Introduction to printing in ReflexBlue

Introduction

In ReflexBlue, you can print all kinds of documents, such as invoices, packing slips, labels, recipes, analyses, and more.

Printing is done via logical printers. These are printers you create in ReflexBlue per administration. These logical printers are linked to the actual (physical) printers you use locally. This is necessary because ReflexBlue is a cloud application and therefore cannot directly connect to your physical printers.

To enable this connection, you use the ReflexBlue Printer Service. You install this application locally on your computer. It acts as the bridge between the logical printers in the cloud and the physical printers on your own network.

The whole setup looks schematically like this:

In ReflexBlue, you create logical printers via the Printers overview screen in the ReflexBlue Desktop Client. These printers are created and managed per administration. To be able to print documents in ReflexBlue, there must always be at least one logical printer present in an administration.

Logical printers are linked to actual (physical) printers via the locally installed ReflexBlue Printer Service. These physical printers can be directly connected to the computer or accessible via the network.

Print jobs in ReflexBlue

Every time you want to print a document, ReflexBlue creates a print job. This print job contains the data to be printed and information about which logical printer should be used.

Each print job has a status indicating how far along the process is. Below are the possible statuses in a table.

Viewing and managing print jobs

In the Print Jobs overview screen in the ReflexBlue Desktop Client, you can monitor and manage all print jobs. Here you see the progress and a preview of the document being printed. You can also reprint a job, for example if it failed the first time or if you need the document again.

Cleaning up print jobs

Completed print jobs can also be cleaned up automatically on a regular basis using Scheduled tasks in ReflexBlue. For this, a Cleanup print jobs task is available.

The print process

The entire print process consists of several steps and components. Below is an overview.

The process looks schematically like this:

Selecting a logical and physical printer

When you start a print command, ReflexBlue first selects a logical printer. This happens in the following order:

• Administration settings: In the Administration settings, you can set a default printer per administration.
• User settings: In My account, each user can set their own default printer.
• Report settings: For each report in ReflexBlue, you can specify via the Report details using a Print Action which ReflexBlue printer should be used. This can also be set per user.
• User’s choice: During printing, a user can manually select a logical printer in the Print Preview screen.

Based on the chosen logical printer and the link with one or more ReflexBlue Printer Services, ReflexBlue decides which physical printer will ultimately print the document.

Flexible and scalable setup

The way the print process is designed in ReflexBlue makes the system flexible and easily scalable. This means you can adjust the connections and infrastructure around printers to fit your situation.

For example, you can install multiple ReflexBlue Printer Services for one or more administrations. This allows print jobs from different locations or environments to be processed simultaneously (in parallel).

Example situations:

• A headquarters with multiple printers.
• Different branches, each using their own ReflexBlue Printer Service.
• Remote workers who connect their own printer to a personal ReflexBlue Printer Service.