6.1. Plugin architecture
As the printer driver does not do the encoding itself but loads an additional piece of software that
know how to "talk" with a certain encoder hardware and chip card, it is not limited to chips and
encoders that are currently present on the market.
Such a piece of software is called "Plugin". The driver can handle an almost unlimited number of
these plugins.
Important
The base driver will come with no plugins installed. Therefore the Plugin Manager will show an
empty list in the Installed Plugins window, as shown below:
Plugin Manager after clean installation.
As the requirements on the chip type and encoder hardware differ, users can install the plugins
they need for their encoding requirements.
Plugin Installation
The installation of a customized plugin depends of the plugin itself. Plugins usually come with a
separate setup routine or will be installed by system integrators on customer-side when the printers
are setup.
After installation of a plugin, the list can be refreshed by
- clicking on the "Reload" button below the list of installed plugins
- changing to another Category in Administration Center, then going back to Plugin Manager
- restarting the Administration Center
Prima 3 Driver Manual
58