The printer queue is empty but my document did not print
Jobs appear in the printer queue for an extended time
The printer queue does not receive print jobs
The printer queue is disabled or down
The file I sent to the printer queue came out as garbage
The printer queue printed my job instead of sending a fax
The hostname does not resolve
IBM Print Driver is unable to find the network printer
Additional problems
The printer queue is empty but my document did not print
Make sure you are sending the proper data to the printer. If you send PCL or text data to a queue that
only accepts PostScript data, the job leaves the queue but does not print. Try printing to another
queue, or see a IBM Print Driver administrator for other printing options.
The print job is probably in the buffer of the print server or printer. As soon as the printer is available,
the job prints.
- Make sure you are sending print jobs to the correct printer virtual device.
- Verify the properties of the virtual device to make sure the printer job is going to the correct
printer.
- Make sure the printer is working properly.
Jobs appear in the printer queue for an extended time
The printer is probably busy receiving other jobs. If you are using a print server, you may receive a
Check the Printer message when this situation occurs.
- Check the printer queue status. Make sure the queue is enabled.
- Check the printer connection:
If you are connected to the printer over a network:
Example: send_network -f /etc/hosts hostname
Replace hostname with the appropriate hostname of the printer. If this prints, recreate the
virtual device and print queue.
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Restart the lpsched or lpd process.
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Refer to your system documentation.
If you are connected to the printer locally:
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Verify the proper device is selected in the virtual device.
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Make sure the parallel, serial, or USB cable is working and securely connected at
both ends.
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If you are printing over a serial cable, verify the serial setting in the virtual device
matches the printer.
If you are using a Sun system:
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Check to see if the parallel device is a bpp type, if it is, make sure bpp device is
selected. If it is not, make sure bpp type is not selected.
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Try using the IBM Print utilities to print directly to the printer.
Example: send_parallel -f /etc/hosts /dev/lp0
Replace /dev/lp0 with the appropriate device file name. If this prints correctly, try
recreating the virtual device and print queue.
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Try printing directly to the device to see if the problem is with the communication of the
server to the printer or the print queue.
Example: cat /etc/hosts >> /dev/lp0
Replace /dev/lp0 with the appropriate device file name. If the printer does not print, then
the problem must be with either the device, cable, or printer. If this prints correctly, try
recreating the virtual device and print queue.
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Restart the lpsched or lpd process.
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Refer to your system documentation.
The printer queue does not receive print jobs
The queue is in a rejecting state. When the queue is in this state, you cannot submit a print job to the
printer queue. To make the queue accept jobs again, right-click the queue icon and select
Accepting.
Also try to:
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Re-create the printer queue.
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Re-start lpsched or lpd.
The printer queue is disabled or down
If your printer is connected locally (by way of a parallel, serial, or USB cable), check your printer
cable.
If your printer is connected to a network, check the print server:
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If you are using an internal print server:
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Make sure the print server is properly installed and enabled. To check this, print a setup
page for the printer. The print server appears in the list of attachments on the setup page.
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If a network-related message appears on the operator panel, see Additional problems.
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Make sure TCP/IP is activated on the print server. The protocol must be active for the
print server and IBM Print Drivers to work. You can do this from the printer operator panel.
Refer to your print server documentation for instructions.
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If you are using an external print server:
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Check the print server lights. Refer to your print server documentation for instructions.
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Print a setup page from the print server. Refer to your print server documentation for
instructions.
If your printer is connected to a network, PING the print server.
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If PING works, check the IP address, netmask, and gateway to make sure they are correct.
Turn the printer off and PING again to check for duplicate IP addresses.
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If PING does not work, check the setup page you printed to be sure IP is enabled.
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If TCP/IP is enabled, check the IP address, netmask, and gateway to be sure they are
correct.
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Make sure bridges and routers are functioning correctly.
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Make sure all the physical connections between the print server, the printer, and the network
are working.
