## Printer Device Driver

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### Introduction

The OS/2 print spooler and print object take advantage of the features of bidirectional printing. The IBM Developer Connection Device Driver Kit for OS/2 (DDK) now provides the following in support of bidirectional printers:

1.Spooler Prt API interface that enables bidirectional communications with printers-this is bidirectional-software protocol independent.

2.Presentation Manager (PM) port-driver interface that enables bidirectional communications with printers-this is also bidirectional- software protocol independent.

3.Bidirectional protocol router layer that routes generic printer queries/ control commands to the correct bidirectional protocol converter.

4.Print object that takes advantage of the features of bidirectional printers.

5.Network-independent API interface that allows remote printer queries and effective printer-alert handling.

All OS/2 printer drivers developed with a prior DDK version should work without modification when printing to a bidirectional printer.

PM port drivers developed with a prior DDK version should work without modification, but they will not provide bidirectional communication.

The changes to the OS/2 print subsystem:

provide precise printer warnings/errors to users
keep print jobs until they appear in an output bin
provide remote control panel functions for certain printers