Bi-directional communication allows applications to query the print device directly to determine its capabilities. It also provides the benefit of configuring printer driver settings on the server without user intervention. The printer driver can automatically determine how much memory the printer has, what printer fonts are available, and so on.
Bi-directional print devices can send unsolicited messages to Windows NT and to applications. For example, the print device might send an "out of paper" or "printer offline" message. Bi-directional communication enables much more detailed status reporting on a wider variety of information, such as low toner, paper jams, maintenance needs, and so on.
To take advantage of bi-directional printing, you must have the following: