Send Print job from PuTTY to Zebra ZXP 3 SDK (non.zpl printer)

Question

What I have is a medical record database that is accessed via PuTTY (SSH client). The cards themselves will only have Client name, record number in a barcode format (still determining the barcode type to be used), and client registration date.

1) We can get the data output as .zpl for Zebra Barcode label printers or formats compatible with laser printers like HP or Brother in a RAW format. 2) What output WILL the ZXP 3 SDK accept? 3) Can the SDK be set up to wait for and accept data coming at it using a command line from something like RedMon?

The cards themselves will only have the printed data, no mag stripe, smart chips, laminates or anything like that.

Mahalo in advance.

Answer 1

I would not recommend using either RedMon nor the SDK, as neither are required for what you are trying to do, and they both are time-vampires. Instead, I would write a small Windows Forms application which listens on a TCP port to receive the print job and send it to the standard printer which uses the Zebra driver.

Have the MUMPS application send an XML document via the Remote Print support in VT100. The example I have been using is below:

^[[5i
<patient>
    <name first="John" last="Smith" />
    <mrn>A04390503</mrn>
    <dob>1991-03-12</dob>
</patient>
^[[4i

Configure a printer on the windows client to redirect to TCP/IP:

1. Add Printer
2. Local printer
3. Create a new port
   • Standard TCP/IP Port
   • Hostname: 127.0.0.1
   • Port name: CardFormatter
   • Uncheck "Query the printer and automatically select the driver to use"
   • Device type: Custom
     • Protocol: Raw
     • Port: 9101
4. Driver: Generic / Text Only

Start the application at logon, and print from the server. The MUMPS application will send back the XML, which Putty prints to the Text printer, which gets sent to the C# application on localhost. The C# application interprets the XML and prints to the actual printer via the Zebra driver or SDK.

Note: This only assumes one interactive session per workstation. If you are using fast-user-switching or terminal services, further care must be taken to ensure things work properly.

Example App:

Program.cs

using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.Linq;
using System.Threading.Tasks;
using System.Windows.Forms;

namespace PassThroughPrinterTest
{
    static class Program
    {
        [STAThread]
        static void Main()
        {
            Application.EnableVisualStyles();
            Application.SetCompatibleTextRenderingDefault(false);
            Application.Run(new TrayApplicationContext());
        }
    }
}

TrayApplicationContext.cs

using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.Diagnostics.Contracts;
using System.Linq;
using System.Text;
using System.Threading.Tasks;
using System.Windows.Forms;

namespace PassThroughPrinterTest
{
    class TrayApplicationContext : ApplicationContext
    {
        private NotifyIcon trayIcon;
        private PrintListener listener;
        private PrintHandler handler;

        public TrayApplicationContext()
        {
            this.trayIcon = new NotifyIcon()
            {
                Text = "Card Formatter",
                Icon = Properties.Resources.AppIcon,
                ContextMenu = new ContextMenu()
                {
                    MenuItems =
                    {
                        new MenuItem("Print Options...", miPrintOptions_Click),
                        new MenuItem("Exit", miExit_Click)
                    }
                },
                Visible = true
            };

            this.handler = new PrintHandler();

            this.listener = new PrintListener(9101);
            this.listener.PrintDataReceived += this.handler.HandlePrintData;
        }

        private void miPrintOptions_Click(object sender, EventArgs args)
        {
            // TODO: add configuration and options to avoid having to hard code
            // the printer name in PrintHandler.cs
            MessageBox.Show("Options");
        }

        private void miExit_Click(object sender, EventArgs args)
        {
            Application.Exit();
        }

        protected override void Dispose(bool disposing)
        {
            base.Dispose(disposing);

            if (disposing)
            {
                trayIcon.Dispose();
            }
        }
    }
}

PrintHandler.cs

using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.ComponentModel;
using System.Data;
using System.Drawing;
using System.Drawing.Printing;
using System.Linq;
using System.Text;
using System.Windows.Forms;
using System.Xml.Linq;

namespace PassThroughPrinterTest
{
    partial class PrintHandler : Form
    {
        public PrintHandler()
        {
            InitializeComponent();
        }

        public void HandlePrintData(object sender, PrintDataReceivedEventArgs args)
        {
            if (this.InvokeRequired)
            {
                this.Invoke(new EventHandler<PrintDataReceivedEventArgs>(HandlePrintData), sender, args);
                return;
            }

            this.Show();

            var sXml = Encoding.UTF8.GetString(args.PrintData);
            this.PrintCard(XDocument.Parse(sXml));

            this.Hide();
        }

        private void PrintCard(XDocument xDocument)
        {
            var nameElement = xDocument.Root.Element("name");
            var lastName = nameElement.Attribute("last").Value;
            var firstName = nameElement.Attribute("first").Value;
            var mrn = xDocument.Root.Element("mrn").Value;

            var printDoc = new PrintDocument()
            {
                PrinterSettings = new PrinterSettings()
                {
                    PrinterName = "Adobe PDF"
                },
                DocumentName = "Patient ID Card"
            };
            var cardPaperSize = new PaperSize("Card", 337, 213) { RawKind = (int)PaperKind.Custom };
            printDoc.DefaultPageSettings.PaperSize = cardPaperSize;
            printDoc.PrinterSettings.DefaultPageSettings.PaperSize = cardPaperSize;
            printDoc.PrintPage += (s, e) =>
            {
                var gfx = e.Graphics;

