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Top Page > Printer Reference > Preparing the Machine > Making Option Settings for the Printer > Conditions for Bidirectional Communication

Conditions for Bidirectional Communication

Bidirectional communication allows information about paper size and feed direction settings to be automatically sent to the printer. You can check printer status from your computer.

To support bidirectional communication, the following conditions must be met:

When connected with parallel cables

  • The computer must support bidirectional communication.

  • The machine must support bidirectional communication.

  • The interface cable must support bidirectional communication.

  • The machine must be connected to the computer using the standard parallel cables and parallel connectors.

  • Under Windows 2000, [Enable bidirectional support] must be selected, and [Enable printer pooling] must not be selected on the [Ports] tab with the PCL printer driver.

When connected with the network

  • The machine must support bidirectional communication.

  • Under Windows 2000/XP/Vista, Windows Server 2003/2003 R2/2008, [Enable bidirectional support] must be selected, and [Enable printer pooling] must not be selected on the [Ports] tab with the PCL printer driver.

  • In addition to the above, one of the following conditions must also be met:

    • The SmartDeviceMonitor for Client port and the TCP/IP protocol must be used.

    • IPP port name must include the IP address when using the IPP protocol.

When connected with USB

  • The printer must be connected to the computer's USB port using the USB interface cable (for Windows 2000/XP/Vista, Windows Server 2003/2003 R2/2008).

  • The computer must support bidirectional communication.

Note

  • The PCL6 printer driver supports bidirectional communication. You can update the printer status automatically.

  • The PCL5e printer driver supports bidirectional communication. You can update the printer status manually.

  • Install SmartDeviceMonitor for Client from the supplied CD-ROM.