Printing via AUX-port of terminal to printer, how is this done?

Bill Vermillion bill at bilver.UUCP
Fri Dec 29 12:24:03 AEST 1989


In article <1908 at rivm05.UUCP> ccea3 at rivm.UUCP (Adri Verhoef) writes:
>
>  What I'm looking for is a program that can be used for printing
>to the AUX-port of a terminal.
>
>  Normally you put your print requests via lp(1) in a queue, a daemon
>will come along then and handle your request.  With a printer interface
>you can "drive" the printer.

[lots of stuff deleted]

Unless I am mis-interpreting your request what you want is really fairly
simple.  If Unix v or derivatives just go to the interface programs in the
spooler directory.  Use the interface that drives the printer but just modify
slightly.

Define a printer name that will be attached to the terminal.  Makes it's
destination the serial port of the terminal.  Do all your processing, cutting,
filtering, etc, that you normally do, but in the interface script, modify it
so  that the first thing that is sent to the port turns off the keyboard and
then turns on the parallel port.  vt100's use something like \E[5i to turn on
and \E[4i to turn it off.  wyse50 use Cntrl X to turn on, contrl T to turn
off.   At the end of the script use the sequence to turn the port off and the
keyboard back on. (Those esc sequences are from memory so check your terminal
manual first.)

All you have to do then is tell the system the destination.  It is best to
tell only the person who's terminal the printer is attached to the
destination.  Anyone can print to the terminal, but it's not polite. :-)

I'd guess about 70% of the systems I work on have printers  attached to the
terminals, or PCs with terminal software.  They like to be able to do local
proofs of letters, etc before going to the shared quality printers or laser
printer.  Local printing is reall nice on systems  with the smart serial cards
that multiplex the data so you can print while still using the keyboards.

Hope this helps, as the other answers I saw were rather vague. 
-- 
Bill Vermillion - UUCP: {uiucuxc,hoptoad,petsd}!peora!tarpit!bilver!bill
                      : bill at bilver.UUCP



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