Multiple PACS and Print Destinations using DICOM Printer 2

Configure DICOM Printer 2 to handle multiple destination targets. Need help with your specific workflow? Contact our team.

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Introduction

Healthcare facilities often need to send documents to multiple PACS systems and print destinations. This guide shows you how to configure DICOM Printer 2 to offer users destination choices at print time.

When you finish this setup, you'll be able to:

  • Print a document to DICOM Printer 2
  • Choose from multiple destinations (2 PACS systems and 1 Dry Imager)
  • Let DICOM Printer handle the document based on your selection

DICOM Printer is a print-to-PACS product. If you need a store-forward multi-destination PACS router, use DICOM Capacitor instead.

Getting Started

If you're new to DP2 configuration, read our guide on automating storage to PACS first. It covers basic DP2 configuration, <ActionList> components, and the <Workflow> block.

Configuration Overview

We'll enhance the basic configuration by:

  1. Adding multiple <Store> actions for different PACS destinations
  2. Adding a <Print> action for printing to film
  3. Creating a <Run> action to show destination options
  4. Adding conditional logic to process user selections

Step 1: Set Up Multiple PACS Destinations

First, modify your configuration to include multiple PACS destinations:

<!-- First PACS -->
<Store name="StoreToPrimary">
  <Compression type="RLE" />
  <ConnectionParameters>
    <PeerAeTitle>CONQUESTSRV1</PeerAeTitle>
    <Host>192.168.0.41</Host>
    <Port>5678</Port>
  </ConnectionParameters>
</Store>

<!-- Second PACS -->
<Store name="StoreToSecondary">
  <Compression type="RLE" />
  <ConnectionParameters>
    <MyAeTitle>DICOM_PRINTER</MyAeTitle>
    <PeerAeTitle>CONQUESTSRV2</PeerAeTitle>
    <Host>192.168.0.42</Host>
    <Port>104</Port>
  </ConnectionParameters>
</Store>

Changes made:

  • Renamed the original Store action to StoreToPrimary for clarity
  • Added a second <Store> action with different connection parameters
  • Added a <MyAeTitle> element to specify the AE title for the second PACS

Step 2: Add Print Destination

Next, add a print destination for the dry imager:

<Print name="Print">
  <PrintMode>Grayscale12</PrintMode>
  <Resolution>254 x 254</Resolution>
  <ConnectionParameters>
    <MyAeTitle>DICOM_PRINTER</MyAeTitle>
    <PeerAeTitle>DRIPIX</PeerAeTitle>
    <Host>192.168.0.43</Host>
    <Port>5040</Port>
  </ConnectionParameters>
</Print>

This connects to a printer at 192.168.0.43 on port 5040 using the AE title DRYPIX. Setting the resolution to 254 DPI helps ensure true-size image reproduction.

Step 3: Set Up User Selection

Since DP2 doesn't have variables, we'll use a private DICOM tag to store user choices:

<SetTag tag="(1001,1000)" tagName="Destination"
      name="InitDestination" vr="LO"/>

Then add a <Run> action to show destination options:

<Run type="Interactive" name="ChooseDestination">
    <Command>plugins/GeneralSelectPlugin.exe</Command>
    <Timeout>60000</Timeout>
    <Arguments>Select Report Destination|Primary PACS|Secondary PACS|Dry Imager</Arguments>
    <Output tag="(1001,1000)"/>
</Run>

This configuration:

  • Uses GeneralSelectPlugin.exe to show a dialog box
  • Gives users 60 seconds to choose an option
  • Offers three choices: "Primary PACS," "Secondary PACS," and "Dry Imager"
  • Stores the selection in our private tag

Step 4: Build the Workflow Logic

Now assemble these actions into a workflow:

<Workflow>
  <Perform action="InitDestination"/>
  <Perform action="ChooseDestination"/ onError="Discard">

  <If field="TAG_VALUE( 1001, 1000 )" value="\*Dry\*">
    <Statements>
      <Perform action="Print" onError="Ignore"/>
    </Statements>
  </If>

  <If field="TAG_VALUE( 1001, 1000 )" value="\*PACS\*">
    <Statements>
      <Perform action="ParseContents" onError="Hold" />
      <Perform action="Query" onError="Ignore" />
      <If field="QUERY_FOUND" value="1">
        <Statements>
          <If field="TAG_VALUE( 1001, 1000 )" value="\*Primary\*">
            <Statements>
              <Perform action="StoreToPrimary" onError="Ignore"/>
            </Statements>
          </If>
          <If field="TAG_VALUE( 1001, 1000 )" value="\*Secondary\*">
            <Statements>
              <Perform action="StoreToSecondary" onError="Ignore"/>
            </Statements>
          </If>
        </Statements>
        <Else>
          <Suspend resumeAction="Query">
        </Else>
      </If>
    </Statements>
  </If>
</Workflow>

The workflow follows this sequence:

  1. Initialize the destination tag
  2. Show destination options to the user
  3. Check if printing to film is requested
  4. For PACS destinations, parse the file and query the worklist
  5. Based on user selection, store to the Primary and/or Secondary PACS

The \*Primary\* syntax uses wildcard matching to detect if "Primary" appears in the selection.

