(913) 381-9118 Voice/FAX
http://www.datasmithpayroll.com
E-Mail: paymail@datasmithpayroll.com

LPI Information Systems
DATASMITH Software Sales & Service
10020 Fontana; Overland Park, KS 66207-3640

Return to Payroll Central
Return to Payroll News Page 1

PRINTER SETUP CONSIDERATIONS WHEN
USING DATASMITH PAYROLL

Most plain-paper reports from Datasmith Payroll will work fine in either a single-user or multi-user environment, with or without a spooler.

However, there are some Payroll reports which may either require that the printer is dedicated to the payroll process during the entire operation, or which may behave differently when sharing a printer.

A Local/Dedicated printer greatly simplifies and enhances operation of check printing and W-2 (or other nonstandard form) production by allowing the operator to interact with the system for "pause-adjust-resume" or "restart" operations: particularly when large numbers of employees are involved. Certain Payroll report modules send data to the printer in "chunks". These "chunks" correspond to the block of data associated with a single employee, so that there is a logical place (between "chunks") to check for operator directions to pause, adjust, possibly stop, and restart without spoiling a check or printing incomplete employee details. For the check writer a "chunk" is a single check, and for the W-2 program, it is a single W-2 form. In each of these modules, the operator can direct the program to re-start at a specified employee.

A "Shared/Network" printer always receives the entire report in one large "chunk" via a Spooler program. This makes "pause-adjust-resume" operation impossible, because neither the Spooler program nor the printer itself knows what is being printed, and cannot determine how to restart printing at a logical point: only an application program can perform a useful "restart".

CHOOSING: DEDICATED OR SHARED?

With smaller payrolls, the added convenience of "Local/Dedicated" operation will be small, and the best choice will usually be "Network/Shared" for all printers. For payrolls with large numbers of employees, "Local/Dedicated" will usually continue to be the best choice for checks and W-2 forms.

For this reason, payroll operators may have good reason to impose different "shared printer"/"dedicated printer" requirements upon the system for different payrolls or different payroll operations on the same system.

PRINTER SETUP FOR PAYROLL VERSION 9.x:

In Datasmith Payroll Version 9.x and later, the operator may choose whether each printer is handled as a "Local/Dedicated" or a "Network/Shared" printer. This choice, which appears as the printer's Connection setting, will dictate the operation of all payroll output to the printer, and each and every report (including Check and W-2 printing) will adapt to this choice.

On the Datasmith Payroll Version 9.x Printer Definition screen, the operator may choose between "Local/Dedicated" and "Network/Shared" Connection for each of the four printers (PRINTER1 - PRINTER4) attached to Payroll. The recommended Connection setting on Payroll's Printer Definition screen is "Network/Shared" for all printers which are either (1) actually shared by more than one task or user on a network, or (2) operated in a multitasking environment such as Windows 95, OS/2, or Windows NT. The Printer Definition screen may be accessed by choosing Company, and then Printer Definition (CO-PR) from the Main Menu, or by selecting "Printer Definition" from the pull-down "Utilities" menu.

If a given printer is ever operated as a "Local/Dedicated" printer, you must make sure that neither your operating system nor your network routes program output through a "Spooler".

PRINTER SETUP FOR PAYROLL VERSION 8.x AND EARLIER:

The following Payroll (Version 8.x) operations are known to be disrupted by the presence of a Spooler. When using Windows 95, turn off MS-DOS printer spooling.

1. Current Report - Single Employee (from Main Menu: RE-CS)

2. Old Report - Single Employee (from Main Menu: RE-OS)

3. Calculations with Benefit Accrual Option: disrupted when benefit checking during calculation is activated.

3. Check Printing (from Main Menu: CH). The Version 8.x DATACHECK option requires a "Local/Dedicated" printer.

4. Comparative Report - Single Employee (from Main Menu: CP-CS)

5. W-2 Form Printing (from Main Menu: W2)

You should always make sure that neither your network nor your operating system routes program output through a "Spooler" when performing these operations under Datasmith Payroll Version 8.x and earlier systems.