PostScript printer has to do with a problem in the synchronization of our question/answer dialogue with the printer. Apparently, in the HP x000 series of printers (HP 4000, 5000, 8000) Hewlett Packard has changed the way that printers respond to PJL queries. This change is causing our startup conversation to get out of sync and the "timing mismatch" causes ScriptServer to accept answers to questions in the wrong order. For example, when ScriptServer asks the printer if it is a color printer, we are getting back the answer to the previous question (i.e. do you have duplex capability). Again, this problem has been addressed in ScriptServer 5.1-4 and later.

A Viable Work-Around:

To circumvent this problem in the "startup" conversation, PJL capability can be explictly disabled on the device. In applying this logical setting, ScriptServer will not send any PJL queries to the printer. As a result, the "startup" conversation will remain synchronized and the queue will startup with the correct characteristics (i.e. monochrome PostScript instead of color PostScript).

To explicitly disable PJL capability on the print device, simply define the following logical:

$ DEFINE/SYSTEM "SSV$ device_PCL_SUPPORT" NOPJL

where device is the logical connection type (TCP/IP address, LAT port, serial port, etc.)

NOTE: After defining these logicals, you will need to restart the queue for the new settings to take effect.

Verifying the Correct Configuration:

After applying this logical setting and restarting the queue, you should see the queue now startup with monochrome PostScript (as signified by the characteristic number 9). This can be verified by looking at the queue characteristics:

$ SHOW QUEUE/FULL HP_TEST

  Printer queue HP_TEST, idle, on SQUALL::"lifeboat1.graysoft.com", mounted form DEFAULT
  <ScriptServer V5.1-3 Queue on HP LaserJet 8000 Series [idle]>
  /BASE_PRIORITY=4 /CHAR=(4,6,9,10,20,21,22,23,24,25,26,27,28,29,30,31,32,33,34,
  35,36,37,38,39,40,41,42,43,44,45,46,47,48,49,50,51,52,53,54,55) 
  /DEFAULT=(FEED,FORM=DEFAULT) /LIBRARY=SSV$DEVCTL Lowercase /OWNER=[1,4] 
  /PROCESSOR=SSV$SMB /PROTECTION=(S:M,O:D,G:R,W:S)

If you are still experiencing difficulties configuring a ScriptServer queue, please refer to Technical Memo #89 for further information.