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5250 printer emulation for barcode printing

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  • 5250 printer emulation for barcode printing

    I use the old iSeries Access for Windows 5250 emulation for printing barcodes on a couple of Windows 7 machines. My problem is that with Windows 10, the old iSeries Access for Windows is not an option so I wondered what my alternatives were other than the new "i Access Client Solutions". I can't use the Mochasoft TN3812 client as it does not support barcode printing.

  • #2
    In addition to using 5250 emulation software, the IBM i supports these:

    1) SNMP printing
    2) JetDirect (sometimes called PJL)
    3) IPP
    4) LPR/LPD

    Personally, I find most of these (with the possible exception of IBM's implementation of LPR/LPD) to be more robust than the stuff provided with the old IBM i Access for Windows.

    But, if you prefer to go through 5250 for some reason, there are also several alternatives there... including the Access Client Solutions that you seem to have already decided against. (That's what basically everyone uses to replace Access for Windows.)

    If you haven't, already, you might find it helpful to look at the following list, as it tells about which printers support which solutions:

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    • #3
      Are you printing labels, forms, or something else?

      Comment


      • #4
        Thanks for the response.

        Scott: It's not that I have decided against "Access Client Solutions", it is that I am a little bit unsure of the license terms from IBM at this time. Our organization does not own the server, we lease a LPAR so I'm not sure what license if any, I need. Maybe the server itself is license enough since 5770XE1 is installed ? Plus you need to be registered with IBM to download the product and I don't relish the thought of end users registering and downloading all of the product. Generally I have a Mochasoft TN5250/TN3812 deployed for users as this is the simplest for our environment.

        taherte001: Specifically this is for printing barcode labels on a Zebra printer. The "iSeries Access for Windows" (and the new ACS) requires the use of a PDT of ascii_basic in order for the barcode print to work, something that Mochasoft TN3812 does not support.

        If push comes to shove, I guess ACS is the way to go.

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        • #5
          Well, don't tell anyone, but IBM i Access for Windows does in fact work on Windows 10.

          But if you're under the impression that all of your users would need to download the full install of ACS, that's not correct. In fact, they don't need to install anything, assuming they have Java.

          Cheers,

          Emmanuel

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          • #6
            Originally posted by JimKerr View Post
            I use the old iSeries Access for Windows 5250 emulation for printing barcodes on a couple of Windows 7 machines. My problem is that with Windows 10, the old iSeries Access for Windows is not an option so I wondered what my alternatives were other than the new "i Access Client Solutions". I can't use the Mochasoft TN3812 client as it does not support barcode printing.
            What's wrong with the Access Client Solutions?

            As Emmanual states iSeries Access for Windows does CURRENTLY work on Virus (Also known as Windows) 10. It's just not supported. If you have problems, don't call IBM. There's no assurance that a future patch to Virus 10 won't break it.

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            • #7
              Originally posted by EmmanuelW1 View Post
              Well, don't tell anyone, but IBM i Access for Windows does in fact work on Windows 10.
              Yes, I am aware this. However, you can't install iSeries Access for Windows on Windows 10. You can install on Windows 7 and upgrade to Windows 10 and it will run and as stated elsewhere, you just down't know when MS will break it or remove it. Kind of getting away from what my problem actually is though.

              Originally posted by EmmanuelW1 View Post
              But if you're under the impression that all of your users would need to download the full install of ACS, that's not correct. In fact, they don't need to install anything, assuming they have Java.

              Cheers,

              Emmanuel
              The users don't have to install anything ? In our environment, I think they almost certainly do but it only applies to about three or four workstations that produce barcode labels. The Zebra printers we have are not network capable. So I think further explanation on how to get spool file to Zebra printer without emulation software would be helpful.

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              • #8
                Originally posted by Rocky View Post

                What's wrong with the Access Client Solutions?
                There is nothing wrong with it. I am not clear on our license rights to use it at this time and I am trying to avoid users get involved with IBM to download it.

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                • #9
                  Jim Kerr wrote: "However, you can't install iSeries Access for Windows on Windows 10."

                  I'm not sure how you got that impression, but I assure you that you most certainly can install IBM i Access for Windows on Windows 10.

                  The fact that you're referring to it as iSeries Access though may mean you're trying an old version of the software from before IBM changed its name...and for that old version, you may be right. But the latest version certainly will install on Windows 10.

                  Cheers,

                  Emmanuel

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                  • #10
                    Originally posted by JimKerr View Post

                    There is nothing wrong with it. I am not clear on our license rights to use it at this time and I am trying to avoid users get involved with IBM to download it.
                    If you have license to use iSeries Access for Windows you have license to use Access Client Solutions. It's not an additional product you need to purchase, it's a replacement product.

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                    • #11
                      Well let me rephrase that;

                      However, you can't install the version I have of iSeries Access for Windows on Windows 10. And I don't have a later version.

                      Installing the old iSeries Access for Windows is not the crux of my problem.

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                      • #12
                        Originally posted by Rocky View Post

                        If you have license to use iSeries Access for Windows you have license to use Access Client Solutions. It's not an additional product you need to purchase, it's a replacement product.
                        Thank you, I wasn't sure about that. I can cope with deploying the 5250 portion of ACS on a few machines where necessary.

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Originally posted by EmmanuelW1 View Post
                          Jim Kerr wrote: "However, you can't install iSeries Access for Windows on Windows 10."

                          I'm not sure how you got that impression, but I assure you that you most certainly can install IBM i Access for Windows on Windows 10.

                          The fact that you're referring to it as iSeries Access though may mean you're trying an old version of the software from before IBM changed its name...and for that old version, you may be right. But the latest version certainly will install on Windows 10.

                          Cheers,

                          Emmanuel
                          It's not that you can't install it on Windows 10. You can, and it does work (currently). It's just that IBM doesn't support it. If a Windows update were to break it somehow you can't call IBM for a patch as there likely isn't nor likely one will come out.

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                          • #14
                            The way we did our Zebra printers was with a print server... This was 6 or 7 years ago, and I don't work there anymore, so I don't remember the exact details. But, there was a little device that you could buy for your printer that allowed it to just hook straight into an Ethernet network and then you could print to it direct from the IBM i. This was a lot less hassle than going through a Windows PC. If you're using label software like TL Ashford's, you could ask them... they always were very knowledgable about the different ways to interface the printers. I highly recommend getting a print server type of attachment, though... we did a ton with label printers, and it worked so much better than going through a PC, much fewer problems, and didn't cost much.

                            If you're looking to eliminate the license, you could try an open source tool, such as TN5250 http://tn5250.sf.net -- the printer support in this tool worked well for my specific needs. It certainly has no where near the features that are in [insert permutation of the name 'Client Access' here] but as long as you could use the printer with HPT, this worked fine for me. YMMV. One big advantage is that it's completely free, and you can install as many copies as you want.

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                            • #15
                              In our case we have Zebra label printer with Ethernet attachment (also some TSC - don't go there, use Zebras). We use Interform400 but TL Ashford and others that have label printing functionality will be able to print directly to the printer. Works fantastic as we print the 2d barcodes.

                              I assume that the requirement here is wanting to continue using older label printers that are directly attached to the PC's with no ethernet capability. There are servers that should connect them to the network (ie I-O Corp for example) - but frankly, I'd recommend just purchasing new label printers instead.

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