PS2AFP problems with PS level2 msg0423-168
ITEM: RTA000151081
Q:
Topic thread:
Printer Systems (PRINT)
PSF/AIX
PRINT XPSF6000
Hello,
My customer has installed PrintShop Mail from Atlas software. This
product is a mail/merge program and produces level2 PS. When we try
to use to PS2AFP the transform produces:
0423-168 error: PS2AFPD system error; cannot communicate with child
process, rc=2.
I found one item in the WWQA search which references this problem;
however we have already applied the solution; ptf:U450109.
The postscript level file2 consists of the fixed data, followed by
the variable address data.
I use the default PS2AFPD.CFG file with the PS level2 setting.
Is it possible to transform such a PS level2 file with the PS2AFP
in PSF for AIX V2.1?
And which driver should be select in Windows 95 to be used with
the PrintShop Mail software?
Thanks for a quick reply.
A:
I suspect the ps2afpd daemon has not been started. At the AIX command
prompt, type "ps -ef | grep afp". If you don't see ps2afpd, then you
should start it, and you should specify the full path name for the
command itself and for the default configuration file. There is an
elusive "bug" that we can't recreate reliably enough to fix it, but
if you start the PS daemon without specifying its configuration file,
you may get errors that it can't find its files. So, to start the
daemon from the command line, type:
/usr/lpp/psf/bin/ps2afpd -C/usr/lpp/psf/ps2afp/ps2afpd.cfg
or whatever the name of your daemon config file is. There are
instructions in Print Administration for setting the daemon up to
start automatically at reboot (by creating/updating /etc/rc.local and
/etc/rc).
The PostScript transform in PSF/AIX does support PostScript Level 2.
You should select a generic PostScript driver in the application; ones
that work well are Generic PostScript or Apple LaserWriter. Other
drivers may include commands that are only supported by the devices for
which they are intended, and thus will not work with the ps2afp
transform.
Other ps2afp hints:
In case you're not familiar with it, you can use the psfmsg command
to get additional information on error messages that start with 042x,
i.e., psfmsg 0423-168. The error log for the PostScript transform is
in /var/psf/ps2afp/ps2afpd.log; sometimes that provides helpful clues.
The default ps2afpd.cfg and ps2afp.cfg assume 240 pel printers that
support IO1_G4 compression. You may need to change those values for
your installation. You may also need to change the values for length
and width of the clipping window in those files; defaults are 7.78 in.
by 10.28 in. The values in the ps2afp.cfg override those in the
ps2afpd.cfg, so you should change both for best performance and results.
Also, be sure and use a formdef with 0,0 offset when printing. If you
need to specifically place the image on the page, you should use the
x and y offsets available to the transform. This combination will give
the best control of the placement of the image.
I hope that helps. Thanks for searching WWQ&A first, too˘ :)
Q:
Thanks for your quick reply.
I followed the PSF admin Guide and indeed did the PS -EF|GREP PS2AFP
The daemon is running and I also did the rc.local stuff.
Although I did not start the daemon with the configuration file
I did see in the var/psf/ps2afp/ps2afpd.log that all files are being
used no strange msg sofar, then when the PS file arrives I see
the "interrupt ˘" and "SIGCHLD" and the msg mentioned above.
Is the level 2 available when I use the default cfg file for the
daemon? The printer we use is a 3900-0w1 via TR .
Any other tip I got is that I should use the adobe PS 4.1 driver
with the PPDS option, have you an opinion about that driver?
A:
PostScript Level 2 support is enabled by default. The easiest way
to tell is to check and see what the value for ps_program is in
ps2afpd.cfg. If it is ppxps2i, then that's the level 2 interpreter.
(If it were ps2api, that would be the old level 1 interpreter).
I am not familiar with the Adobe PS 4.1 driver you mention.
You can send me the file and I'll try transforming it here. Move the
PostScript source between systems in binary mode.
S e a r c h - k e y w o r d s:
psf/6000 psf/aix pod infoprint ps2afp postscript transform 0423-168
error level 2 l2 ps2afpd driver
WWQA: ITEM: RTA000151081 ITEM: RTA000151081
Dated: 07/1998 Category: XPSF6000
This HTML file was generated 99/06/24~12:43:39
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