DCPS 2.7 and hp LaserJet 501

[nst]

if I want to print a file with PARAM=DATA=ANSI I get "Required device
control module LPS$INITPSDEVICE not found"
Question: what must be in this file for the newest/greatest/best... hp
printer?
How can I find out which older hp printer (DCPS supported) has a similar
init file?

BTW VMS is 7.1-2 due to application

thanks

nst



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[Paul Anderson]

On Wednesday, April 5, 2017 at 9:03:11 AM UTC-4, nst wrote:

> How can I find out which older hp printer (DCPS supported) has a similar
> init file?

That might be a bit tricky as you would have to try using trial and error.

I assume the 501 has PostScript.

You could start by defining the logical name

$ DEFINE /EXECUTIVE_MODE /SYSTEM DCPS$queuename_PRODUCT_NAME HPGENERIC

substituting "queuename" with with your queue name. Then restart the queue, and see if that helps.

Are you using RawTCP or LPD as a protocol?


Paul Anderson
VMS Software, Inc.

[Stephen Hoffman]

On 2017-04-05 13:09:09 +0000, nst said:

> if I want to print a file with PARAM=DATA=ANSI I get "Required device
> control module LPS$INITPSDEVICE not found"
> Question: what must be in this file for the newest/greatest/best... hp printer?
> How can I find out which older hp printer (DCPS supported) has a
> similar init file?

HP has a gazillion similarly-named printers, and many of those with
multiple variations within the series.

HP LaserJet Enterprise 500 color Printer does support Postscript
emulation. That might work as an "unsupported" printer with DCPS
(DECprint Supervisor), and there are various discussions of that in the
comp.os.vms newsgroup archives available via Google Groups. Some
search akin to the following will find previous discussions, and you'll
end up experimenting to see what might or might not work with this
particular printer — or any other printer with Postscript or Postscript
emulation support.

https://groups.google.com/forum/#!searchin/comp.os.vms/dcps$20unsupported%7Csort:relevance


HP LaserJet Pro M501 series does not support Postscript or Postscript
emulation. DCPS will not work with this printer. Any Postscript or
Postscript emulation printing associated with this printer requires
host-based software on Microsoft Windows or some other platform
supported by HP for this printer. OpenVMS doesn't provide host-based
Postscript or Postscript emulation. Which means converting the
Postscript input file to something else, or passing the Postscript to a
Windows system that can print it, or using a different printer. For
local direct access — non-Postscript access — to this printer, access
is via a "normal" printer port; LPR/LPR or telnet or the raw port
favored by HP printers. Unfortunately, I can't tell from the M501
specs whether lpr/lpd (TCP 512) or telnet (TCP 23) are even supported,
nor whether this printer uses the TCP 9100 raw port. (I do suspect
this printer does use at least the raw port favored by HP.) A port
scan of the printer address for open port — if this is the M501n or
M501dn model — will indicate which ports are open and available. If
telnet and/or lpr/lpd printing is supported, then print queues for
those are configured through the TCP/IP Services package and its
printing capabilities and related documentation, and not via the DCPS
giblets. But again, no Postscript from OpenVMS here, except via an
LPR/LPD queue via Windows or some other system that does have the
necessary conversion.

If you just want to send "plain text" files and not Postscript
documents, then use TCP/IP Services and its printing capabilities and
not DCPS and configure either the lpr/lpd or telnet path into the
printer — which of those two paths gets chosen often depends on which
one happens to work for a particular printer. (DCPS is the path for
printing Postscript from OpenVMS. The TCP/IP Services printing paths
can be used for printing "plain text" documents.)

There may well be some other "501" variations among the LaserJet
printers, I didn't dig around on the HP web site in any depth.

> BTW VMS is 7.1-2 due to application

That release hasn't been supported in a decade or more. It's very
severely down-revision in many ways. OpenVMS V8.4 and later are the
only releases with new patches available from HPE and/or VSI.



--
Pure Personal Opinion | HoffmanLabs LLC

[Jan-Erik Soderholm]

Den 2017-04-05 kl. 20:31, skrev Stephen Hoffman:


> ... does not support Postscript or Postscript emulation. DCPS will not work
> with this printer.

It will probably work OK using what DCPS calls "Native PCL Mode".

