Information Center

Printer Setup (3270 Printer session, 5250 Printer session, 3270 Display session)

The Printer window appears the following contexts:

In a 3270 Display session:

Print To

Windows Printer

Choose Windows Printer
Windows Printer Name
Select Printer
Use Printer Definition Table (3270 only)

Print-to-File

Use Adobe PDF (3270)
Separate Files
View Every File in Browser (3270)
File Path and Name

Printer Definition Table (3270)
Printer Name
Printer Manufacturer (5250 only)
Printer Model (5250)
Paper Size (source 1) (5250)
Paper Size (source 2) (5250)
Envelope Size (5250)
ASCII Code Page 899 (5250)
Inactivity Time (secs) (5250)
Lock


Print To
Select to print to a local Windows printer (Windows platforms only), to another type of printer (for example, LPT1), or to a file. For 5250 printer sessions, printing to another type of printer requires a printer name. For 3270 printer sessions, printing to another type of printer requires a printer name and a printer definition table (PDT).

On Windows platforms, the default is Windows Printer. On non-Windows platforms, the default is Printer. On Mac OS X, the default is File.

Windows Printer

This group box lists the options that are available only on Windows platforms.

Choose Windows Printer
Select Use Default to use the default Windows printer.
The default is Use Default.
Windows Printer Name
Displays the currently-selected Windows printer name. On Emulator clients (for example, HOD.html), this field is read-only. Click Select Printer to change the printer selection. On Administration clients, (for example, HODAdmin.html), you can type any printer name in this field. Make sure the specified printer name is available on the client machines.
The default value is Windows Default Printer.
Select Printer
Click this button to see the Print Setup Windows Common window where you can specify various settings for printing, including the printer to be used.
Use Printer Definition Table (3270)
Choose whether a PDT is used or not.
If you select No, the Windows graphical device interface (GDI) is used, and you can specify a printer font (see Font).
If you select Yes, the Windows spooler API is used for printing with a PDT, and you are required to specify the PDT. This selection provides better print performance over the GDI in many cases. 
The default is No.

Print-to-File

This group box lists the options that are used for printing to a file instead of a printer.

Use Adobe PDF (3270)
Select Yes to generate an Adobe PDF file. This is an option only if you select to print to a file.
The default value is No.
Separate Files
When the print destination is a file, you can choose whether you want to save each print job to a unique file or to have jobs appended to each other in one file. When the Use Adobe PDF option is set to Yes, this option is not available and each print job is saved to a unique file.
View Every File in Browser (3270)

Select Yes to view files in a browser after they are created. You can then view or print the file from your browser. If you want to view Adobe PDF files, you need to have Adobe Acrobat Reader plug-in (or equivalent) installed in your browser environment.

Note that thumbnail images of Adobe PDF files generated by Host On-Demand do not always appear.

For some browsers, you must configure the security settings of the browser to allow a Java applet or application to launch an instance of the browser to display a local file (see Configuring a browser to display a local file ).

File Path and Name

When the print destination is a file, type the path and name of the file. If the file path and name already exist on the client, Host On-Demand prints the file to that destination and overwrites any files that already exist there. If the file path and name do not exist on the client, they are automatically created and the files will be printed to that destination. You can then view or print the file using the appropriate viewer on the client.

On Mac OS X, the default is:

| lpr -r $<
where -r deletes the file after printing. For information on how to set up a printer on Mac OS X for host printing, refer to Mac OS X host print support.

Note: If you do not type the path of the file, Host On-Demand will write the file to your browser's default directory. Your browser's default directory depends on your operating system. Refer to the Host Printing Reference for more information.

If you choose Separate = Yes in the Separate Files field, you have a choice:
If you choose Separate = No and the Use Adobe PDF option is set to No, a single file is created and each job is appended to this file. A system-generated print-job name is added to the start of each job so that jobs can be identified. If the file already exists, the system will continue to append to it.
You can also specify an external command to run after host print jobs using this field. Refer to Running external commands after host print jobs in the Online Help.

Refer to the Host Printing Reference for more information about Adobe PDF files, file paths, and file names.

