PCL/Macro help please

[geojf3]

Hi all,

I am working on a Windows XP pc. The printer is a HP Laserjet 8150 that is connected to an IBM iSeries.

Currently we have a commercial package on the iSeries that prints checks on the laserjet for one department. That package has a diskette that we loaded into the laserjet once to store the macros/images/forms.

We are trying to setup another department to have their checks printed in a similar way. I have designed a check in MS Word, complete with logos and a signature and converted to a .ovl file.

I am stuck (so far) as to getting the .ovl to the printer. What would I need to do to get the .ovl on a diskette that can be loaded in the printer? Sending the file via command lines will not work. Also, is there a way to list off what macros are available on the printer?

Thank you in advance.

 

[DansDadUK]

Comments:

(1) PCL5 Fonts & macros loaded on a printer are normally held in volatile memory (RAM), and are deleted when the printer is powered-off.

Some of the more expensive printer variants include a hard-disk drive, which may be able to hold fonts and macros on a more permanent basis.

It may be possible to view the file structure on the hard disk using telnet commands, or (more easily) perhaps via the Embedded Web Server (just point your browser at the IP address of the printer to see what is available).

Where fonts and macros are held on hard disk, they have to be tranferred to volatile memory RAM (under programmatic control) before use.


(2) There are probably commercial offerings which can create PCL5 macros from 'print to file' .PRN files.
I think (not sure) that PageTech (

http://www.pagetech.com

), or Red Titan (

http://www.redtitan.com

), amongst others, may provide such a utility.


(3) As far a I'm aware, LaserJet printers do NOT have floppy disk drives, so your reference to diskette presumably implies "... how to download files from a workstation (e.g. a Windows PC) to the printer hard drive ...".

 

[geojf3]

So maybe I am asking the wrong question.

This is what we are trying to do. We have multiple HP laserjet printers (8150, 9050dn) they are not networked - they do not have an ip address, they are connected directly to an IBM iSeries. We would like to be able to create (or have created) laser forms/checks for our departments to be used with the data from the iSeries.

Is there any software and/or websites that would help with this? I have searched for months and keep finding that "it can be done somehow" and "there is software out there", but I have yet to find anything specific.

Any guidance will be appreciated.

 

[DansDadUK]

Have you asked for advice from the vendor of your "commercial package"?

Have you contacted PageTech, or Red Titan, or perhaps FormsElectric (

http://www.visual.co.uk

) to see if they can help?

Bear in mind that any available application is much more likely to run on Windows or *n*x systems than on IBM iSeries (although I have to admit that I don't know what OS that system uses).


In brief, because a .PRN print file will contain a number of PCL escape sequences (and probably PJL commands as well) that are not compatible with use in a PCL5 macro, a 'prn->macro converter' has to parse the .PRN file and remove the disallowed sequences/commands.

If you look in the FAQ section of this (PCL) forum, you will find an entry which describes how to obtain (in PDF format) various PCL5 and PJL manuals.
One of the chapters in the "PCL5 Technical Reference Manual" provides a good background description of how PCL5 macros are constructed and used.

 

[jlasman]

How did you load the overlays to the printer that you are using now? Does your application not have some facility to inject a file into the print stream?



Jim Asman

http://www.spectracolorservices.com

 

[jmanj]

If your file is purely with PCL control characters check with SwiftView. They have pretty good applications that converts PCL files into printable objects. They have a lot of converter programs that you can use.

If you are trying to create checks, forms complete with graphics then I would suggest to buy SQR language. I used to program creation of checks, W2's and other documents with high graphics such as MICR, signatures, logos etc in an iSeries (AS400) using db2. SQR is pretty good at connecting to different databases all at the same time.