Managing printers and print jobs

Creating and using printer forms

A preprinted ``printer form'' is a blank paper form that you load into your printer. An application typically generates a file that, when printed on the blank form, fills out the form. The print service includes facilities to create and administer forms.

To create a new printer form:

Create a form description file that specifies the format of the form.
For example, create a file /tmp/check.desc and include all or any subset of the following information (substitute your information for the values in bold):
```
   Page length: 66
   Page width:  80
   Number of pages: 2
   Line pitch: 10
   Character pitch: 16
   Character set choice: any
   Ribbon color: blue
   Comment:
          Check form
   Alignment pattern:
   
         XXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXX
                                     xxxxxx
         xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
```
The print service uses the alignment pattern to line up the forms before printing begins and prompts you to perform an alignment before printing.
Depending on your printer, specify page length in lines, inches (i), or centimeters (c). Specify page width in columns, inches (i), or centimeters (c). In the example above, page length is specified as 66 lines. If the printer recognizes inches, specify the page length as 11i.
In the Printer Manager, select Forms from the System menu.
Click on New.
Enter the name of the new form in the ``Form Name'' field and the name of the form description file in the ``Filename'' field.
In our example, the filename is /tmp/check_desc, and the name of the form is check. Choose a name that describes the form, because you use this name when you mount the form.
Clicking on OK in the New Form window creates the directory (called check) for the form in /usr/spool/lp/admins/lp/forms and the files necessary for the spooling subsystem to recognize the form. One of the files that is created in the form directory, describe, contains a copy of the form description file.
NOTE: If you make changes to the form description file, you must modify the form.
To specify which users are allowed or denied access to the form, click on the Users button in the System Forms window:
- To deny access to the form, select the user from the ``Allowed'' list and click on Deny.
- To allow access to the form, select the user from the ``Denied'' list and click on Allow.
Specify which printers have access to the form by selecting the printer from the list, then selecting Advanced from the Settings menu, Forms, then Allow.
Mount the form. See ``Mounting and unmounting forms''.

The form is now ready to use.

To specify the form with lp(C) from the command line, enter:

lp -f form_name file_name -d printer_name

When you specify a form to lp, the print system checks the printer for a mounted form. If no form is mounted, the job waits in the queue until you mount the appropriate form.

If you mount a form on a printer and then print a file that does not require the form to that printer, you must unmount the form. See ``Mounting and unmounting forms''.

To examine an existing form, select Forms from the System menu. Then, select the form to examine and click on Examine.

To modify an existing form, select Forms from the System menu. Then, select the form to modify and click on Modify. Enter the name of the modified form description file in the ``Filename'' field. This associates the new form description file with the form name.

To remove a form from the system, select Forms from the System menu. Then, select the form to delete and click on Delete.

Mounting and unmounting forms

Before the print service prints files that require a preprinted form, you must mount the form on a printer.

If you have set up alerting for the form, the print service alerts you when enough print requests are queued for it to be mounted. See ``Alerting to mount forms and font cartridges''.

When you mount a form, you should verify that it is lined up properly. If you specified an alignment pattern with the form, you can request that this be printed repeatedly until you have adjusted the printer so that the alignment pattern looks correct. See ``Creating and using printer forms''.

Mounting a form involves first loading the form onto the printer and then telling the print service that it is ready to mount. Because it is difficult to do this on a printer that is currently printing and because the print service continues to print files not needing the form on the printer, you should disable the printer first.

To mount the form:

Disable the printer.
Load the new form onto the printer.
In the Printer Manager, select the printer on which you want to mount the form from the list.
Select Advanced from the Settings menu, select Forms, then select Mount.
Select the form to mount from the list, then click on OK.
Reenable the printer.

To unmount a form, in the Printer Manager, select the printer on which the form is mounted. Select Advanced from the Settings menu, select Forms, then select Mount. Select ``none'' from the ``Mounted forms'' list.

NOTE: Unless a form is mounted on a particular printer, the print service does not send files that require a form to that printer.