Payroll Printing FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions)

The Payroll Supreme Printing FAQ's

Q. What is a FAQ?
A. A FAQ is a frequently asked question. In common usage, it refers to a list of such questions and the answers to them, created so that the answers can be made available to all.
Q. Why is there a FAQ just for Payroll Supreme Printing?
A. Well, there should be FAQ's for more topics, but this is the first one I've had a mind to create.
Q. Why is Payroll Supreme Printing different from normal printing?
A. Normal printing takes place entirely on the computer hooked up to the printer. For example, if I'm using Walrus, and I print a schedule, the job is formatted on the computer I am using, and then sent to the printer. If the printer is hooked up to another computer on the network, it is sent to that computer and then printed (which is no different, really).
Now, if an office is using payroll supreme, they are actually doing all of the work on a computer located here. When they print, the job is formatted here, and then sent over the internet to the clinic which then prints it. There are some issues which result from this new system of printing, and this FAQ exists to address and explain them (as best as I can).
Q. Why couldn't the new version of payroll just be like the old versions, thereby avoiding these added issues?
A. Well, this way the clinic doesn't need to enter the data, upload the payroll data, and then fax timesheets in if the data upload didn't work. The data is here, and is secured and backed up on our network, as soon as they enter it. Also, next time we upgrade the payroll program we only have to upgrade it on our servers, instead of having to install it at all the clinics.
Q. That's pretty neat.
A. It sure is. But it raises some printing issues.
Q. Oh yeah, I almost forgot. What are the printing issues?
A. The first one has to do with what kind of printer they are using. Remember how I said that with the new version of Payroll Supreme, the print jobs are formatted over here and then sent out to the printers? Well, that means that the server here has to be able to prepare the print job in a way that the clinic's printer can understand. It can only do that if it has the right print driver (a small program which tells a computer how to talk to a specific printer) installed. Now, I've already installed drivers for the most commonly used printers out there. To see which drivers are installed, click here. If the printer the clinic is using is not listed, the clinic will need to contact Network Administration to get it installed.
Q. Will all printers work?
A. No. Some printers depend on additional proprietary software to communicate with the printer. These will not work with Payroll Supreme.
Q. What should a clinic with one of these printers do?
A. Buy only OCA recommended hardware in the future.
Q. Okay; so if the office is using a printer on the list, or has contacted you to install the driver for their printer, is there anything else to keep in mind?
A. There is one more thing. The new version of Payroll Supreme runs inside a web browser window. If you close that window, or type in another site to go visit (even if it is still at www.orthodon.com), you will terminate your connection to payroll supreme. So, if you send a print job, you need to wait until the job is finished printing before exiting Payroll Supreme. If you get tired of waiting (and it can take some time; see below) you can minimize the browswer with Payroll Supreme and launch another copy of Internet Explorer. If you exit the program, the job will just sit in the queue, and if you later come back to Payroll Supreme, you won't be able to print anything.
Q. Why do Payroll Supreme print jobs take so long.
A. Because you're connected through the internet. Thus, it can take as much as 10 minutes for a job to print (maybe more, at busy times). And the office must stay connected to the Payroll Application for that whole time, or the job won't ever print.
Q. I want to know more about how printing on Payroll Supreme works. What actually happens when the clinic logs into Payroll Supreme?
A. The server sends the clinic a request for the name of the printer driver which the clinic's computer (the client) has set up as the default printer. The client send the answer back (giving the server the name listed under the "details" tab of the printer control panel). The server compares that to a list of installed printers. If it doesn't find it there, the server consults a separate mapping list. (Click here to see the current mapping list.) This list takes the names of some printers and tells the server to use an already installed driver to talk to that printer. If the client's default printer is not installed on the server, and there is no entry in the mapping list telling the server to use a particular driver for that printer, the client will not be able to print. If the client's default printer is either installed, or mapped to an installed printer, the client should be able to print with no problems.
Q. (Yawn) That's very interesting. How do I troubleshoot a nonworking printer.
A. Start with making sure the printer they want to use is woking locally (that is, regular print jobs work fine.) Make sure that it is set as the default printer. Next, consult the list of installed printers here and the mapping list here. If it isn't listed, send Henry an email telling him the exact name of the printer and the clinic which is using it. If the printer is listed, and it still isn't working, send Henry an email with entity code of the clinic and the printer type and the phrase "DRIVER ALREADY INSTALLED" in it. He will beging investigating.
Q. Anything else?
Q. Yeah. Impress upon all clinics the need to be patient due to the time it takes to download the print jobs to them. Also, encourage them to get out of the habit of printing time sheets unless they really need to. Trees are our friends.
Q. Shut up, hippy.
A. Okay.