Jobs do not print on a Ricoh PDF printer

Configuring RICOH ProcessDirector to send jobs to a cutsheet printer using a Ricoh PDF printer device can be challenging. If you set up a Ricoh PDF printer and jobs are not printing, use these instructions to check the most common configuration issues.
Configuration issues can occur on the printer, in the control unit (digital front-end), in the connected network, or in the RICOH ProcessDirector printer definition.

To try to resolve printing issues on a Ricoh PDF printer:

  1. If this trouble is new:
    1. In RICOH ProcessDirector, disable the Ricoh PDF printer device.
    2. Follow the manufacturers' instructions to shut down the control unit, printer engine, and all pre-and post-processing equipment. Make sure you shut down all the elements of the system in the correct order.
    3. Start the control unit, printer engine, and all pre-and post-processing equipment again. Follow the manufacturers' instructions to start each item in the correct sequence.
    4. After everything in step is restarted and online, enable the Ricoh PDF printer device in RICOH ProcessDirector.
    5. Try to send a print job again.
      If the issue reoccurs, continue with the steps below.
  2. Make sure that your printer model is supported for use as a Ricoh PDF printer with your version of RICOH ProcessDirector.
    1. In RICOH ProcessDirector, find the printer in the Printers portlet.
    2. Select the printer and click More actions ⇒ Show Printer Web Page.
      • If the printer web page does not open, there is likely a network issue causing the connection to be blocked. Work with your network team to resolve network issues. Potential issues include: firewalls, proxy servers, virus protection software, and other security protection software, among others.
      • Try to open the printer web page after each network change until the page can be opened successfully.
    3. On the printer web page, find the printer model.
    4. Verify that RICOH ProcessDirector supports defining this printer model as a Ricoh PDF printer. In RICOH ProcessDirector, find the Ricoh PDF printer device and open the properties. Find the Type of printer property and look for your printer model. If your model is not in the list, it cannot be defined as a Ricoh PDF printer with your current level of RICOH ProcessDirector. You might be able to update the Ricoh PDF Printer feature to a level that supports the printer model.

      If you have not upgraded the Ricoh PDF Printer feature in over a year, open a support ticket to request the latest version. Install the new version and try to print again. Return to this procedure if the issues are not resolved.

    5. If you have a current version of the Ricoh PDF Printer feature or if you install a new version and your model still does not appear in the list, choose a different type of printer device.
      For example, you can create a Passthrough printer or request a custom printer definition from your Ricoh software sales representative.
  3. Make sure that the Ricoh PDF printer uses the correct values for these properties in RICOH ProcessDirector and in the control unit settings.
    You should be able to find these values on the printer web page:
    • Printer port
    • Printer TCP/IP address or host name
  4. Check that the SNMP settings on the printer and in RICOH ProcessDirector are set the same.
    1. Make sure that they use the same SNMP community name and that SNMP is enabled on both.
    2. RICOH ProcessDirector only supports SNMP v1 or v3. If the printer uses SNMP v2, the SNMP connection does not function. Change the printer to use SNMP v1 or v3.
    3. SNMP receives requests on UDP port 161. Make sure that UDP port 161 is open.
    4. Check that SNMP traffic between the RICOH ProcessDirector server and the printer can pass through any firewalls you have in place. Make sure that they firewall rules do not time out and that SNMP traffic can flow in both directions (from the server to the printer and from the printer to the server) at all times.
  5. Check that the printer is configured correctly to receive jobs from RICOH ProcessDirector.
    Depending on the control unit connected to your printer, you might have to define a hot folder, virtual printer, or print queue for RICOH ProcessDirector on the control unit. See the documentation for your control unit to learn about supported job submission methods and details for setting up the device.

    Work with your Ricoh printer service representative to set up, configure, and check this configuration.

  6. If you are attempting to send PDF/JDF print jobs (PDF files with accompanying JDF job tickets), make sure that the printer is configured to receive JDF.
    JDF is not enabled on all printers by default.
  7. If the printer uses the Ricoh internal controller (not RICOH TotalFlow Print server or the EFI Fiery controller) and you are sending PostScript jobs, make sure that the correct PostScript option for the device is installed and enabled on the printer.
    You must either use the Adobe PostScript 3 card option, or, if available on your printer model, the onboard PostScript emulation software known as IRIPS Postscript 3.
  8. If all the settings are correct, try changing the value of the Data stream to send property on the Ricoh PDF printer object to a different datastream. For example, if PDF/JDF jobs are failing, change Data stream to send to PostScript and submit the job again.
  9. Assess the larger picture to see if there is contention for resources between applications.
    Some printers place higher priority on jobs submitted over different protocols. If other applications are prioritized over RICOH ProcessDirector and those applications send jobs regularly, jobs from RICOH ProcessDirector can be blocked.

