Vendor for USB Interface

  • Thread starter Thread starter Kai Sandner
  • Start date Start date
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Kai Sandner

Hello,

I am looking for an USB interface to use in a printing device
(to receive data from a PC).
Does anybody knows a vendor for this?

Thanks for any clue!

Kai Sandnei
 
I am looking for an USB interface to use in a printing device
(to receive data from a PC) <<

you give us very little info to go on

what's your need... to capture printed data to a file?

perhaps setting the default printer to print to a file or use a print to
file redirect?

Beverly Howard [MS MVP-Mobile Devices]
 
(to receive data from a PC) <<
Click to expand...
Beverly,
I am looking for an USB interface (hardware)
like the ones which are used in USB printers.
It should receive files from a PC over a USB
connection and cache data for further use.

Cheers!
Kai Sandner
 
Kai Sandner said:
Beverly,
I am looking for an USB interface (hardware)
like the ones which are used in USB printers.
It should receive files from a PC over a USB
connection and cache data for further use.

Cheers!
Kai Sandner
Click to expand...

Printers don't receive "files" over USB, they receive
a file (or something displayed on the screen that hasn't
yet been saved and thusly is not yet a "file")
converted to stream of bits.

It is up to the processing unit of the printer to (maybe) cache, rearrange
and format the bits and send them to the print head in
order to produce printed output. This is all specific to
the print engine used by the printer.

The other half of the equation is the printer driver on the
host PC, which converts whatever you want to print into
the bits sent through the USB interface in the first place.
Again, all specific to the printer.

If you have a print engine WITHOUT any logic at all,
and you are trying to interface it via USB to a PC, have
fun. You have taken on a very large project and will likely
have to write all the code yourself, as well as figure out
how to "talk" to the print engine.
 
to expand on Vance's message, go back to "print to file" ... the usb
device can then be any storage device such as a thumb drive or even an
ipod... get to a printer, then redirect those files to the appropriate
printer.

copy filename.prn \\computername\printersharename

This could actually be tied to a batch file on the storage device...
plug it in when you get to the computer with the printer and execute the
batch file to send all collected prn files to the printer of your choice.

XP has changed the rules, but you can also use port names such as PRN:
LPTx: etc in these batch files, then use another batch file to erase all
of the collected files once they have been successfully printed.

<eoh>
Beverly Howard [MS MVP-Mobile Devices]
 
fwiw, looks like the PRN: device no longer exists in XP

Beverly Howard [MS MVP-Mobile Devices]
 
Works just fine here. Do you have something attached to LPT1? If so,
open a command prompt and issue DIR > PRN and watch the paper fly. OF if
you don't actually have anything on LPT1 you may do a NET USE LPT1
computername\printername and then issue the DIR >PRN and that will work.
 
Thanks... you are correct...

Used to be if you redirected to PRN things went to the default
printer... which, in my case, is on LPT2: and that's not happening.

Best computer game in the world... chasing windows ;-)

Beverly Howard [MS MVP-Mobile Devices]
 
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