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How can I define a new printer font?

Updated May 18, 2018

The settings that have to be made to define a new font for an R/3 device type (in other words, a new printer font) that can be used to output SAPscript documentation. You want to use a new font on the printer.

General remarks:

This procedure can be used only if the desired font is available on the printer (in other words, is installed on the printer, has been installed via font cassette, is resident in the printer via soft font download or, in case of device type SAPWIN/WIN, is installed on the Windows PC) and can be called with a short printer command (max. 29 bytes). This printer command is maintained in the print control.

Solution procedure:

1. The original SAP printer type used previously must be copied to a customer printer type with a name starting with Z... (see Note 3166 for the reasoning behind this). To do this, choose "Utilities -> Copy device type" in transaction SPAD (spool administration).
Example: HPLJIIID is copied to ZHPLJ3.

2. A new print control SFxxx must be maintained for device type Z... In most cases, it contains the printer control command for setting the desired font. To find out what this printer command looks like, refer to the printer manual and the print controls SFxxx already contained in printer definition  Z... A certain amount of knowledge of the printer language is a prerequisite. The xxx numbering of the SFxxx print controls is arbitrary.

NOTE : The exact contents of the SFxxx print controls depend on the SAPscript printer driver used. For information on this, consult the CD documentation ("Basis system administration printer handbook") and the field documentation (F1 help) for input field "Print control" in SE73, Printer font maintenance.

Printer driver HPL2 (PCL 5 printer):
SFxxx must contain the PCL 5 command for the character set and print selection. CAUTION: As of Release 4.0A, there are special rules that apply here if the "Scalable font" indicator is activated for the printer font.

Printer driver POST (PostScript printer):
SFxxx must contain the name of the PostScript font, for example "Helvetica"

Printer driver PRES (Kyocera PRESCRIBE printer):
SFxxx must contain the PRESCRIBE command "FONT xx:" for font selection, for example "FONT 42;"

Printer driver SWIN (Windows print via SAPWIN):
SFxxx must contain the Windows font names. CAUTION: As of Release 4.0A, there are special rules that apply here if the "Scalable font" indicator is activated for the printer font.

Printer driver STN2 (target printer):
SFxxx must contain the complete command for the selection of the character set, the increment, bold and italic print and font.

Print control SFxxx is defined for device type Z... in transaction SPAD under the heading "Print control for device type". Example: The print control SF900 for the device type ZHPLJ3 is created with the replacement text (in other words, printer command)
1B28304E1B28733070313068313276307330623354.

3. In the SAPscript font maintenance transaction SE73 under "Printer fonts", a new entry must be made for the desired font on the desired device type. The following information must be given:
Device type  Z...
(Printer type to which the font belongs)
Family   ....
(Font name used in R/3, for example, COURIER, HELVE, LETGOTH, LNPRINT, TIMES)
Size      ...
(Font size in 1/10 point, for example, 240; for printer drivers that support scalable fonts, 000 is entered here)
bold      .
(X if bold type, otherwise space)
italic    .
(X if italic type, otherwise space)
CPI      ..,..
(Number of characters per inch (CPI))
If the font is NOT a proportional font (for example, HELVE,TIMES), for example 05.00)
PrtCtl 1  SFxxx
(Refer to field documentation (F1 document) for exact meaning. The name of the printer control created under point 2 is normally entered here).
PrtCtl 2  SFxxx
(Refer to field documentation (F1 document) for exact meaning. The name of the printer control created under point 2 is normally entered here).

If the font is a proportional font (HELVE or TIMES), an AFM file that contains the width values for the individual characters in the font must be entered under "Printer fonts" in SE73. Maintain the AFM file directly in the list of the printer fonts by choosing "Edit -> Edit font metrics".
As of Release 3.0A, you can choose a menu option to copy existing font metrics.  To do this, place the cursor on the line with the newly created printer font, and choose "Edit->Copy font metrics". If you have created, for example, a new printer font
ZHPLJ3 HELVE 200 _ _
you can copy the metrics of
ZHPLJ3 HELVE 160 _ _

Releases earlier than Release 3.0A do not have this menu option, and you must use the XX.XX function in the AFM editor to manually copy the AFM files from the group box to the new printer font. The new AFM files can then be checked to ensure they are correct (choose "Font metrics ->Check") and saved.
As of Release 3.0, it is also possible to copy font metrics, create a reference to the font metrics of another device type or to a default metric (all characters have the width 500), instead of copying the font metrics. In SE73, in the list of printer fonts, you can check that the complete font definition is correct by choosing "Edit->Generate font def.".


4. Finally, in transaction SPAD, the device type of the output device used must be changed from the SAP original to the new printer definition Z.... This is carried out in SPAD under the heading "Output devices".
Example: Printer LP05 previously had device type HPLJIIID and now receives device type ZHPLJ3.

 


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