    Find out how many applications are sending jobs to this printer. If there is even one additional application using this printer, it could be crowding out your attempts to send jobs using RICOH ProcessDirector.

    Test this possibility by shutting down other applications that use this printer and submitting a job from RICOH ProcessDirector. If the job prints successfully, enable the other applications one-by-one to determine which one is causing trouble.

  10. Restart the entire system to return everything to a known-good state.
    1. Shut down all applications that send jobs to the printer, including RICOH ProcessDirector.
    2. Shut down the control unit, printer engine, and all pre-and post-processing equipment.
        Note:
      • Follow the manufacturer instructions for shutting the equipment down completely and in the correct order.
    3. Start the control unit, printer engine, and all pre-and post-processing equipment in the correct order.
        Note:
      • Follow the manufacturer instructions for starting the equipment in the correct order. Make sure that all components are in a Ready state before you continue.
    4. Start RICOH ProcessDirector and enable the Ricoh PDF printer object.
    5. Submit a job from RICOH ProcessDirector to see whether it processes correctly.
    6. Start the other applications that send jobs to the printer.
  11. If none of those suggestions resolve the configuration issues, prepare to contact Ricoh Software Support. Follow these steps to collect the data that software support needs to start evaluating the issue:
    1. In RICOH ProcessDirector, open Administration ⇒ Diagnostics ⇒ System Trace.
    2. Change the value for Capture job data from Ricoh PDF printers to Yes.
        Important:
      • If this setting is not available, contact Software Support and request an update to add it to RICOH ProcessDirector.
      • Turning this setting on captures job data sent to all Ricoh PDF printers until it is turned off again. If jobs submitted include confidential data (such as Personally Identifiable Information (PII) or Electronic Personal Health Information (ePHI)), take appropriate precautions to protect that data.

        Discuss the type and scope of the data with your Ricoh Software Support Representative BEFORE uploading the data for review so Ricoh can also take the needed steps to protect this data.

      • Capturing job data requires large amounts of disk space. Therefore, we recommend turning this capture property on only for debugging and tracing purposes and turn it off as quickly as possible. In this case, after you submit one job and it fails to print on the Ricoh PDF printer, turn this capture property off.
    3. Click Save.
    4. Send a job to the Ricoh PDF printer that you are troubleshooting.
      The job data is stored in a capture file here:
      • On AIX and Linux: /aiw/aiw1/pc/ws/webapps/printing/WEB-INF/tmp/printing/
      • On Windows: C:\aiw\aiw1\pc\ws\webapps\printing\WEB-INF\tmp\printing\
    5. Turn off the Capture job data from Ricoh PDF printers property.
    6. Open Administration ⇒ Diagnostics ⇒ Data Capture and click Capture.
    7. Gather this data, so you have it ready for Software Support:
      • The PDF file that you are printing.
      • The job log for the job that failed.
      • The capture file you generated with the Capture action.
      • A ZIP file containing these directories:
        • Spool directory for the job
        • If the Parent server for the Ricoh PDF printer is a Windows Application server:
          • C:\aiw\aiw1\pc\ws\webapps\printing\WEB-INF\tmp\printing
          • C:\aiw\aiw1\pc\ws\webapps\printing\WEB-INF\logs
          • C:\aiw\aiw1\pc\version
        • If the Parent server for the Ricoh PDF printer is a Linux server:
          • /aiw/aiw1/pc/ws/webapps/printing/WEB-INF/tmp/printing
          • /aiw/aiw1/pc/ws/webapps/printing/WEB-INF/logs
          • /aiw/aiw1/pc/version
          Note:
        • These directories are default values. If you installed on a different drive or in a different directory structure, adjust the paths as needed.
        Important:
      • Do not send any files if ePHI jobs were printing when you ran the capture action. When you contact Software Support, tell them that you need a Red Zone set up and for information about uploading jobs to the Red Zone.
    8. Call Ricoh Software Support and describe the issue. Let them know what information you have collected, including whether any of the files contain ePHI.

Related information:

Defining Ricoh PDF printer objects
Parent topic: Printing jobs