printer request difficulties

[baechler%elma.epfl.ch@cunyvm.cuny.edu]

Hi, guys
  Here we have a lot of problems with our printer that people form
Symbolics (Europe) have not been able to solve.

  We have a network of three machines (running 7-2 with ECO) connected via
chaos. There are two 3650 and one 3620 machines. The 3620 one handles
the printer, which is a QMS-PS 800+, but is not configured as a file
server.

(1) We can only print files form the machine handling the print-spooler.
    If we try from another one, we get the following error message:

    On the machine where the harcopy command was issued:
    [<Date> From <Machine-with-printer>: Irrecoverable Error on printer:
    <printer>: Irrecoverable device error]

    A posscript error occurs at the same time with the message:
    Error: undefined
    Offendning Command: 7.92f0

    Stack:

    -dictionary-
    -mark-
     /InFonts

    On the machine handling the printer, we get a notification saying that:

    <Date> MA <Printer>: Printer <Printer> has had an irrecoverable
    error: irrecoverable device error.
          Some output destined for it was lost.
    <Date> MA <Printer>: Irrecoverable error on <Printer> while printing
      a request for <User>
   (Request <request-Id>, titled <Pathname>)
   The request will be held for later processing.

     The printer is then automaticaly restarted with the problems
   indicated below, and we get a message saying that it is working
   again. But we never get our printed  File.

     during the restart, in addition of the problems we always have (see
   below), we get another postscript error message:

    Postscript Error for <Pathname>                     Page1

    For operator "7.92f0": undefined

(2) Our printer process behaves strangely:
    - at each reset, when the state 'Get Printer Name' is reached, a
      problem occurs: the printer outputs a sheet containing a
      postscript error message:
      Error: Dictfull
      Offending Command: def

      Stack:
      (                              )
      /String-to-smash

      In the same time we get an error message, saying that an
      irrecoverable error has occured and that some output was lost. The
      only solution is to restart our printer process.

      That restart has two possible endings:
      - It is sucessful when we issued the hardcopy command while the
        printer process is in the 'Idle' state.
      - In other Cases, An irrecoverable errors occurs forever.
        We get another Postscript Error Message:
        Error: undefined
        Offendning Command: 9.599999f0

        Stack:

        -dictionary-
        -mark-
        /InFonts

        The only choice is also to restart the printer, but in that
        case we get another message saying that we will lose some
        information and that the program may be in an inconsistent
        state.
        The only solution we found is to reboot the machine.

    - When we succeed in restaring the printer, the file we printed just
      before we stopped it is always reprinted.

That strange behavior produce a huge waste of paper and make very
difficult to print a file. We did not find a solution, and people from
Symbolics-Europe have not yet been able to help us. Does anybody
have at least a beginning of solution for some of these problems ?

Emmanuel Baechler
Artificial Inteligence Laboratory
Swiss Federal Institute of Technology of Lausanne
1015 Lausanne
e-mail: BAECHLER%CLSEPF51.BITNET@CUNYVM.CUNY.EDU
        BAECHLER@ELMA.EPFL.CH.BITNET