Changing the NOPRTBDR (No Print Border) Tags to Increase the No Print Border

Resolving The Problem

Note: This document was previously titled Changing Left and Top Default Margins.

This document provides instructions for modifying a Workstation Customization Table (WSCST) to increase the no print border when using Host Print Transform (or HPT).

This is done by retrieving and modifying a Workstation Customization Table (WSCST) and changing the values in the Set Text Length in Lines (TEXTLENL), Set Top Margin in Inches (TOPMARGI) and Initialize Printer (INITPRT) tags.

N1010120: Changing the INITPRT (Initialize Printer) Tag to Move Text Toward the Top of the Page

Note: This document pertains only to printers that use the HP PCL4 printer language or above. If this is the case, the PRTDTASTRM (Printer Data Stream) tag in the WSCST source code will show the DATASTREAM set to HPPCL4, HPPCL4I, HPPCL5, or HPPCL5I.

This document was last updated on 27 November 2012.

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(*HP4) SRCMBR(HP4)
         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(HP4) 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(HP4) Press the Enter key.

Make any changes necessary to the WSCST object source code. Refer to the following sections, beginning with Commenting Out the TEXTLENL (Set Text Length in Lines) and/or TOPMARGINI (Set Top Margin in Inches) Tags, 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/HP4) 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(*WSCSTLETTER)           WSCST(QGPL/HP4) 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(*WSCSTLETTER)         WSCST(HP4) 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.

Commenting Out the TEXTLENL (Set Text Length in Lines) and/or TOPMARGINI (Set Top Margin in Inches) Tags

When changing the NOPRTBDR (No Print Border) tags, it is generally recommended to comment out either the TEXTLENL (Set Text Length in Lines) tag, or the TOPMARGINI (Set Top Margin in Inches) tag, or both.

The TEXTLENL (Set Text Length in Lines) tag is used to send a Text Length PCL control to the printer. If Text Length PCL control follows a Vertical Motion Index (VMI) PCL control, the physical size of the page is recalculated by the printer. This may cause one or more lines of text from the bottom of each page to be printed at the top of the next page. Therefore, it is recommended the TEXTLENL (Set Text Length in Lines) tag be commented out. The default setting for the TEXTLENL (Set Text Length in Lines) tag is:

    :TEXTLENL
      VAROFFSET=    3
      VARLEN=    4
      VARTYPE=CHRDEC
      DATA ='1B266C00000000461B26613052'X.

Once commented out, the TEXTLENL tag should look like the following:

/*  :TEXTLENL                              */
/*    VAROFFSET=    3                      */
/*    VARLEN=    4                         */
/*    VARTYPE=CHRDEC                       */
/*    DATA ='1B266C00000000461B26613052'X. */

The TOPMARGINI (Set Top Margin in Inches) tag is used to send Vertical Motion Index (VMI) and Top Margin PCL controls to the printer to set the line spacing and the top margin. Since the NOPRTBDR tags and being changed to set a different margin, it is recommended to comment out the TOPMARGINI tag, so it does not conflict with the NOPRTBDR tags. The default setting for the TOPMARGINI (Set Top Margin in Inches) tag is:

 :TOPMARGINI                          
      VAROFFSET=    8                    
      VARLEN=    4                        
      VARTYPE=CHRDEC                      
      CNVNUM=    1                        
      CNVDEN=   48                        
      DATA ='1B266C31431B266C0000000045'X.

Once commented out, the TOPMARGINI tag should look like the following:

/*  :TOPMARGINI                            */
/*    VAROFFSET=    8                      */
/*    VARLEN=    4                         */
/*    VARTYPE=CHRDEC                       */
/*    CNVNUM=    1                         */
/*    CNVDEN=   48                         */
/*    DATA ='1B266C31431B266C0000000045'X. */

Default Values of the NOPRTBDR (No Print Border) Tags

The default values of the NOPRTBDR (No Print Border) tags are:

:NOPRTBDR
      OPTION=TOP
      ORIENT=PORTRAIT
      DATA =  240.
    :NOPRTBDR
      OPTION=LEFT
      ORIENT=PORTRAIT
      DATA =  360.
    :NOPRTBDR
      OPTION=RIGHT
      ORIENT=PORTRAIT
      DATA =  360.
    :NOPRTBDR
      OPTION=BOTTOM
      ORIENT=PORTRAIT
      DATA =  240.
    :NOPRTBDR
      OPTION=TOP
      ORIENT=LANDSCAPE
      DATA =  240.
    :NOPRTBDR
      OPTION=LEFT
      ORIENT=LANDSCAPE
      DATA =  288.
    :NOPRTBDR
      OPTION=RIGHT
      ORIENT=LANDSCAPE
      DATA =  288.
    :NOPRTBDR
      OPTION=BOTTOM
      ORIENT=LANDSCAPE
      DATA =  240.

Increasing the No Print Border to 1/2 Inch

To increase the no print border to 1/2 inch, change all the top and bottom no print border values to 720:

 :NOPRTBDR
     OPTION=TOP, BOTTOM, LEFT, or RIGHT
     ORIENT=PORTRAIT or LANDSCAPE
     DATA =  720.

Increasing the No Print Border to 1/4 Inch

To increase the no print border to 1/4 inch, change all the top and bottom no print border values to 360:

 :NOPRTBDR
     OPTION=TOP, BOTTOM, LEFT, or RIGHT
     ORIENT=PORTRAIT or LANDSCAPE
     DATA =  360.

Reducing or Removing the No Print Border

Removing the no print border completely requires a 2-step process. Change the NOPRTBDR (No Print Border) DATA values to 0, and add an offset registration control in the INITPRT (Initialize Printer) tag. If both top and left margin offset changes are required, two controls are required. The left margin control is '1B266C2D31323055', and the top margin control is '1B266C2D3132305A'. These controls do a negative registration of the 1/6" normal no print border; therefore, printing starts on the edge of the page.

To change only the top margins, leave the other tags as they are.

For more information on reducing or removing the no print border, refer to the following document:

N1010120: Changing the INITPRT (Initialize Printer) Tag to Move Text Toward the Top of the Page

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