Introduction

How it works

Requirements

Download

License

Registration

INCA SPOOLER for Windows

Make your DOS programs print via the Windows printers
  • Benefit from the thousands of printers working under Windows, no matter of their type, ie.laser, inkjet, dot matrix, etc.
  • Include in your printout drawing-line chars. (IBM 437 char. set over-128 ascii extensions).
  • Greek users: Use any Windows font that supports Greek 928, to print your Greek 437 ascii text.
  • Use many fonts at the same document.
  • All fonts are converted to FIXED WIDTH, so that all characters printed occupy the same space.
  • Print in the usual density of dot matrix printers, 10 cpi, 12 cpi, 17 cpi, 20 cpi, and for height 6 lpi, but also in any other analysis you wish (eg. 14 cpi, 8 cpi, ...), on all kinds of printers, laser, ink jet, dot matrix, etc.
  • Print using auto-density settings, horizontal and vertical, based on the total number of chars. you wish to print per line and/or the total number of lines you wish to print per page. Ie. you can print on an A4 page or on 11 x 8 1/2 or any other paper dimension you wish, 66 lines or 60 lines or 61 lines etc. and 120 or 80 or 81 or 75 etc. columns.
  • Your DOS application may be written in any language you wish.
  • The only requirement is that it can run in a Windows 95 or Windows 3.x DOS Box.
You can also use Windows printers from your Unix applications !!!
  • Just connect a Windows machine on your UNIX TCP/IP Network.
  • Yes, you can also print over the Internet, even from a HTML page. All you need is an IP address that can be reached from the Unix (the sender) side.

And of course, you can send an ascii file to be printed (or faxed) from the DOS or UNIX command line

  • You may also send the output of another program/command to be printed using operating system pipes.
How it works

The application consists of 2 exe files, a DOS exe and a Windows exe.

  1. We start the Windows exe.
    This program is a server that sends our printouts to Windows spooler, when it is asked for, from the DOS exe.
    We select font and printer. We may also configure the page setup, if we wish so.
    Server exe is ready to operate.
  2. In our DOS application, wishing to print through Windows spooler:
    We make the actual printing onto a text file, just as we would print to PRN device. Eg. we print onto file myfile. We then call the DOS exe with this file as argument.
    In our example: ilproute myfile
    The DOS exe will communicate with the server, which already is listening for requests, and which will finally make the printout through Windows spooler.
    • The ascii text may contain several HTML like tags, such as <b> </b>, in order to create several text effects.
    • Instead of HTML like tags, the printout may include several Escape sequences, like that we would use if we would print directly to a dot matrix Epson printer.
    • If we choose to use the Escape sequences method:
      They are described in the help file and they are the same for any type of printer, no matter of model, no matter of manufacturer, we will use.
      The server will translate them to the specific commands required for each printer we use.
  3. Client(s) may reside on any machine of your network.

    Support is provided for TCP/IP, IPX/SPX, or any other type of network, where the client machine can see the hard disk of the server machine.

  4. For Unix:
    • First, we need to connect a Windows machine on the Unix, via TCP/IP network.
      Suppose the name of the Windows machine is win95.ourcompany.com.
    • We start Windows exe, as in paragraph (1).
    • In our Unix application, wishing to print through Windows spooler:
      We make the actual printing onto a text file, just as we would print to a printer device. Eg. we print onto file myfile. We then call the Unix exe with the name of the Windows machine and this file also, as arguments.
      In our example: ilptcp win95.ourcompany.com myfile
      The Unix exe will communicate with the server, which already is listening for requests, and which will finally make the printout through Windows spooler.
Requirements for your Application, in order to use INCA Spooler
Application Operating System Requirements
Windows 95/98/Me, DOS box Your application can redirect output into a TEXT file, instead of PRN/LPTx
OR
1) your application can print on alternative LPTx, not LPT1, i.e. LPT2, LPT3,... and
2) you got a network card on your PC with a static IP address. INCA Spooler does not need Network card to communicate with other machines. It is just needed. That's all.
Windows 2000/XP/2003/..., DOS box Your application can redirect output into a TEXT file, instead of PRN/LPTx
OR
your application can print on alternative LPTx, not LPT1, i.e. LPT2, LPT3,...
Unix/Linux systems 1) Your application can redirect output into a TEXT file, then call a system command, like lp -d ...
2) Your Unix/Linux system can communicate via TCP/IP with a Windows machine where INCA Spooler server is running.
3) C compiler needed on some systems, where INCA Spooler client is provided in C source code, not precompiled binaries.
Download
  • Download 32-bit (Windows 95/98/Me/NT/2000) INCA Spooler 2000 (version 3.02)
    Includes DOS/Win/Linux/SCO Unix/SunOS clients.
    Registered users of version 2.80 (and above) can safely install this version OVER their previous installation (which must NOT be uninstalled), as long as INCA Spooler is not running at the time of installation.
  • You can also download Client DLL for Microsoft Compact NET Framework.
    In your project: Add a reference to the DLL.

    In your code:
    Add using com.incahellas;

    Startup code:
    ilpArgs args = new ilpArgs(Host_name_or_IP, filename_to_print);
    Final step (do print):
    ilptcp.Print(args, true);
    true means show error messages, otherwise do not show.
    Returns true on success, false on error.

Licensing
Licence type Description
One user
  • 32-bit or 16-bit server. All kinds of clients, currently available.
  • Server application can be installed only on one machine.
  • However, multiple other machines can send requests to this server.
  • Server can control any number of shared printers over the network.
Printouts can be sent to any printer of the system, but user input is required on the server, or to only one printer of the system, without any user interaction.
Extra printer This is applied over the one user licence.

One user license allowes users to print to any printer of the system, but only one printer can be selected automatically, by using the server feature last selected printer.

With this licence, users can request for the printouts to be executed on a specific printer of the system, specified by name.

Printouts can still be sent to any other printer of the system, but user input is required on the server.

Software OEM Like the one user licence, plus:
  • You can make as many copies of INCA Spooler as you wish, and redistribute it along with your software product(s).
  • You get the C-source code for the clients, so you can transfer it to any unsupported Operating System
Site
  • Both 32-bit and 16-bit server. All kind of clients, currently available.
  • Server application can be installed on all the machines of your company.
  • Multiple other machines can send requests to this servers.
  • Servers can control any number of shared printers over the network.
Buy

Send your order to inca@incahellas.com.

Registration