[python-win32] ReadPrinter function in win32print

[Erik Oosterwaal]

Hi all,

I'm having a problem using win32print to read data back from a printer.
I'm developing a kiosk and I need to talk to a zebra (KR403 specifically) printer. I'm doing so using ZPL instructions sent directly to the printer. There is a library called "zebra" that abstracts away most low level stuff.

Sending ZPL instructions to the printer works like a charm, I can print and format everything as needed. However, there are some ZPL instructions that actually return a value from the printer, such as ~HS (Host Status Return) or ^HH (Configuration Label Return). Specifically, I need to know the "paper low" and "paper out" status of the printer. I found out that the zebra library does not support this currently.

I looked into it, and found that zebra uses win32print to issue the commands:



                 win32print.StartPagePrinter(hPrinter)

                 win32print.WritePrinter(hPrinter, commands)

                 win32print.EndPagePrinter(hPrinter)

But there still seems to be no way to read data back from the printer using win32print. Tim Golden advised me to look into the ReadPrinter() function http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windows/desktop/dd162895(v=vs.85).aspx
However, this function is not (yet) implemented in win32print.

Honestly, I'm too new at Python to start adding to win32print myself, so I was hoping someone has maybe already looked into this, or has an alternative way of finding out the paper low/paper out statuses.

Thanks for any help or advice anyone can give me.

Erik


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