Bi-Directional Communication

You can use the Bi-Directional Communication Setup to enable two-way communication between a network printer and your computer.

To set up Bi-Directional Communication:

1. From the Devices and Printers window, right-click the printer, and select Printer properties.
2. Select the Configuration tab.
3. Click Bi-Directional Communication.
4. Click Connection. Select an option:
   • Automatic: Enables bi-directional communication when the printer is turned on. The Device Name or TCP/IP Address is set to the IP Address detected from the port setting of the print queue. The port setting is located under Printer properties > Ports.

     The Device Name or TCP/IP Address displays the name of the printer or its TCP/IP address when your computer connects to a network printer.

   • Manual: Allows you to enable the bi-directional communication manually. Enter the appropriate Device Name or TCP/IP Address.

     The Device Name or TCP/IP Address displays the name of the printer or its TCP/IP address when your computer connects to a network printer.

   • Off disables communication with the printer.
5. Click SNMP Community Name > Setup. In the Read and Write fields, enter the SNMP community name.

   To provide a measure of security, each function has an associated SNMP Community Name. The Read field obtains configuration data. The Write field sends configuration data.

   To use the bi-directional capabilities of the printer, the community name entries in the driver must match their equivalent settings in the printer. For example, assume that the designated community name for the printer Read function is public. All client computers using bi-directional drivers must assign the value public to the SNMP Read function to obtain regular printer status updates.

6. Select a Refresh Rate, which is the frequency in minutes to poll and update the status information. To enter your own time, select Custom.
7. Click OK.