PrintFxv2

scripts/printer-status.mjs

@@ -102,6 +102,15 @@ socket.on('connect', () => {
   socket.write(Buffer.alloc(200, 0x00));
   socket.write(Buffer.from([0x1b, 0x40]));
   socket.write(Buffer.from([0x1b, 0x69, 0x53]));
+
+  // Some firmware only answers once it is in raster mode, so ask again that way
+  // before giving up.
+  setTimeout(() => {
+    if (!chunks.length && !socket.destroyed) {
+      socket.write(Buffer.from([0x1b, 0x69, 0x61, 0x01]));
+      socket.write(Buffer.from([0x1b, 0x69, 0x53]));
+    }
+  }, 1500);
 });
 
 socket.on('data', (d) => {
@@ -113,8 +122,20 @@ socket.on('timeout', () => {
   socket.destroy();
   if (!chunks.length) {
     console.error('  The printer accepted the connection but sent nothing back.');
-    console.error('  Some firmware only answers when idle — make sure it is not mid-job,');
-    console.error('  and that nothing else is holding port 9100 open.\n');
+    console.error('');
+    console.error('  Many Brother network print servers are write-only on port 9100: they accept');
+    console.error('  jobs but never report status, even though the same printer answers happily');
+    console.error('  over USB. If this is one of them, no amount of asking will help.');
+    console.error('');
+    console.error('  Read the printer instead from:');
+    console.error('    - the display on the machine itself');
+    console.error('    - Brother Status Monitor, on a PC with the printer installed');
+    console.error('    - the printer\'s own web page, at http://' + host + '/');
+    console.error('');
+    console.error('  Status Monitor in particular gives the exact reason a job was refused,');
+    console.error('  which is more than brother_ql can tell you — its network backend never');
+    console.error('  reads the socket, so it reports success whatever the printer does.');
+    console.error('');
     process.exit(1);
   }
 });