If your printer is connected to a network, compare the IP address of the print server to the address
stored for the network printer in the name server or /etc/hosts file. If the addresses do not match, edit
the /etc/hosts file, or update the name server to correct the address.
Print a setup page from the print server. For instructions on printing a setup page, refer to your print
server documentation.
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If the page prints, then the connection between the print server and the printer is working
correctly.
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If the page does not print, check all the physical connections.
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Make sure the printer queue is Enabled and Accepting jobs after you correct the problem.
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Re-enable the queue with IBM Print Drivers.
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Remove all print jobs from the queue and re-enable the queue.
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Verify the virtual device selection in the queue.
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Create a new virtual device and change the queue to point to the newly configured virtual
device.
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Restart the lpsched or lpd.
The file I sent to the printer queue came out as garbage
You can create PCL, PostScript, Automatic, PPDS, Forms, and raw data queues. Automatic queues
support both PCL and PS data. PostScript queues can print PostScript data. PCL queues can print
PCL and ASCII data. Raw data queues pass the print data directly through to the printer without
adding any additional printer-related commands.
If you want to print HTML, graphics, or PDFs, you need to print them through an application that
converts these data files into PCL or PostScript.
If you would like to print HTML, GIFS, BMPS, PDFs, TIFFS, and other similar file types directly to the
printer, you must have an optional ImageQuick card (or SIMM) installed.
Note: Not all printers can support an ImageQuick Card (or SIMM).
For help, see Print a file from IBM Print Drivers.
The printer queue printed my job instead of sending a fax
If you do not have a fax card installed, the printer will, by default, print the job.
Check with your administrator to see if you have a multifunctional printer with the fax-capable print
server installed.
If you need fax functionality and do not have a multifunctional printer that supports fax, contact your
printer retailer, for more information.
Check the PS Property for that queue. Make sure that under Fax Page, On is selected.
The hostname does not resolve
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If a DNS hostname does not resolve, your system may not be configured to search for a
hostname without a domain name. Try using the full DNS domain name.
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Check your name server (DNS server). Add the hostname to either NIS, DNS or /etc/hosts
file.
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Refer to your system documentation or contact the system administrator for more
information.
IBM Print Driver is unable to find the network printer
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Make sure the printer is on and ready.
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Make sure the LAN cable is plugged into both the print server and into the LAN, and is
working properly.
Note: If you have an internal print server, your LAN cable will be plugged into the printer
directly.
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If you are using an internal print server:
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Make sure the print server is properly installed and enabled. To check, print a setup page
for the printer. Refer to your print server documentation for instructions. The print server
should appear in the list of attachments on the setup page.
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If a network-related message appears on the operator panel, see Additional problems.
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Make sure TCP/IP is activated on the print server. The protocol must be active for the
print server and IBM Print Drivers to work. You can do this from the printer operator panel.
-
If you are using an external print server:
-
Check the print server lights. Refer to your print server documentation for instructions.
-
Print a setup page from the print server. Refer to your print server documentation for
instructions.
-
Make sure all the physical connections between the print server, the printer, and the
network are working.
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Turn the printer and print server off and back on. You should turn the printer back on first.
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Make sure the SNMP community name you supplied to IBM Print Drivers is the same as the
one set in the print server.
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PING the print server:
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If PING works, turn the printer off and PING again to check for duplicate IP addresses.
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If PING does not work, check the IP address, netmask, and gateway to make sure they
are set up correctly for your environment.
-
Make sure bridges and routers are functioning correctly.
Additional problems
Before you call customer support make sure you read through the symptoms covered in this
roubleshooting section to help you diagnose the problem.
Before calling technical support, gather the following information:
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What version of IBM Print Drivers is being used
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What operating system and version is being used
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What printers are involved
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How the printer is attached to the system
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How the queue is configured
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What applications, if any, are involved
If this is a network printer, and the problem is sending the data to the printer, you need to determine
the print server firmware level. Type the following on the command line, and then press Enter:
# finger info@hostname