Using virtual printers to test the ReflexBlue Printer Service

For testing the ReflexBlue Printer Service, it can be useful to locally create a virtual NUL or dummy printer. This can be linked to a logical printer defined in a ReflexBlue administration. Print jobs will then be sent to this virtual printer and always handled successfully without actually printing anything.

If you do need to print jobs to PDF and you also don’t want to get a dialog window for each print job, you can use the Bullzip PDF printer. This freeware product needs to be downloaded and installed, but afterwards you have the option to specify that no confirmation dialogs should be shown. Using the Bullzip PDF printer is especially handy if you want to print multiple labels in one go.

Adding a virtual NUL Windows printer

To add a virtual NUL Windows printer in Windows, follow these steps:

1. Right-click the Windows (Start) button and select Settings.

2. In the Windows Settings dialog, select Devices and then Printers & scanners.

3. Select Add a printer or scanner.

4. Wait a moment and select The printer I want isn’t listed.

5. In the Add Printer dialog, select Add a local printer or network printer with manual settings and then Next.

6. Under Choose a printer port, select Use a new port: and choose Local Port under Type of port.

7. Enter NUL: as the name of the port.

   If you have previously created the NUL: port, you can select it under Use an existing port:.

8. Select Next.

9. Under Install the printer driver, select Microsoft and then Microsoft PCL6 Class Driver. Then select Next.

10. Under Which version of the driver do you want to use?, select Use the driver that is currently installed (recommended), and select Next.

11. Give the printer a name and select Next.

12. Under Printer Sharing, select Do not share this printer, and select Next.

After completing the above steps, the virtual printer should be created. You can then link it to a logical printer in the ReflexBlue Printer Service. All print jobs sent to that logical printer will always be handled successfully without actually printing.

Adding a Bullzip PDF printer

Installing Bullzip PDF printer

1. Download the Bullzip PDF Printer
   • Visit: https://www.bullzip.com/products/pdf/info.php
   • Select Download and save the installation file.
2. Install the PDF Printer - Double-click the installation file.
   • Follow the steps in the installation wizard.
   • Accept the installation of any additional components such as:
     • Ghostscript.
     • PDF Power Tool.

Configuration for automatic saving

1. Open the Bullzip configuration

   • Start menu → Search for Bullzip PDF Printer Options.

2. Disable the save dialog

   • Go to the Dialog tab.
   • Uncheck Show save dialog.

3. Enable automatic saving

   • Go to the Save tab.

   • Check Auto save.

   • Enter the desired path and file name under File name, for example C:\PDFs\<docname>.pdf.

     Use <docname> to automatically use the original document name.

4. Settings for existing files

   • Option If file exists:
     • Choose Append unique number (to avoid duplicates).
     • Or Overwrite if overwriting is desired.
   • Uncheck Confirm overwrite to avoid pop-ups.

5. Other settings

   • Uncheck Open file after saving if you don’t want the file to open automatically.

Test the functionality

1. Open a document (e.g., Word, Excel).
2. Choose Print and select Bullzip PDF Printer.
3. The PDF should be saved automatically in the specified folder without any prompts.

Link the printer

After completing the above steps, you can link the Bullzip PDF Printer to a logical printer in the ReflexBlue Printer Service. All print jobs sent to that logical printer will then be saved as PDFs.