Xerox XCounter Page Accounting Support & Software User Guide
XCOUNTER FOR NT USER REFERENCE MANUAL
Mar 2001
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XCounter AppSocket Port
AppSocket is raw printing using the TCP/IP protocol. Many network printers support
AppSocket. The advantage of using it is that XCounter can obtain print job page
counts from the printer (called bi-directional page counting) without having to calculate
the page count itself (called manual page counting) - this reduces CPU utilization on
the printer host. The disadvantage is that bi-directional counting requires more time
for each job, as XCounter must wait for the job to finish before getting the page count
from the printer.
AppSocket. The advantage of using it is that XCounter can obtain print job page
counts from the printer (called bi-directional page counting) without having to calculate
the page count itself (called manual page counting) - this reduces CPU utilization on
the printer host. The disadvantage is that bi-directional counting requires more time
for each job, as XCounter must wait for the job to finish before getting the page count
from the printer.
A TCP/IP port number must be specified in the configuration. The most common port
number is 9100, which is supported by Xerox, HP, and Lexmark printers. External
print servers can use separate port numbers for each parallel port on the print server -
for example, the HP JetDirect EX+3 uses ports 9100, 9101, and 9102.
number is 9100, which is supported by Xerox, HP, and Lexmark printers. External
print servers can use separate port numbers for each parallel port on the print server -
for example, the HP JetDirect EX+3 uses ports 9100, 9101, and 9102.
Page Count Types
•
Manual: XCounter calculates the page count of the print job.
•
PJL Bi-directional: XCounter uses PJL commands to get the page count from
the printer. While many printers support PJL, they may not all support PJL bi-
directional page counting.
the printer. While many printers support PJL, they may not all support PJL bi-
directional page counting.
•
PS/PJL Bi-directional: XCounter uses PostScript commands to get the page
count from the printer, which are separated by PJL to get job status. This choice is
probably the best if the printer supports PostScript and PJL.
count from the printer, which are separated by PJL to get job status. This choice is
probably the best if the printer supports PostScript and PJL.
•
PostScript Bi-directional: XCounter uses PostScript commands to get the
page count from the printer. This method is very dependent upon timing, and not
all printers/PostScript interpreters act the same.
page count from the printer. This method is very dependent upon timing, and not
all printers/PostScript interpreters act the same.
When configuring the port, a test function is provided to ensure proper operation of
the bi-directional page count. However, when using the PostScript Bi-directional
method, some printers may operate intermittently causing unreliable page counting.
the bi-directional page count. However, when using the PostScript Bi-directional
method, some printers may operate intermittently causing unreliable page counting.