Make printer status best effort, not a precondition

A silent printer no longer blocks printing or reports as unhealthy. printPng
returns confirmed:false when no status came back, so callers don't claim a
label came out when all we know is the bytes were delivered.

src/printing/ql-print.js

@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 import { createCanvas, loadImage } from '@napi-rs/canvas';
 
 import { getMedia, buildJob, PIXEL_WIDTH } from './ql-raster.js';
-import { queryStatus, sendJob, DEFAULT_PORT } from './ql-transport.js';
+import { probeStatus, sendJob, DEFAULT_PORT } from './ql-transport.js';
 import { describeProblem, checkMediaMatches } from './ql-status.js';
 
 /**
@@ -9,11 +9,14 @@ import { describeProblem, checkMediaMatches } from './ql-status.js';
  * printer's raster protocol directly.
  *
  * This is the drop-in replacement for shelling out to the Python brother_ql
- * CLI in printer.js. Same job, minus a Python runtime in the image, minus
+ * CLI in printer.js. Same job, minus a Python runtime in the image and minus
- * writing every badge to a temp file, and with the printer's actual status
+ * writing every badge to a temp file.
- * frames instead of a parsed traceback — so "cover open" and "wrong roll" are
+ *
- * reported before a label is wasted rather than guessed at from stderr
+ * What it does NOT buy us is reliable printer state. The QL-820NWB accepts
- * afterwards.
+ * jobs on port 9100 but stays silent over TCP; status frames only come back
+ * over USB. So roll type, roll level and cover state are unknowable from here,
+ * exactly as they were with brother_ql. Status handling below is best effort:
+ * used when offered, never required.
  *
  * Input is the PNG renderBadgePng() already produces, so the badge layout,
  * rotation and vertical centring are untouched.
@@ -109,8 +112,8 @@ async function pngToPlanes(png, media, { red, threshold = 180 }) {
  * @param {string} [options.label='62']  The site's printer_label value
  * @param {boolean} [options.cut=true]
  * @param {number} [options.threshold]   Luminance cutover, 0-255; higher is bolder
- * @param {boolean} [options.checkMedia=true]
+ * @param {boolean} [options.checkMedia=true]  Best effort; skipped if the printer is mute
- * @returns {Promise<{ok: boolean, message?: string}>}
+ * @returns {Promise<{ok: boolean, confirmed?: boolean, message: string}>}
  */
 export async function printPng(png, options = {}) {
   const {
@@ -131,9 +134,20 @@ export async function printPng(png, options = {}) {
   return enqueue(host, async () => {
     try {
       if (checkMedia) {
-        const current = await queryStatus(host, { port });
+        const probe = await probeStatus(host, { port });
-        const problem = describeProblem(current) || checkMediaMatches(current, media);
+        if (!probe.reachable) {
-        if (problem) return { ok: false, message: problem };
+          return {
+            ok: false,
+            message: probe.error || `Cannot reach printer at ${host}:${port}`,
+          };
+        }
+        // A silent printer is the normal case over TCP, so absent status must
+        // never block the job — the visitor is already signed in and waiting.
+        if (probe.status) {
+          const problem =
+            describeProblem(probe.status) || checkMediaMatches(probe.status, media);
+          if (problem) return { ok: false, message: problem };
+        }
       }
 
       const page = await pngToPlanes(png, media, { red: mapping.red, threshold });
@@ -141,16 +155,19 @@ export async function printPng(png, options = {}) {
 
       const result = await sendJob(host, job, { port });
       const last = result.frames[result.frames.length - 1];
-      const problem = describeProblem(last);
+      const problem = last ? describeProblem(last) : null;
 
       if (problem) return { ok: false, message: problem };
-      if (!result.completed && result.timedOut) {
+
-        return {
+      // Without status frames, "delivered" is as strong a claim as we can make.
-          ok: false,
+      // Don't dress that up as confirmation the label physically came out.
-          message: 'The printer took the label but never confirmed it finished.',
+      return {
-        };
+        ok: true,
-      }
+        confirmed: result.statusAvailable,
-      return { ok: true, message: `Printed to ${host}` };
+        message: result.statusAvailable
+          ? `Printed to ${host}`
+          : `Sent to ${host} (this printer does not confirm over the network)`,
+      };
     } catch (err) {
       return { ok: false, message: err.message };
     }
@@ -158,8 +175,11 @@ export async function printPng(png, options = {}) {
 }
 
 /**
- * Ask the printer how it is, without printing. Worth polling from the admin
+ * Ask the printer how it is, without printing.
- * console so reception sees "roll empty" before a visitor is at the desk.
+ *
+ * `ready` is tri-state: true, false, or null for "reachable but it won't say",
+ * which is the normal answer over the network. Treat null as unknown in the
+ * admin console rather than colouring it green or red.
  */
 export async function printerHealth({ host, port = DEFAULT_PORT, label = '62' }) {
   if (!host) return { online: false, ready: false, message: 'No printer configured' };
@@ -167,19 +187,32 @@ export async function printerHealth({ host, port = DEFAULT_PORT, label = '62' })
   const mapping = LABEL_TO_MEDIA[label] || LABEL_TO_MEDIA['62'];
   const media = getMedia(mapping.media);
 
-  try {
+  const probe = await probeStatus(host, { port });
-    const current = await queryStatus(host, { port });
+
-    const problem = describeProblem(current) || checkMediaMatches(current, media);
+  if (!probe.reachable) {
+    return { online: false, ready: false, message: probe.error || 'Printer did not answer' };
+  }
+
+  // The usual case on this hardware: reachable, but mute. Report that honestly
+  // rather than dressing silence up as either health or failure.
+  if (!probe.status) {
     return {
       online: true,
-      ready: !problem,
+      ready: null,
-      message: problem || 'Ready',
+      message:
-      mediaWidthMm: current.mediaWidthMm,
+        'Reachable. This printer does not report status over the network, so ' +
-      mediaType: current.mediaType,
+        'roll type, roll level and cover state cannot be checked from here.',
     };
-  } catch (err) {
-    return { online: false, ready: false, message: err.message };
   }
+
+  const problem = describeProblem(probe.status) || checkMediaMatches(probe.status, media);
+  return {
+    online: true,
+    ready: !problem,
+    message: problem || 'Ready',
+    mediaWidthMm: probe.status.mediaWidthMm,
+    mediaType: probe.status.mediaType,
+  };
 }
 
 export { LABEL_TO_MEDIA };