HP Latex and Stitch S1000: Common troubleshooting for JDF/JMF Printers

This article will assist you in troubleshooting potential ink consumption reporting issues in the Spooler or connection problems when using an HP JDF/JMF printer.

Possible error messages

• "The requested URL returned an error: 404 Not Found"
• "Selected quality is not available on the printer. Please synchronize again with EasyMedia."
• "Unable to submit job (missing QueueEntry)."
• "Unable to detect the URL of the JDF ticket. Please submit manually."
• "Recv Failure: Connection reset by peer." 

These errors indicate a problem with the JDF/JMF communication between the printer driver and the printer. The JDF/JMF is responsible for directing the Integrated Print Solutions (IPS) to the location of the ripped files. A mismatch in communication can lead to these errors. 

To solve these issues, please refer to the following chapters.

Solutions related to connection

• If synchronization works for some projects but fails for others, double-check your JDF/JMF settings to ensure everything is correct.
  • For example, if the IPS URL is incorrect or there is an issue with the IPS connection, you will see the message "Cannot connect to IPS URL" in the Print Module > Settings > Status tab:
    
  • In some cases, even if your JDF/JMF setup is correct, you may encounter issues such as the "missing QueueEntry" error when sending a file to the controller. Although the job is fully sent, it may not appear in the Live Spooler area. If this is your case, try changing the retrieval method on the controller from JMF to Hotfolder. This adjustment can help the job appear in the live spooler area and retrieve cost information correctly.
• If you are working in different environments, test the connection using CIFS instead of SMB. Use the format cifs://ip_address_of_printer instead of smb://ip_address_of_printer. Check if the LowRes and HighRes TIFF files contain data. 

Solutions related to software and hardware

• Ensure that the firmware on both the controller and the IPS is up to date. Outdated firmware can lead to various issues, including connection problems and synchronization failures. If this is your case, the following information may be of interest to you:
  
• Verify that the printer controller computer has enough free disk space to operate effectively.
• For installations with multiple printers of the same model, ensure that the IP and URL IP correspond to the correct printer to avoid confusion.

Solutions related to OS

• Ensure that the firewall on the IPS is disabled to allow proper communication.
• If you are working in different environments, such as Windows and Linux, ensure that the IPS hostname is added to the hosts file on the Linux system.
• When working on MacOS Catalina or later, with an installation of recent CalderaRIP versions, ensure that the RIP has full disk access. Other permissions might also be required.
• Also, in a macOS-based installation, verify that there are no duplicate mount points, as this can prevent ripping to the Volumes folder.
• Other points to consider about Windows Share on macOS and incomplete ripped files can be found in this article.

Manually Retrieve Cost Data in Job Ticket

Ink consumption issues may also occur if the printer does not include cost data in the job ticket, leading to discrepancies in the reported ink usage. As a workaround, you can manually retrieve the cost data from the printer's Spooler using the following steps:

1. Retrieve JobQueue.jmf:
   • Use the attached file named JobQueue.jmf
   • Run the following command in your terminal, replacing the IP address with the actual printer address:
     curl -S -d @JobQueue.jmf 'http://15.16.87.142:8080/jmfservice' -o jobqueue.jdf
   • This command will create a jobqueue.jdf file containing relevant information.
2. Locate the QueueEntry:
   • Open the jobqueue.jdf file and look for the QueueEntry related to the job that is experiencing issues. Note the JobPhase URL, which will look something like this:
     URL="http://15.16.87.142:8080/jmffileserver/?jdf=DQ4E"
3. Retrieve Job Information:
   • Use the URL obtained from the previous step to retrieve the job entry from the printer. Run one of the following commands, replacing the IP address with the actual printer address:
     curl -S -G -d 'jdf=DQ4E' 'http://15.16.87.142:8080/jmffileserver' -o job.jdf
     Or
     curl -S 'http://hplatex:8080/jmffileserver/?jdf=AwQ%3D' -o job.jdf
   • The part after the ? in the URL is specified in the -d parameter, while the rest is the base URL. This will create a job.jdf file containing the job's information.
4. (Optional) Gather Additional Information:
   • If the issue persists, please gather the following information before contacting support:
     • The jobqueue.jdf and job.jdf files.
     • Details about the printer, including the exact model name and firmware version.

Contact Support

If you continue to experience IPS connection issues after following these recommendations, consider reaching out to support.