We use (have used) old PCL-only Kyocera printers with DCPS.

And a "PCL file" doesn't have to have any specific PCL commands,
it can be just a plain textfile.

So DCPS doesn't absolutely need a Postscript printer.

Jan-Erik.

[Stephen Hoffman]

On 2017-04-05 18:31:40 +0000, Stephen Hoffman said:

> ...

A wonderful reminder, this. Printers, printing, print (and batch
queues) are a whole 'nother area of not-very-pretty on OpenVMS,
unfortunately.

It's all cobbled together across ~forty years, and with little
integration with OpenVMS, any of the add-on products (DCPS, VSI IP or
TCP/IP Services) or otherwise, nor with (for instance) the network
identities broadcast by most printers (mDNS or otherwise) or LDAP-based
configuration information, nor for the mixed and varied use of
configuration files and logical names and queue settings among the
various cogs. Yeah, any particular SMB or enterprise might not use
some or any of those features, but it's still handy to have a picture
of what's available locally as that's often what folks are looking to
connect with and print to. IPP support, etc. For what it does, all
the pieces and parts can and do work. Yes, it's documented, though
the doc is scattered all over various manuals, depending on which
specific type of printing is being configured.

Job control and process management and the class scheduler all need
some work, too, but that's a rather larger topic and a larger effort.

I'm sure that OS-integrated, intelligible, concisely documented and
with samples and cookbook examples, more easily automated or
automate-able, network-integrated, and easy to manage printing is on
the work list somewhere, of course. And again, 2022, 2027, forward.
Decisions and expediencies from earlier eras aren't always best carried
forward.

[Jan-Erik Soderholm]

Den 2017-04-06 kl. 14:34, skrev Stephen Hoffman:
> On 2017-04-05 18:31:40 +0000, Stephen Hoffman said:
>
>> ...
>
> A wonderful reminder, this.

Reminder of what? That its better to lookup what you are
replying to before replying?

[Removed stuff unrelated to DCPS printing to non-PS printers.]

[Kerry Main]

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Info-vax [mailto:info-vax...@rbnsn.com] On Behalf Of
> Stephen Hoffman via Info-vax
> Sent: April 6, 2017 8:35 AM
> To: info...@rbnsn.com
> Cc: Stephen Hoffman <seao...@hoffmanlabs.invalid>
> Subject: Re: [Info-vax] DCPS 2.7 and hp LaserJet 501
>
> On 2017-04-05 18:31:40 +0000, Stephen Hoffman said:
>
> > ...
>
> A wonderful reminder, this. Printers, printing, print (and batch
> queues) are a whole 'nother area of not-very-pretty on OpenVMS,
> unfortunately.
>

[snip...]

For those that do not mind using a commercial added value print solution
for OpenVMS that has support for more of the current multi-vendor
printers, you can check out the following:

<http://www.nls.com/>
"PrintKit software products provide OpenVMS printing to networked
printers, including desktop, workgroup, departmental, production, and
color models. Consistent services across this entire range, and a
faithful match to the OpenVMS printing architecture provide unmatched
flexibility in tailoring printing solutions."

Printers supported:
<http://www.nls.com/products/v307n_content.html>

If the target printer is not listed, they have the following statement:
"The PrintKit software has been designed to be adaptable to new printer
models, and to allow flexibility in choice of configuration. Validation
of the software is an ongoing process. If your intended configuration is
not listed, please let us know - we may well have a solution."

Regards,

Kerry Main
Kerry dot main at starkgaming dot com

[Robert A. Brooks]

On 4/23/2017 12:04 PM, Kerry Main wrote:
> For those that do not mind using a commercial added value print solution
> for OpenVMS that has support for more of the current multi-vendor
> printers, you can check out the following:

[...]

For those with a printer that DCPS does not current support, I'm sure the
VSI DCPS maintainer would be quite happy (ecstatic, even!) to add support for
your favourite printer.

Nothing makes Paul Anderson happier than working on DCPS.

Well, I suspect that if those seven of you who ever used the INFOSERVER_MONITOR
expressed your gratitude, he'd be quite pleased as well.

