Host-Induced Slowdowns - Pitney Bowes DocuMatch Integrated Mail System Application Notes

DocuMatch Application Notes
Diagnosing "Waiting for Host" Messages (continued)
Host-Induced
Slowdowns
64
To reduce this problem, you may want to consider having
fixed information preprinted on your envelopes. Another
option is to use the Roman font on envelopes rather than
Courier, because it is more compact and thus prints faster.
Make this selection in the Envelope Designer. You should
also avoid using downloaded envelope fonts larger than 9
or 10 points, because they require multiple passes of the
print head to produce and thus run slower.
The system will also run more slowly if the host PC has
stopped sending data or is sending data slower than the
DocuMatch can accept it. This causes the system to pause
occasionally and "Waiting for Host" messages may appear
on the DocuMatch control panel. When more data is
received, the system will continue from where it left off.
The first step in determining the cause of "Waiting for
Host" messages is to determine whether the slowdown is
in your PC or somewhere else in the system. You can do
this by setting the PC to print to a file rather than to the
DocuMatch. This eliminates network or communication
delays as a possible cause. Make sure the print file in on a
local hard drive, not on a network server. For information
on printing to a file, see page 44.
Measure how long it takes to print 10 mail pieces to a file.
Running a Word for Windows mail merge with minimal
graphics should normally take less than one second per
page printed. If it takes more than about 3.5 seconds per
page (35 seconds for 10 one-page mail pieces), you will
start seeing "Waiting for Host" messages.
After the file has finished printing, check its size using File
Manager. Text-only files, even with downloaded fonts,
should be less than 50 Kbytes for the first mail piece and
less than 5 K for each additional piece (95 K or less for 10
DocuMatch Integrated Mail System
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