[Info-vax] Direct print of PDF files on PDF compatible printers.

[Doug Phillips]

Is your primary goal to print PDF's or to print barcodes?

On 3/1/2022 11:16 AM, Jan-Erik Söderholm wrote:
> Hi.
> 
> Some of the Xerox laser printer models support direct print of PDF files.

All business-grade laser's I've worked with for the past couple of 
decades have either built-in or add-on barcode fonts. Printing barcodes 
is no more difficult than switching between any other fonts.

Xerox has barcode font kits that install in the printer, so maybe look 
at those.

> Now, we uses DCPS för most of our printing needs. So, should I look for
> a way to setup a DCPS queue that will be transparent and just let the
> PDF file through (DCPS itself dosn't support PDF input)? Or is it
> simpler to just setup a queue using the telnetsym, lpd_smb or such?

Unless you need a PDF file for some reason other than just printing a 
form, why bother? Let the printer do the work.
> 
> The PDF files will be created on the fly just for the printout. And
> the reason is that the "ReportLab" module in Python has barcode support
> and I have not found any other simple way to create and print barcodes
> on a laser printer without going to some external windows/linux
> label/form processing software. But that only complicates the setup.

I don't know "ReportLab" but if it lets you switch fonts, then printing 
a barcode is no harder than switching between any fonts. You would need 
to set its height, width, stroke, etc., just like any other font.

> 
> Well, I just also looked at a kit "barcode" in the freeware kit and
> that can create PCL files having graphic commands to create barcodes.
> But with ReportLab it is easier to combine barcodes with other
> objects such as regular text on the same page.

I've never needed to use them but there are programs that will convert 
other file types (.doc, .ps, ?) to PCL.

Since you have Windows involved anyway, maybe you can find one of those 
that will work for you. Other than interfacing with an EasyLabel 
operation on Windows, all of my other barcode forms were born on and 
live on VMS.

The PDF step just seems like more work than needed.

> 
> Any ideas are welcome...
> 

I use a TCPIP$TELNETSYSM queue with the appropriate device definitions 
and setting as needed, such as:
$ DEFINE/SYSTEM TCPIP$TELNETSYM_RAW_TCP                 1
$ DEFINE/SYSTEM TCPIP$TELNETSYM_SUPPRESS_FORMFEEDS      35

I use a queue because it's easier to "automate" the print job(s) and 
this printer is used for more than just one form and by more than one 
person. i.e.,

$ INITIALIZE /QUEUE /START /SCHEDULE=(NOSIZE) -
         /PROCESSOR=TCPIP$TELNETSYM  /ON="192.168.1.122:9100" -
         /DEFAULT=(NOBURST,NOFLAG,NOFEED,NOTRAILER,FORM=DEFAULT) quename

The IP address is usually defined by a logical but that's the way it looks.

I never tried using DCPS for this so I don't know how that would work.

> Regards, Jan-Erik.

Doug