--
-- Rob

[Scott Dorsey]

Robert A. Brooks <FIRST...@vmssoftware.com> wrote:
>On 4/23/2017 12:04 PM, Kerry Main wrote:
>> For those that do not mind using a commercial added value print solution
>> for OpenVMS that has support for more of the current multi-vendor
>> printers, you can check out the following:
>
>[...]
>
>For those with a printer that DCPS does not current support, I'm sure the
>VSI DCPS maintainer would be quite happy (ecstatic, even!) to add support for
>your favourite printer.

What would be really nice, although admittedly not an easy task, would be
if standard .ppd files could be used by DCPS for printer definitions.
--scott

--
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."

[Bill Gunshannon]

On 4/23/2017 4:21 PM, Robert A. Brooks wrote:
> On 4/23/2017 12:04 PM, Kerry Main wrote:
>> For those that do not mind using a commercial added value print solution
>> for OpenVMS that has support for more of the current multi-vendor
>> printers, you can check out the following:
>
> [...]
>
> For those with a printer that DCPS does not current support, I'm sure the
> VSI DCPS maintainer would be quite happy (ecstatic, even!) to add
> support for
> your favourite printer.
>

Okidata Microline 80?

bill

[Simon Clubley]

Beat me to it :-), although I was going to say Epson FX-80. :-)

Simon.

--
Simon Clubley, clubley@remove_me.eisner.decus.org-Earth.UFP
Microsoft: Bringing you 1980s technology to a 21st century world

[Norman F Raphael]

From: Simon Clubley via Info-vax <info...@info-vax.com>
To: info-vax <info...@info-vax.com>
Cc: Simon Clubley <clubley@remove_me.eisner.decus.org-Earth.UFP>
Sent: Sun, Apr 23, 2017 8:50 pm
Subject: Re: [New Info-vax] DCPS 2.7 and hp LaserJet 501

I have a working Epson LX-800, although not connected to VMS.

Norman F. Raphael
Please reply to: norman....@ieee.org
"Everything worthwhile eventually
degenerates into real work." -Murphy

[John E. Malmberg]

On 4/23/2017 9:35 PM, Norman F Raphael wrote:
> From: Simon Clubley via Info-vax <info...@info-vax.com>
> To: info-vax <info...@info-vax.com>
> Cc: Simon Clubley <clubley@remove_me.eisner.decus.org-Earth.UFP>
> Sent: Sun, Apr 23, 2017 8:50 pm
> Subject: Re: [New Info-vax] DCPS 2.7 and hp LaserJet 501
>
> On 2017-04-23, Bill Gunshannon <bill.gu...@gmail.com> wrote:
>> On 4/23/2017 4:21 PM, Robert A. Brooks wrote:
>>>
>>> For those with a printer that DCPS does not current support, I'm sure the
>>> VSI DCPS maintainer would be quite happy (ecstatic, even!) to add
>>> support for
>>> your favourite printer.
>>>
>>
>> Okidata Microline 80?
>>
>
> Beat me to it :-), although I was going to say Epson FX-80. :-)

Build a ghostscript based detached process that uses a pseudo terminal.

It should be possible to to convince DCPS that it is a generic
PostScript printer.

Regards,
-John
wb8...@qsl.net_work

[Scott Dorsey]

Norman F Raphael <norman....@verizon.net> wrote:
>>
>> Okidata Microline 80?
>>
>
>Beat me to it :-), although I was going to say Epson FX-80. :-)

Both of these printers have backend drivers as part of ghostscript, so that
ghostscript can be used to convert postscript files to their raster formats.

Since ghostscript can be used as a filter in a print symbiont, I see no reason
why you couldn't use either one of these printers for graphics on a VMS system.

Certainly either one would be much easier to use than an LCG01.

[Bill Gunshannon]

But.. But... That would require using Open Source Software. We
certainly couldn't allow that......

bill

[Paul Anderson]

On 4/23/17 4:38 PM, Scott Dorsey wrote:

> What would be really nice, although admittedly not an easy task, would be
> if standard .ppd files could be used by DCPS for printer definitions.

Yes sir, it would, even though the PPD file does not supply all the
information DCPS needs. We had a plan in 1999 to make DCPS data-driven
so that printer information would live in separate files and not be
hardcoded in the application. Alas, we never had the time to do it.

Paul

P.S. And Rob Brooks is thrilled to know that the mighty InfoServer
Monitor was written in his beloved BASIC.