Printer settings

The Printer tab contains the following options.

Printer

Displays and sets information about the Windows printer on which the host print jobs are printed:

Device Name: Displays the name of the currently defined Windows printer. (display only field)
Output Port: Displays the port that is being used by the above printer. (display only field)
Always use Windows Default Printer on Startup: If checked, BlueZone automatically uses the Windows default printer upon startup.
Tip: When using the Always Use Default Windows Printer on Startup feature, edit printer names in the Printer Definition File for the known target printers to automatically match the printer definition file to the printer.
Change Printer: Click to change the current printer shown in the Device Name window above.
Printer Info: Click to display detailed information about the currently selected printer.

Method of Printing

Windows API (Application Program Interface): When this option is selected, the settings on the Page tab, Layout tab, Fonts tab and Options tab are the settings that control print output. In other words, the BlueZone application interfaces with the Windows print driver to control the print output. This option gives you complete control over print output.
Passthrough - Send All Data Directly to the Printer: If selected, BlueZone bypasses the Windows print driver and sends the data directly to the printer. When this option is selected, the Page, Layout, Fonts, and Options tabs are removed; all printer controls are contained in the data steam of the print job. Select one of the following formatting options:
- Normal: Uses EBCDIC host data with SCS formatting.
- AFP Support: Advanced Function Printing, ASCII data within SCS Transparent blocks.
- No EBCDIC Conversion: Uses ASCII data with no SCS formatting.
Passthrough using Printer Definition - Convert Host Commands to Escapes: Selecting this option, allows direct control of the printer by the printer emulator. Host SCS printer control information is converted to ASCII printer escape sequences contained in the supplied Printer Definition File. When this option is selected, the Font tab is removed.
- Printer Definition List Box: Displays the currently selected printer definition. This is automatically selected using the closest match to the name of the selected Windows printer. If necessary, select a printer or printer family that is close to the target printer. A small subset of ASCII escape sequences are supported because only a limited set of functions are available in the SCS data stream.
Print to File - Redirect Print output to File: Select to enable the print to file feature. Note that selecting this option causes only the Print to File tab to appear.
Suppress Form Feed at End of Job: If selected, BlueZone eliminates the form feed sent by the host to prevent the printing of an extra blank page at the end of the print job.

Tip: When printing preprinted forms or specially formatted print jobs, use passthrough printing and a printer definition file. These settings ensures that the font selections are not scaled and are the proper pitch and line density.