IEEE Std 1284.1-1997 This standard superseds NPAP - Network Printing Alliance Protocol

The following objectives highlight the purpose of the NPAP:

1. Simplify the printer driver development process by defining a standard set of command/response transactions between host computer and printer.
2. Accelerate the development of communicating printers by providing a robust protocol that can be implemented in phases ranging from basic to extended functionality.
3. Ease customers' printing problems (especially over networks) by accelerating the availability of communicating printers and compatible host software.
4. Assist software developers in minimizing time to market by establishing a base set of functions that insure a minimum level of host-to-printer communications.
5. Facilitate the creation of powerful network print management software by defining transactions that work across a wide range of printers.
6. Enable the creation of standard control/communications firmware that can be included in many peripheral devices.
7. Create a set of guidelines for host-to-printer communications that are independent of the transport mechanism used between devices.
8. Enhance the management of printers in networks by providing a mechanism for printers to readily identify their status and configuration to the host application.
9. Permit design innovation by providing flexibility within the specification for printer manufacturers to include extensions to the original set of guidelines.
10. Insure cross-platform host-to-printer communications by creating a set of guidelines independent of the operating system.
11. The resultant protocol is printer language (data stream) independent with the capability of a printer to support multiple data streams, all active at the same time, if desired.
12. Tunneling of SNMP requests.

• NPAP - Network Printing Alliance Protocol Network Printing Alliance Protocol. Superseded by this standard.
• IEEE Standard 1284 IEEE Standard Signaling Method for a Bidiretional Parallel Peripheral Interface for Personal Computers
• IEEE Standard 1284.3 Standard for Interface and Protocol Extensions to IEEE Std. 1284 Compliant Peripheral and Host Adapter Ports.
• IEEE Standard 1284.4 Standard for Data Delivery and Logical Channels for IEEE Std. 1284 Interfaces.

Technical reference manuals can be ordered from the IEEE standards association: http://www.ieee.org/

IEEE subscription members can download the specification from http://standards.ieee.org/reading/ieee/std/busarch/1284.1-1997.pdf

You can also use the documentation for NPAP - Network Printing Alliance Protocol (although superseded by IEEE Std 1284.1-1997) from Lexmarks FTP site: ftp://ftp.lexmark.com/