Re: [Phpprintipp] Remote print to a receipt printer

[Thomas Harding]

Le 12/02/2013 13:34, Harvey Magana a écrit :
> Hello Author,
Hi, coder :)
> I am in need of guidance with yourPHP::PRINT::IPP. I would like to 
> know if I can use this for remote print to a receipt printer. I have 
> made a deli website and the owner would like the web order results to 
> print to a thermal receipt printer at his deli. I am using oop php, 
> have created the database, and am working on the programming to create 
> the form, but will soon hit the point where the results need to be 
> sent to the printer. If you can let me know if this can be done that 
> would be great. Thanks in advance.
Answer is verbose, and my English is tedious...

IPP is just a transport layer (underlying one is http / tcp 631), with 
meta-informations : how to handle the document/media, instructions to 
print the job... (among other operations).

If your needs are just to fill the printer, you can also use "print / 
lpr", tcp 515.

PHP::PRINT::IPP is *only* an IPP v1.1 *client*. Most of professional 
printers has a built-in IPP server for years. *Only a few will handle 
directly several types of documents (such as PostScript)*.

In most cases you'll need an IPP server which handles the file formats 
to print to fill the printer with its built-in print printer's language, 
such as HPGL (note any printer, with except for garbage WinPrinter ones, 
will handle ASCII text, and there is a mode in php::print::ipp for that, 
which offers notably a form-feed character).

So, at option, you'll need :

 * a print server with IPP v1.1 capability, such as CUPS (work at least 
on any UNIX and Mac OSX -- Apple did buy the CUPS code to the original 
author and uses and maintain it :).
           CUPS follows IPP v1.1 guidance and handles numerous file 
formats,
               even automagically with "application/octet-stream" as 
mime-type
                  *if you didn't done the setup to pass 
application/octet-stream as throughput*  (in most case : that setup is 
done to handle MS-Windows clients)
                  if that kind of setup has been done, you'll need at 
least to pass the convenient mime-type, such as "application/pdf", 
"application/postscript" or "image/png", and I'm unsure how it works...

 * or the printer itself has an IPP1.1 built-in print server and you 
can fill it with a document it handles (eg: postscript to a postscript 
capable printer).
     In most cases, built-in print servers does not follows IPP v1.1 
guidance and handles only printer's language for 
"application/octet-stream" mime-type -- such as HPGL, also plain ASCII text.

 * if a printer has no network capability, you can use some cheap print 
servers, such as TrendNet TE100... at least the "P1P" parallel version 
(5 years ago) works perfectly *in combination* with a CUPS server (and 
CUPS comes with any GNU/Linux distro). I used successfully a TrendNet 
P1P directly for ASCII text with an old Epson printer.

==================
 * for your purpose (thermal, direct printing through a cheap IPP print 
server), the probability is : you done a bitmap coming with the 
printer's specifical stream instructions (up to your programing, in 
accordance with the printer documentation), then pass it through an IPP 
request. Simply fill the cheap print server with 
"application/octet-stream" as mime-type (possibly aliased 
document_format, please take a look at http://phpprintipp.nongnu.org, 
there is a link to online doc).
==================

Best Regards,
TSFH