It is a dot matrix printer, and previously to just rolling out the paper, it would print garbage characters.

That all makes it sound as if the printer device description is for the wrong printer type. What kind (manufacturer/model) is the printer? What ‘Manufacturer type and model’ is set on the device description?

Setting type/model essentially associates a printer driver with the printer. When spooled output is generated for it, appropriate printer control codes can be inserted into the printer data stream.

Tom

I’m not aware of any such response code for CPA5201. It might be a different message ID; if so, please supply the message ID. It might be a different OS release — it doesn’t match from V5R4 through i 7.1. What OS release are you running?

A response code should be 8 hex digits (possibly only 4.) Where were you seeing ‘Unable to connect to device.’? Something isn’t clear about how the connection with the printer is structured. Some general descriptions might help.

Tom

It accepts the job but the printer just rolls out the paper without physically writing to it.

It is a dot matrix printer, and previously to just rolling out the paper, it would print garbage characters.

• Recovery . . . : Press the Stop key and the Start key, or press the
  Start/Stop key to clear any indicator lights. The device may need to be
  turned off and then on again to clear the error. For additional problem
  analysis information, check the printer writer job log or your job log if
  not using a printer writer (SPOOL(*NO)). If the problem continues, start
  problem analysis (ANZPRB command).
• Technical description . . . . . . . . : The device response code is nnnn.
  Device response codes and their meanings follow:

That would be followed by a list of the most common response codes and short descriptions.

Did you try the suggested recovery? Did you check the printer writer job log? Was there a response code?

Tom