OnePurdue Printer Support Last Updated: May 29, 2007 This document covers the types of printing possible from OnePurdue applications and supported/recommended printers for optimal printed output. OnePurdue is a large and complex system with multiple locations from which users can print. This document covers each of these along with the various printing mechanisms. Portal Printing The OnePurdue portal is the Web-based client for the OnePurdue systems. There are three mechanisms for printing from the portal: browser, PDF, and ITS. Browser Printing When using the portal, at any point users can elect to print by selecting the Print option in the browser. For example, selecting File/Print in Microsoft Internet Explorer. This gives the user a printed output of what they see in the browser window. Any printer that is supported by Microsoft Windows should work for browser printing. Because browser printing is a function of the browser and user s workstation, any issues with printing are the responsibility of the user and their workstation support organization, not OnePurdue. Some functionality in the portal will generate Adobe PDF documents. Some examples are the pay statement and travel forms in Employee Self-Service (ESS). These documents will be displayed in Adobe Reader either embedded in the browser window or opened as a separate window. Users can recognize these documents by the Adobe Reader toolbar displayed in the window. To print these documents, the user selects the print feature of Adobe Reader. Any printer that is supported by Microsoft Windows and Adobe Reader should work for PDF printing. OnePurdue will support the correct generation and display of the PDF document in the OnePurdue portal. However, because printing is handled by Adobe Reader on the user s workstation, printing issues are the responsibility of the user and their workstation support organization, not OnePurdue.
Note: As of May 2007 the official supported version of Adobe Reader is 7.9. Users may have acceptable results from Adobe Reader 8.0 or higher, but if issues arise with the use of these versions they will be the user s responsibility to resolve. ITS Printing The OnePurdue portal supports a feature called Internet Transaction Service (ITS). ITS allows SAP GUI transaction screens to be placed in the portal. The user can recognize these transactions by the blue SAP GUI theme of these transactions. Many of the transactions placed in the portal offer printing capability. This printing works very much as if the user is using SAP GUI. ITS printing is also used for any direct printing feature in SRM. At this time ITS printing is not supported by OnePurdue. It is expected to be supported some time in summer 2007 but project priorities will determine the actual support date. SAP GUI Printing SAP GUI is the native, workstation-based client for the OnePurdue applications. To use SAP GUI, it must be installed on the user s workstation. It is started using the Launcher tab of the OnePurdue portal. There are many printing features from within SAP GUI. SAP GUI printing can be grouped into several categories: local, PDF, and specialty. Specialty printing is discussed in a separate section. Local printing Local Printing is initiated when the user activates a print feature in SAP GUI and selects the Local Default Printer option from the resulting printer selection dialog. This option causes the printed output to be directed to the printer the user has selected as their default printer in Microsoft Windows. (See the Printer section of the Microsoft Windows Control Panel.) The printer could be directly connected to user s workstation or a shared network printer to which the user has access. For general local printing, for example, screen prints or data extracts, any printer supported by Microsoft Windows should work. However, for printing forms or reports that have strict layout requirements, OnePurdue highly recommends an HP printer in the 4000 model family. OnePurdue tests on HP 4350 printers. If printed document layout is critical, this printer model is recommended. Because local printing is done by the user s workstation and may involve their local network, printer communications issues are the responsibility of the user and their workstation/network 2 of 6 5/29/2007
support organization, not OnePurdue. OnePurdue will support printed form layout issues on the specific printer models outlined above. As with the OnePurdue portal, some print features of SAP GUI will result in an Adobe PDF document. These documents will be displayed in Adobe Reader in a separate window on the user s workstation. Users can recognize these documents by the Adobe Reader toolbar displayed in the window. Any printer that is supported by Microsoft Windows and Adobe Reader should work for PDF printing. OnePurdue will support the correct generation and display of the PDF document. However, because printing is handled by Adobe Reader on the user s workstation, printing issues are the responsibility of the user and their workstation support organization, not OnePurdue. Note: As of May 2007 the official supported version of Adobe Reader is 7.9. Users may have acceptable results from Adobe Reader 8.0 or higher, but if issues arise with the use of these versions they will be the user s responsibility to resolve. Specialty Printing