Printer Utilities - HP Color LaserJet 5500 Technical Reference Manual

Printer Utilities

Printer utilities are those applications that perform one or
more of the following functions:
Control printer resources—These programs set
printer features such as the print resolution and number
of copies using the SET, RESET, DEFAULT, and
INITIALIZE commands.
Request information from the printer—Printer
status and feature settings can be requested from the
printer using the ECHO, INFO, INQUIRE, and
DINQUIRE commands. Applications should only use PJL
commands that request status if the application is in
direct control of the printer and there is a bi-directional
communication channel between the printer and the
application.
Monitor the printer status—Device status and timed
status can inform the application of printer events such
as printer open, paper out, or low toner. The USTATUS
DEVICE and USTATUS TIMED commands are used to
monitor printer status. Applications can continuously
monitor the printer for changes in printer state. When
the printer changes state, the application takes
appropriate action, such as informing the user.
In general, the Printer Utilities described here are not used
to print information, but enable the user to request the
current printer feature settings and modify features as
desired.
Programming Tips 10-5