Hi,
Under Windows, you don't print to the hardware, but to a buffer on the
PC issuing the demand, then, eventually, to the buffer of the PC to which is
connected the PC (through a network connection), and that second buffer then
speak to the hardware. In other words, add to that the possible variations,
and you could imagine the span of the problem... and there is no easy
solution. In fact, I am not aware of any pre-canned solution. Sorry.
It the printer is directly connected, you can try to detect some bit on
the I/O port through an activeX. For a Serial device, that should be easy,
since there is an electrical protocol between the PC and the connected
device through the serial port. There is also a predefined protocol for the
so called Parallel port. So, for a directly connected device, you may start
your research at
http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/richard_grier/
Hoping it may help,
Vanderghast, Access MVP