Certain OnePurdue business processes have special printing needs. Some examples include GM and AR Invoice printing with an OCR scan line, check printing, and Stores barcoded label printing. For these situations, printing is done directly from the OnePurdue systems to special printers configured for this type of printing. Users execute the appropriate business process and, when prompted to print, select the specific printer that supports the special printing feature from the printer select dialog. Users should have been trained on which printer to select. Any department wanting to use one of these special printing features will need to work closely with OnePurdue to select the correct printer, develop the appropriate forms, and carefully test the system to ensure correct printing. Please work with OnePurdue before purchasing a printer. OCR Printing Optical Character Recognition (OCR) is printing with a special font that can later be scanned into a computer. OnePurdue supports OCR printing only on the HP 4250n model printer with a HP Barcodes and More DIMM module installed. It is important to note that OCR printing requires the development of special forms by OnePurdue. OnePurdue will support the printing and layout of 3 of 6 5/29/2007
the form. Support of the printer and printer communication is the responsibility of the department s IT support organization. Label Printing Label Printing is the printing of peel-off labels for uses such as packaging or shipping. Labels can be printed on either a common laser printer or on a specialty label printer. For label printing on common laser printer labels, OnePurdue supports the HP 4350 and HP 4250n models. It is important to note that this label printing requires development of a special form by OnePurdue. For specialty label printing OnePurdue supports Zebra label printers. Specifically the SM4 and LP 2844-Z models have been successfully tested and are recommended. It is important to note that this label printing requires development of a special form by OnePurdue. OnePurdue will support the printing and layout of the labels. Support of the printer and printer communication is the responsibility of the department s IT support organization. Barcode Printing Barcode printing consists of a variety of printed patterns on a form, later used for scanning by a special barcode scanner for rapid computer input. Examples include barcoded labels or forms with barcoded account numbers. Barcodes can be printed on either a common laser printer or on a specialty label printer. For barcode printing on common laser printers, OnePurdue supports the HP 4250n model printer with the HP Barcodes and More DIMM module installed. It is important to note that this barcode printing requires development of a special form by OnePurdue. OnePurdue supports barcoded label printing on Zebra label printers. Specifically the SM4 and LP 2844-Z models have been successfully tested and are recommended. It is important to note that this barcode printing requires development of a special form by OnePurdue. OnePurdue has successfully tested and implemented type 3 of 9 barcode printing (a.k.a. code39 or barcode 3/9). This would be the recommended type. OnePurdue will support the printing and layout of the barcoded forms or labels. Support of the printer and printer communication is the responsibility of the department s IT support organization. 4 of 6 5/29/2007
MICR (Check) Printing MICR is a special printing that uses both a unique font and magnetic ink. It is most commonly used to print the routing and account numbers at the bottom of checks as required by banks. At this time OnePurdue only supports MICR (check) printing on central printers located in Freehafer Hall and access to these printers is restricted to specific business functions. 5 of 6 5/29/2007
Summary The following table summarizes the supported printer for various types of printing from OnePurdue applications. Important, please read the details outlined in this document; do not rely solely on the information in this table! When considering which printer to purchase find the row that has the most specific model requirements for the type of printing you will do and select that model. Type Portal Printing Browser Printing ITS Printing SAP GUI Printing Local Printing General Any Microsoft Windows supported printer Any Adobe Reader supported printer (Not supported at this time) Any Microsoft Windows supported printer (HP 4000 model family recommended) Forms and Reports (critical formatting) HP 4000 model family (HP 4350 recommended) Any Adobe Reader supported printer Specialty Printing* OCR Printing HP Model 4250n with HP Barcodes and More DIMM Label Printing Laser Printer HP Models 4350 or 4250n Specialty Label Printer Zebra printers (models SM4 or LP 2844-Z recommended) Barcode Printing Laser Printer HP Model 4250n with HP Barcodes and More DIMM Specialty Label Printer Zebra printers (models SM4 or LP 2844-Z MICR Printing recommended) (Supported only on central FREH printers at this time) * Any department wanting to use one of these special printing features will need to work closely with OnePurdue to select the correct printer, develop the appropriate forms, and carefully test the system to ensure correct printing. Please work with OnePurdue before purchasing a printer. 6 of 6 5/29/2007