Printing 15 CPI Rather Than 17.1 CPI on Epson Dot Matrix Printers and Compatible Printers

Resolving The Problem

This document provides instructions modifying a Host Print Transform (HPT) Workstation customizing object (WSCST) to print 15 (CPI) rather than 17.1 CPI on Epson dot matrix printers and printers from other manufacturers that support an Epson emulation mode.

This change is done by retrieving and modifying a Workstation Customization Table (WSCST) and changing the settings in the Font Group Entry (FNTGRPE) and/or Set Characters Per Inch (CPI) tags

Note: Not all Epson dot matrix and compatible printers support 15 CPI, and printers that support 15 CPI do so only when in Epson mode rather than IBM Proprinter mode. These instructions work only when these conditions are met.

This document was last updated on 28 October 2013.

Caution: These instructions are provided as is. Any assistance with editing the Workstation Customization Table must be done through a consulting agreement.

Basic Steps for Creating and Using a Workstation Customization Object

The following are the basic steps for creating and using a Workstation Customization Object (WSCST). Regardless of the particular issues you are attempting to resolve, these steps must always be taken. This information is intended to provide a 'quick start' to creating a WSCST object for users who have at least some familiarity with creating them and with configuring printers.

Note: Additional, in-depth details for creating a WSCST object can be found in the following document:

N1010140: Instructions for Modifying a Workstation Customizing Object (WSCST)

The following are the basic 'quick start' steps.

Step 1: Retrieve the WSCST source code. Type the following command on the operating system command line:

Important Note: Use the Manufacturer type and model (MFRTYPMDL) that is appropriate for your printer. Also, the Source member (in the following example, HP4) is a name that is appropriate to your customizing object. This is what you will be calling your workstation customizing object in Step 3.

RTVWSCST DEVTYPE(*TRANSFORM) MFRTYPMDL(*EPDFX5000) SRCMBR(EPDFX5000)
         SRCFILE(QGPL/QTXTSRC)

Press the Enter key.

Step 2: Edit the source code by using PDM or SEU:

o	To use PDM, on the operating system command line type the following: WRKMBRPDM FILE(QGPL/QTXTSRC) MBR(EPDFX5000) Press the Enter key. Select Option 2 to edit.
o	To use SEU, on the operating system command line type the following: STRSEU SRCFILE(QGPL/QTXTSRC) SRCMBR(EPDFX5000) Press the Enter key.

Make any changes necessary to the WSCST object source code. Refer to the following section Changing the Font Group Entry (FNTGRPE) Tag for Printing 15 CPI or Adding a Characters per Inch (CPI) Tag for Printing 15 CPI to make your changes, then save and exit. Continue with Step 3.

Step 3: Create the WSCST object using the CRTWSCST command. On the operating system command line type the following:

Important Note: Match the SRCMBR name from Step 1 to the WSCST object name that is created in this step.

CRTWSCST WSCST(QGPL/EPDFX5000) SRCFILE(QGPL/QTXTSRC)

Press the Enter key.

Step 4: Add the WSCST to the printer configuration by using the Change Device Print command (CHGDEVPRT), the Change Output Queue command (CHGOUTQ), or by changing the PC5250 printer emulation session configuration.

o	To add the WSCST to a device description, on the operating system command line type the following: CHGDEVPRT DEVD(device_name) TRANSFORM(*YES) MFRTYPMDL(*WSCSTCONT132)           WSCST(QGPL/EPDFX5000) Press the Enter key.
o	To add the WSCST to a remote output queue description, on the operating system command line type the following: CHGOUTQ OUTQ(queue_name) TRANSFORM(*YES) MFRTYPMDL(*WSCSTCONT132)         WSCST(EPDFX5000) Press the Enter key.
o	To add the WSCST to a PC5250 printer emulation session, do the following: a In the PC5250 printer session, click on Communication > Configure. b Click on the Setup button. c In the Configure PC5250 Printer Emulation window, select the box next to Transform Print Data to ASCII on the iSeries and select the Printer Model value of *WSCST. d In the same window, specify the name of the WSCST in the Customizing Object parameter and the library where it is found in the Library parameter (for example, Customizing Object HP4 and Library QGPL). e Click OK three times. f Click File > Save to save the configuration.

Note: If any changes are made to the WSCST object source code after the CRTWSCST command has been issued, it is necessary to issue the CRTWSCST command again. The printer writer must be ended and restarted for the changes to take effect.

Changing the Font Group Entry (FNTGRPE) Tag for Printing 15 CPI

Use PDM or SEU to edit the source file member specified in the Retrieve Workstation Customizing Object (RTVWSCST) command. Next, find the Font Group Entry (FNTGRPE) tag in the table that has MINFID= 211 and MAXFID= 239. To find this tag, type FNTGRPE on the SEU command line and press the F16 key.

This entry tells HPT what control to send to the printer when the font ID is in font range 211 - 239 (the font range for 15 CPI). The following table shows the settings needed to print 15 CPI spooled files at 15 CPI (rather than 17.1 CPI) when printing to an Epson dot matrix or compatible printer:

Default Settings for Epson DFX-5000	Modified Settings for Epson DFX-5000
:FNTGRPE       MINFID=  211       MAXFID=  239       FNTSTR='14121B78001B500F'X       FNTEND=''X       FNTWTH=''X       EURODATA=''X.	:FNTGRPE       MINFID=  211       MAXFID=  239       FNTSTR='14121B78001B67'X       FNTEND=''X       FNTWTH=''X       EURODATA=''X.

To create the WSCST object and implement it, perform Steps 3 and 4 (above).

Adding a Characters per Inch (CPI) Tag for Printing 15 CPI

Use PDM or SEU to edit the source file member that you specified in the Retrieve Workstation Customizing Object (RTVWSCST) command. Next, find the Characters per Inch (CPI) tag in the table that has the CPI=166. To find this tag, go back to the top of the source member by typing T on the SEU command line and pressing the Enter key. Then, type CPI on the SEU command line, and press the F16 key.

This entry tells HPT what control to send to the printer to select 15 characters per inch (CPI). The following table shows the CPI entry that should be added to ensure that HPT prints 15 CPI spooled files at 15 CPI (rather than at 17.1 CPI) when printing to an Epson dot matrix or compatible printer:

Default Settings for Epson DFX-5000	Modified Settings for Epson DFX-5000
:CPI       CPI=166       DATA ='14121B78001B500F'X.	:CPI       CPI=15       DATA ='14121B78001B67'X.     :CPI       CPI=166       DATA ='14121B78001B500F'X.

To create the WSCST object and implement it, perform Steps 3 and 4 (above).