Selecting a font

NetSpool assumes a fixed-pitch font when it formats data. Therefore, you must use a fixed-pitch font to print the data so you can maintain the correct alignment of characters. If you select the Convert to PCL formatting option, you must use a fixed-pitch, scalable font to print the data.

If the printer's default font is not suitable, you can specify a font by using one of these methods (the method you use depends on whether the printer is controlled by IP PrintWay™ or PSF):
Printers that PSF controls
Name the font in the Character sets field on the Allocation panel of the printer definition.
Printers that IP PrintWay controls
You can specify a font in one of these places:
  • Specify PCL commands to select the font in the IP PrintWay Document header field in the printer definition. IP PrintWay sends the PCL commands in this field to the printer. Therefore, this font is used to print all data sets transmitted to the printer, not only data sets created by NetSpool.
  • Specify PCL commands to select the font in the NetSpool Beginning of File exit. This font is used to print all data sets created by NetSpool.
  • Name the font in the Character sets field on the Allocation panel of the printer definition. Use this method if you use the AFP to PCL or AFP to PostScript transform, or you print to a remote system that runs PSF, such as Ricoh InfoPrint Manager or Ricoh ProcessDirector V3.0 or later. Otherwise, the font you specify in this field is ignored.
Guidelines:
  1. If a fixed-pitch font is not suitable for all of your print jobs, you can set up more than one printer definition for the same printer. Then, specify a fixed-pitch font in the printer definition that NetSpool uses.
  2. If you are using PSF printers, consider specifying the chars attribute in embedded job attributes.
  3. PCL commands in the NetSpool Beginning of File exit override PCL commands in the Document header field.
  4. If you use the AFP to PCL or the AFP to PostScript transform, do not specify a PCL command in the NetSpool Beginning of File exit because the AFP to PCL and AFP to PostScript transforms cannot interpret PCL commands.
  5. If you select the SCS automatic page orientation field, specify the size of the font in the Line density and Print density fields instead of in a PCL command so that NetSpool can accurately determine the appropriate page orientation. This is because NetSpool cannot detect the size of a font that is specified in a PCL command or in the Character sets field.
Parent topic: Planning printer and printer pool definitions for NetSpool

Procedure for specifying attributes

To complete ISPF panels to specify a fixed-pitch font:
  • If the printer is controlled by PSF, name the font in the Character sets field on the Allocation panel.
  • If the printer is controlled by IP PrintWay, and IP PrintWay uses the AFP to PCL transform or the AFP to PostScript transform for line data, name the font in the Character sets field on the Allocation panel.
  • If the printer is controlled by IP PrintWay, and IP PrintWay does not use a transform for line data, specify PCL commands to select the font in the Document header field on the IP PrintWay Options panel. Also, be sure to reset the printer to its original state in the Document trailer field.
Tip: If you need to specify the same fields in more than one printer definition, specify the fields in components. Then, include those components in each printer definition to which the components apply.

Examples

Example 1. Specifying a fixed-pitch font for a printer controlled by PSF

This example shows how to complete the ISPF panels to specify a fixed-pitch font for a printer that is controlled by PSF. Also, use this example if the printer definition is controlled by IP PrintWay and IP PrintWay uses the AFP to PCL or the AFP to PostScript transform.

                                   Allocation
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Resource Related Values:
 
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   Character sets  . 60DB   ____   ____   ____
 
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In this example, PSF, the AFP to PCL transform, and the AFP to PostScript transform use the Gothic Text Latin1, fixed-pitch, font. The pitch is 10 characters per inch.

Example 2. Specifying a fixed-pitch font for a printer controlled by IP PrintWay

This example shows how to complete the ISPF panels to specify PCL commands to select a fixed-pitch font to print the data and then reset the printer to its default settings.

                           IP PrintWay Options
 
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 Document header  . . <ESC>%-12345X<ESC>E<ESC>(8U<esc>(s0p10h0s3b4102T(extend)
    / Translate document header
 Document trailer . . <ESC>E<ESC>%-12345X                             (extend)
    / Translate document trailer
 
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The PCL commands in the Document header field reset the printer to its default settings and then select the fixed-pitch Letter Gothic font. The meanings of the PCL commands in the example are:
<ESC>%-12345X
Reset the printer and enter PJL mode.
<ESC>E
Reset the printer.
<ESC>(8U
Select the Roman-8 symbol set.
<ESC>(s0p10h0s3b4102T
Set fixed spacing (0p), 10 characters per inch (10h), upright style (0s), bold weight (3b), and Letter Gothic typeface (4102T).
Notes:
  1. The last letter of each command is a capital letter to denote the end of the command.
  2. When you select the NetSpool Convert to PCL formatting option, the value in the Print density field overrides the number of characters per inch set in the Document header field.