Setting Up the Plug-In Launcher

DICOM Printer 2 runs as a system service and cannot display UI elements directly. You must run the Plug-In Launcher for the interactive features to work.

To ensure proper operation:

  1. Set Plug-In Launcher to start on user login
  2. Confirm it's running by checking for its icon in the task tray
  3. Find the Plug-In Launcher shortcut in your Start Menu

Complete Configuration

Here's the complete configuration ready to use:

<DicomPrinterConfig>
  <General>
    <CheckingInterval>1</CheckingInterval>
    <SuspensionTime>1</SuspensionTime>
    <Verbosity>20</Verbosity>
  </General>
  <ActionsList>
    <SetTag tag="(1001,1000)" tagName="Destination"
          name="InitDestination" vr="LO"/>

    <Run type="Interactive" name="ChooseDestination">
        <Command>plugins/GeneralSelectPlugin.exe</Command>
        <Timeout>60000</Timeout>
        <Arguments>Select Report Destination|Primary PACS|Secondary PACS|Dry Imager</Arguments>
        <Output tag="(1001,1000)"/>
    </Run>

    <ParseJobTextFile name="ParseContents">
      <DcmTag tag="(8,50)">^(.*)\-.*$</DcmTag>
      <DcmTag tag="(8,60)">^.*\-(.*)$</DcmTag>
    </ParseJobFileName>

    <Query name="Query" type="Worklist">
      <DcmTag tag="(0008,0050)" />
      <DcmTag tag="(0008,0060)" />
      <DcmTag tag="(0010,0020)" />
      <DcmTag tag="(0020,000D)" />
      <ConnectionParameters>
        <MyAeTitle>DICOMPRINTER2</MyAeTitle>
        <PeerAeTitle>DVT</PeerAeTitle>
        <Host>localhost</Host>
        <Port>104</Port>
      </ConnectionParameters>
    </Query>

    <!-- First PACS -->
    <Store name="StoreToPrimary">
      <Compression type="RLE" />
      <ConnectionParameters>
        <PeerAeTitle>CONQUESTSRV1</PeerAeTitle>
        <Host>192.168.0.41</Host>
        <Port>5678</Port>
      </ConnectionParameters>
    </Store>

    <!-- Second PACS -->
    <Store name="StoreToSecondary">
      <Compression type="RLE" />
      <ConnectionParameters>
        <MyAeTitle>DICOM_PRINTER</MyAeTitle>
        <PeerAeTitle>CONQUESTSRV2</PeerAeTitle>
        <Host>192.168.0.42</Host>
        <Port>104</Port>
      </ConnectionParameters>
    </Store>

    <Print name="Print">
      <PrintMode>Grayscale12</PrintMode>
      <Resolution>254 x 254</Resolution>
      <ConnectionParameters>
        <MyAeTitle>DICOM_PRINTER</MyAeTitle>
        <PeerAeTitle>DRIPIX</PeerAeTitle>
        <Host>192.168.0.43</Host>
        <Port>5040</Port>
      </ConnectionParameters>
    </Print>
  </ActionsList>
  <Workflow>
    <Perform action="InitDestination"/>
    <Perform action="ChooseDestination"/ onError="Discard">

    <If field="TAG_VALUE( 1001, 1000 )" value="\*Dry\*">
      <Statements>
        <Perform action="Print" onError="Ignore"/>
      </Statements>
    </If>

    <If field="TAG_VALUE( 1001, 1000 )" value="\*PACS\*">
      <Statements>
        <Perform action="ParseContents" onError="Hold" />
        <Perform action="Query" onError="Ignore" />
        <If field="QUERY_FOUND" value="1">
          <Statements>
            <If field="TAG_VALUE( 1001, 1000 )" value="\*Primary\*">
              <Statements>
                <Perform action="StoreToPrimary" onError="Ignore"/>
              </Statements>
            </If>
            <If field="TAG_VALUE( 1001, 1000 )" value="\*Secondary\*">
              <Statements>
                <Perform action="StoreToSecondary" onError="Ignore"/>
              </Statements>
            </If>
          </Statements>
          <Else>
            <Suspend resumeAction="Query">
          </Else>
        </If>
      </Statements>
    </If>

  </Workflow>
</DicomPrinterConfig>

Benefits

  • Flexible Workflow: Route documents to different PACS systems as needed
  • Hybrid Support: Maintain both digital storage and film output
  • User Control: Let staff choose destinations at print time
  • Simplified Process: Handle multiple output types with a single print action

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