• A spool request contains information on the data to be output, its formatting, and the printer model used. The spool request generated is stored in the TemSe (temporary sequential file). Spool requests can be created by dialog work processes or by background work processes. Spool work processes do not create spool
requests.
• A spool work process formats the data specified in the spool request and creates an output request. The output request contains all data in an appropriate format for the printer. This data can either be passed on to an appropriate operating system spool process locally (on the same computer) or remotely (over a network connection). In an SAP system, the connection between a spool work process and the operating system spool process is known as the access method. There are more access methods than displayed above. These are the two most commonly used access methods for connecting printers to SAP systems. In this context, remote or local do not refer to the physical location of the output but to the place where the spool work process is connected to the operation system spool process.
• For print processing, the best performance is achieved by sending the data to be printed to the operating system as soon as possible. You do this using the local access method. The operating system then performs all remaining tasks, such as queuing and data transfer to the selected printer.
Additional note:
• One minor but indispensable requirement for printing from SAP systems is that each selectable printer allows printing at operating system level.
• You can display your own spool and output requests using transaction code SP02.In transaction code SU3, you can specify personal settings for printing on the Defaults tab page in the Spool Control section.