Printer Definition Table (3270)
A printer definition table (PDT) formats print data sent by the host application so it can be printed on a workstation printer.

The PDT you select must be suitable for the printer and for the printer-emulation mode that the printer will use (PCL, PPDS etc; note that PostScript is not supported). You can create your own PDTs, which are automatically added to the pull-down list.

Select a name from the pull-down list.

If you are not sure which printer emulation modes are supported by your printer, you must refer to the printer's technical documentation, which usually lists the supported modes.

In some cases, it may be necessary to change the settings on the printer itself so that they match the mode intended for the PDT that you want to use. Some printers can switch between modes automatically or supply software that enables you to change the mode. It is important to refer to the printer documentation to decide which PDT to use and how to set the correct mode on the printer.

You might find it useful to go to the printer manufacturer's Web site for information.

  1. Most laser printers can use HP PCL Level 3. Level 3 commands are understood by later levels.
  2. Basic ASCII text mode may work if your printer does not support one of the other modes supported by Host On-Demand; however, if you use this mode, the commands that are unique to your printer will not be available.
  3. Host On-Demand does not support PostScript mode with a PDT. If you are using Host On-Demand on a Windows platform, you can use your PostScript printers as a Windows printer without a PDT.
  4. VT sessions do not use a PDT when non-Bidi code page is being selected. Printer data from the VT application is sent as-is to the printer device. You must insure that your VT application supports the printer you want to use.

Printer Name
Type the name of the port for the printer you want to use. On Windows workstations, you can also type the UNC (Universal Naming Convention) name of a network printer in either of two formats:


\\server_name\printer name

\\server's_host_name_or_IP_address\printer name

For example, if you are configuring a printer on Windows NT, you can type a port name such as LPT1, or a network printer name such as \\myhost\printer. If you are configuring a printer on UNIX, type a device name such as /dev/lp0.

Printer Manufacturer (5250)
The manufacturer of the printer that will be used for this session.

Note: At the release of this version of Host On-Demand, the Printer Manufacturer and Printer Model lists are consistent with the current iSeries HPT support level. If your iSeries HPT support level is older than the level assumed by Host On-Demand, some printers in the Printer Model list might not be supported by the iSeries. If so, it is recommended that you upgrade the iSeries.

If your iSeries HPT support level is more recent than the level assumed by Host On-Demand, then certain printer models or manufacturers supported by iSeries might not be available in the lists. If there is an existing printer model (in the list) that matches your physical printer, you can still use HPT. Otherwise, you must use a customizing object.

The iSeries Software Knowledge Base contains information about customizing objects for each supported printer model. For a link to the most recent i5/OS or OS/400 information, refer to the Host On-Demand readme file.

Supported Host Print Transform printer models for i5/OS

See IBM eServer iSeries Support: Software Technical Documentation to find the latest supported printer models for the i5/OS if your printer is not listed in the Host On-Demand session properties for a 5250 Printer session.

Printer Model (5250)
The model of the printer that will be used for this session.

Paper Size (source 1) (5250)
Specifies the size of the paper in Source 1.

Paper Size (source 2) (5250)
Specifies the size of the paper in Source 2.

Envelope Size (5250)
Specifies the size of the paper in the envelope feeder.

ASCII Code Page 899 (5250)
Click Yes if your printer supports ASCII code page 899. This is not resident on most printers.

Inactivity Time (secs) (5250)
Specifies the amount of time to wait for printing to start. If printing does not start within the time set, an Intervention Required message pops up. The valid values are between 10 and 255 seconds. A value of 0 disables the timer and a message never appears.

The default is 10.

Lock
Select Lock to prevent users from changing the associated startup value for a session. You cannot change values for most fields because the fields are unavailable. However, functions accessed from the session menu or tool bar can be changed.

Related topics

  • Non-Java print mode and Java print mode
  • Switching print modes in display emulation sessions
  • Advanced Options (Page Setup)
  • Mac OS X host print support
  • Page Setup (3270 Printer session, 3270 Display session)
  • Configuring a browser to display a printer output file