User's Manual

Printing
4-11
Printing Priorities
Each Spacelabs Medical network-connected patient monitor is capable of sending
recordings to two network printers. With two printers available to monitors on the
network, printer selection rules are used to strike the best possible balance to:
• generate the most timely output of high priority recordings;
• ensure that subsequent recordings from one patient over a short time span
are processed by one printer; and
• use paper as efficiently as possible.
When the printing load is heavy, these objectives may conflict. The factors that
are taken into consideration when a print request occurs include:
• Are either of the two printers outputting, holding in memory queue, or loading
in queue a print job from this monitor?
• Are either of the printers idle?
• Is the record request a high priority request (alarm vs. manual)?
• Are either of the printers currently printing a continuous recording?
• Are either of the printers’ queues full?
• Which of the printers is the preferred size for this request
(1, 2, or 4 channels)?
At the time of a printing request, the monitor from which the request is coming
evaluates both of the available printers one at a time, leading to a score for each
of the two printers. Each printer’s evaluation passes all the way through the
priority tree from the top score to the score at the bottom of the tree. The printer
generating the highest score gets the job. If the evaluation produces the same
score for each printer, the print job is sent to the printer designated as the primary
printer for that monitor.
The printing rules mentioned work best when the two printers are sharing the
printing load. The monitor automatically determines which printer is best for each
type of recording. Another configuration designates one printer as the primary
printer and the other as the backup printer. All recordings are sent to the primary
printer unless it is unable to print for the following reasons:
• Off-line
• Out of paper
• Disconnected from network
• Powered OFF
• All print queues full
• Unable to accept recording type
If the primary printer is unable to print, the recordings are then sent to the backup
printer unless it is also unable to print for the reasons listed above.
Some networks are configured so that recordings from a given monitor are
directed to only one of the printers on the network. In this case only one printer will
be available instead of two during possible times of simultaneous multiple bed
alarms. The selection rules will not be applicable, and print performance will be
affected.