how to ensure, that document are really printed?

[RoBiK]

Hi!

I'm working on application that creates documents and sends them to the
printer (printer queue on a win2000 print server).
It is important, that all documents get printed. How can i ensure this?
I'm working with system event log, to get the outcome of the print job,
but the log entry in eventlog is misleading... it says "document was
printed", but actually it only means, that the data was sent to the
printer. If there is for example an power outage, the printer looses
his buffer and the documents are lost.

Does anyone know a solution for my problem?
Where can i find some in-the-depth documentation on how windows
printing actually works?

Thanx for any help

Robert

 

[Danny Sanders]

Not sure you can get an accurate report of this. It would *have* to be
something that detects that the page sent through the printer actually had
print on it. There is the possibility that the printer would be out of
toner, and not really "printing". For your example of the power outage, that
would be Windows issue. Somehow Windows would have to recognize the power
outage and then determine if the print queue got printed or not. For the
toner issue that would have to be something on the printer to tell whether
or not there is/was toner during the print. You might be able to eliminate
the power outage problem using a UPS on the printer and server.

Determining if the page actually got toner on it or not, I don't know if you
can do this or not.

hth
DDS W 2k MVP MCSE

 

[RoBiK]

Danny Thanks for your answer.
We are using hi-speed color laser printers wich are pretty inteligent,
so theese can handle the problem situations (no tonner, no paper, paper
jam...) pretty well, that is not my concern.
We had following situation: There was a paper jam in the printer, some
user tryed to resolve it and at the and he swiched the printer off. Now
all the documents that were in the buffer of the printer were gone. But
windows does not track the printjob after it was uploaded into the
printer buffer, so yue see "document printed" in event log wich is not
true. I'm sure that the printer is capable of reporting the outcome of
a print job, bud windows doesn't care. I know that there are software
products (spooler replacement) from third parties, wich can determine
if the job was really printed. The question ist, can windows do it too?

From what i have seen until now i would say it can't. But there must be

a way to monitor theese things - the third party software does it - so
how can i acomplish this?

 

[Danny Sanders]

if the job was really printed. The question ist, can windows do it too?

a way to monitor theese things - the third party software does it - so
how can i acomplish this?

Windows can't without a third party application.

hth
DDS W 2k MVP MCSE

 

[RoBiK]

Danny thank you again.

Have you any idea how this thirt party applications do it? I'm a
developer, so i should by able to implement my own solution (it it is
not too complicated), but i have no idea where to start.

Thank you

 

[Duncan.Jones]

http://www.thecodeproject.com/vb/net/printwatchvbnet.asp
(If you are a .Net developer, anyhow)