Network Printing Problem from Windows 95

Symptom

When printing from ACS software under Windows 95, you see the error message:

 Error occurred in starting to print document (87).

This error message pops up after the plotting progress dialog box shows

 Plotting Completed: 100%

and then disappears. Other programs may print correctly to the same printer. This error message appears only when printing from Artwork’s plotting modules such as GBRVU/W, GDSVU/W and GSDPLOT/W.

Reason

This occurs only with network printers, and only when the network printer path is not associated to a LPT port. The default behavior when adding a network printer is not to associate a port with the network printer path. Artwork's printer driver requires such an association in order to detect the network printer. This behavior occurs only in Windows 95 - not in Windows 3.1 or Windows NT.

Solution

Associate a port with a network printer path. In the example shown below we have a network plotter called HP 650C (which we set up using the Windows generic/text printer since the Artwork plot driver creates the correct file format for the 650C). The printer is attached to a workstation called asm007 and is assigned on that workstation the name lpnova. Windows 95 therefore shows the port for this plotter as \\asm007\lpnova. However when you attempt to plot from Artwork's application, an error message appears. We will go through the steps required to associate this network printer with the port lpt2:. Don't worry that your computer does not have a physical lpt2:.

Step 1

Get to the Printers dialog box by clicking on Start. -> Settings -> Printers.

Step 2

Right click on the printer icon for the network printer you wish to use. A floating menu appears; click on Properties. Network printers have a horizontal cable across the bottom of their icon.

Step 3

A tabbed dialog box appears. Click on the Details tab.

Step 4

The network path for the printer is displayed in the first combo box labeled "Print to the following port:", e.g. \\asm007\lpnova This is the path to remember and we need to associate a port for this path. Copy this information to the clipboard.

Step 5

Click on the Capture Printer Port button and a dialog box pops up.

Select a port (generally a unique one for each network plotter) in the Device combo box.

Paste or type in the network printer path you captured in Step 4. If the network path is already listed in the Path combo box list, select it.

Check the Reconnect at logon check box. Hit OK.

Step 6

Return to the Details page in the printer tab dialog box.

The port association is done but we need to specify that our current network printer uses the port instead of just the network path.

Pull down the list in the "Print to the following port: "combo box, and select the port with the network path we have just associated.

Finished. Hit OK on the tab dialog box.

You should be able to print from Artwork's programs to this network printer. This association does not have an effect on software that is already printing correctly to the network printer.