                // print the text information
                var fArial12 = new Font("Arial", 12);
                gfx.DrawString(lastName, fArial12, Brushes.Black, new RectangleF(25, 25, 200, 75));
                gfx.DrawString(firstName, fArial12, Brushes.Black, new RectangleF(25, 100, 200, 75));

                // add a code39 barcode using a barcode font
                // http://www.idautomation.com/free-barcode-products/code39-font/
                // var fCode39 = new Font("IDAutomationHC39M", 12);
                // gfx.DrawString("(" + mrn + ")", fArial12, Brushes.Black, new RectangleF(25, 200, 200, 75));

                // or by using a barcode library
                // https://barcoderender.codeplex.com/
                // var barcode = BarcodeDrawFactory.Code128WithChecksum.Draw(mrn, 20, 2);
                // gfx.DrawImage(barcode, 50, 200);

                e.HasMorePages = false;
            };
            printDoc.Print();
        }
    }
}

PrintListener.cs

using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.Diagnostics;
using System.Diagnostics.Contracts;
using System.IO;
using System.Linq;
using System.Net;
using System.Net.Sockets;
using System.Text;
using System.Threading;

namespace PassThroughPrinterTest
{
    sealed class PrintListener : IDisposable
    {
        private TcpListener listener;

        public event EventHandler<PrintDataReceivedEventArgs> PrintDataReceived;

        public PrintListener(int port)
        {
            this.listener = new TcpListener(IPAddress.Loopback, port);
            this.listener.Start();

            this.listener.BeginAcceptTcpClient(listener_AcceptClient, null);
        }

        public void Dispose()
        {
            this.listener.Stop();
        }

        private void listener_AcceptClient(IAsyncResult iar)
        {
            TcpClient client = null;
            bool isStopped = false;
            try
            {
                client = this.listener.EndAcceptTcpClient(iar);
            }
            catch (ObjectDisposedException)
            {
                // this will occur in graceful shutdown
                isStopped = true;
                return;
            }
            finally
            {
                if (!isStopped)
                {
                    this.listener.BeginAcceptTcpClient(listener_AcceptClient, null);
                }
            }
            Debug.Assert(client != null);

            try
            {
                byte[] printData;
                using (var clientStream = client.GetStream())
                using (var buffer = new MemoryStream())
                {
                    clientStream.CopyTo(buffer);

                    printData = buffer.ToArray();
                }

                OnPrintDataReceived(printData);
            }
            catch
            {
                // TODO: add logging and error handling for network issues or processing issues
                throw;
            }
            finally
            {
                client.Close();
            }
        }

        private void OnPrintDataReceived(byte[] printData)
        {
            var handler = PrintDataReceived;
            if (handler != null)
            {
                handler(this, new PrintDataReceivedEventArgs(printData));
            }
        }
    }
}

TrayApplicationContext.cs

using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.Diagnostics.Contracts;
using System.Linq;
using System.Text;
using System.Threading.Tasks;
using System.Windows.Forms;

namespace PassThroughPrinterTest
{
    class TrayApplicationContext : ApplicationContext
    {
        private NotifyIcon trayIcon;
        private PrintListener listener;
        private PrintHandler handler;

        public TrayApplicationContext()
        {
            this.trayIcon = new NotifyIcon()
            {
                Text = "Card Formatter",
                Icon = Properties.Resources.AppIcon,
                ContextMenu = new ContextMenu()
                {
                    MenuItems =
                    {
                        new MenuItem("Print Options...", miPrintOptions_Click),
                        new MenuItem("Exit", miExit_Click)
                    }
                },
                Visible = true
            };

            this.handler = new PrintHandler();

            this.listener = new PrintListener(9101);
            this.listener.PrintDataReceived += this.handler.HandlePrintData;
        }

        private void miPrintOptions_Click(object sender, EventArgs args)
        {
            // TODO: add configuration and options to avoid having to hard code
            // the printer name in PrintHandler.cs
            MessageBox.Show("Options");
        }

        private void miExit_Click(object sender, EventArgs args)
        {
            Application.Exit();
        }

        protected override void Dispose(bool disposing)
        {
            base.Dispose(disposing);

            if (disposing)
            {
                listener.Dispose();
                trayIcon.Dispose();
            }
        }
    }
}

PrintDataReceivedEventArgs.cs

using System;

namespace PassThroughPrinterTest
{
    class PrintDataReceivedEventArgs : EventArgs
    {
        public byte[] PrintData { get; set; }

        public PrintDataReceivedEventArgs(byte[] data)
        {
            if (data == null)
                throw new ArgumentNullException("data");

            this.PrintData = data;
        }
    }
}