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  5. Printing to file or creating a print output file
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Solution type: Device Based

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Printing to file or creating a print output file

Printing to file or creating a print output file

Issue description

This article provides a quick summary of how to create a Print Output file (*
.prn
).
Generating a print file for testing drivers and communication issues is needed for escalation purposes.

Capturing .prn via print driver

Perform the steps below:
  1. Click
    Start
    .
  2. Click
    Settings
    >
    Control Panel
    >
    Printers and Faxes
    , or click
    Devices and Printers
    .
  3. Right-click on the print queue (for example: UPD v2 PCL5 driver).
  4. Click
    Properties
    or
    Printer Properties
    from the drop-down menu.
  5. Go to the
    Ports
    tab, and click "
    Add Port...
    " button. A
    Printer Ports
    dialog appears.
  6. Select
    Local Port
    , then click "
    New Port...
    ".
  7. Enter the
    Port Name
    in the specified location (for example:
    C:\Lexmark\test.prn
    ), click
    OK
    , and then close the Printer Ports window.
  8. Click
    Apply
    , and then
    OK
    .
  9. Open the test file and print the document using the modified print queue.
    The actual job file is generated in
    C:\Lexmark\test.prn
    , which was created in the Printer Ports window.

What to do next

Procedures for testing a driver or resolving a communication issue.
  • Send the file to the printer using various methods based on the printer connection method.
    • USB cable
      ‑ Send the file to the printer using software such as the local printer setup utility (LPSU).
    • Network connection
      ‑ Send the file to the printer using FTP, or you can sometimes send the file from the embedded web server (EWS) of the printer.
      Refer to the FTP example.
Submitting the *
.prn
for escalation purposes.
  • Include the *
    .prn
    file with all other escalation materials requested by your technical support representative.

FTP Example

  1. From a command prompt, open an FTP session to the adapter by typing
    ftp
    <
    TCP/IP_address
    >, where
    TCP/IP
    is the address of the printer, MFP, or print server.
  2. Log in to the FTP server with a username. (Pressing
    ENTER
    allows an anonymous login.)
    IMPORTANT!
    If necessary, type
    cd..
    to go to the root directory. Otherwise, make sure that the listed directory is in the same location as the file. This procedure may also be performed before
    Step 1
    .
  3. Type
    bin
    and press
    ENTER
    to switch to binary transfer.
  4. Type
    put
    c:
    <
    path filename
    > to transfer the file to the adapter so that it will be printed.
  5. Type
    bye
    to close the FTP session.
LEGACY ID:
HO1279