ADOBE POSTSCRIPT™ PRINTER DRIVER 8.1.1

System Requirements

•
An Apple Macintosh Plus, Classic, or faster computer running System 6.0.7 or higher.
•
2 megabytes or more of memory for System 6,  4 megabytes or more for System 7.

Setting up the driver to work with your printer

After installing the Adobe Printer Driver, the next step is to select a printer to use and to set up the driver to work with the selected printer.  To set up the driver for your printer, you select a PostScript printer Description (PPD) to use with your printer.  The PPD completely describes your printer's features.  The driver uses the information in the PPD file to give you control of all your printer's features.

You can either have the driver automatically select the correct PPD file or select it manually itself.

NOTE:  If you do no have a PPD file for your printer, you can use the Generic PPD built into the adobe Printer Driver product disk.  The Generic PPD lets you print and gives you minimal control of your printer's features; for a list of the options provided in the Generic PPD, see Appendix B.  Contact your printer's manufacturer or Adobe Systems for a PPD file that describes your printer.

Selecting a printer

This section describes how to use the Chooser to select a printer and adjust background printing.  The following instructions assume you have already connected your printer to your computer.  If you haven't yet connected the printer to your computer and turned it on, do so before selecting the PPD file.

To select a printer:

1.
Select Chooser from the Apple menu and click the PSPrinter Icon in the upper-left area of the Chooser.  You may need to scroll down to locate the PSPrinter icon.

2.
Select the specific printer you want to use by clicking its name in the list in the upper-right area of the Chooser.

First, you may need to select the zone in which your printer resides by clicking its name in the lower-left area of the Chooser.  You may need to scroll through the list of zones and printers to find the one you wish to use.

3.
Adjust background printing, if desired.

Click On if you want the computer to be able to do other work while a file is printing.  Otherwise, click Off.

Selecting the PostScript Description (PPD) file automatically

This section explains how to automatically select the PPD to use with your printer.

To automatically select the PPD:

1.
Select Chooser from the Apple menu and click the PSPrinter icon in the upper-left area of the Chooser.  You may need to scroll down to locate the PSPrinter icon.

2.
In the upper-right corner of the Chooser, double-click the name of the PostScript printer with which you wish to work.  You may need to scroll through the list until you find the one you wish to use.  Optionally, you can select the name of the printer and then click Setup.  This brings up the initial setup screen.

When you first start the Adobe printer Driver program, the currently selected PPD file is the Generic PPD built into the driver.

3.
Click Auto Setup.  The Adobe Printer then tries to configure the selected PostScript printer automatically by searching for a PPD file that matches the model of the selected printer.

The Adobe Printer Driver looks for the Printer Descriptions folder in the System Folder of the default hard disk.  If it finds a match, it updates the currently selected PPD file name with the new PPD file name.

If it finds no match, the Adobe Printer Driver displays a message indicating your options.  To use the Generic PPD, click Generic.  To select another PPD file, click Select PPD.  To cancel the operation, click Cancel.

Selecting PPD files manually

The Adobe Printer Driver provides the Select PPD feature, which lets you select PPD files yourself.  You manually select a PPD file if you wish to use a PPD file whose name does not match the name of your printer model.

To manually select a PPD file:

1.
Click More Choices in the Setup dialog box.  The Adobe Printer Driver updates the Setup dialog box with an additional row of options.

NOTE:  In the above dialog box, the More Choices button becomes the Fewer Choices button, which lets you switch to the initial Setup dialog with fewer options.

2.
Click Select PPD.

The Adobe Printer Driver displays a dialog box showing the PPD files that exist in the Printer Descriptions folder in the System Folder, which will be similar to the following screen:

3.
Click the name of the file that matches the model of the selected printer and then click Select.

If none of the listed PPD files matches your printer, you can either use the Generic PPD, use a PPD for another printer similar to yours, or cancel the operation.  To use the Generic PPD, click the Use Generic button.  To select a similar printer's PPD, select one from the PPDs listed, and doubleclick the PPD name.  To cancel, click Cancel.

NOTE:  If you don't have a PPD for your printer, use either the Generic PPD or a similar printer's PPD file, or contact your printer's manufacturer or Adobe Systems for a PPD file that describes your printer.

Congratulations.  You have just installed the Adobe Printer Driver, selected the appropriate PPD file, and are ready to print.  The remaining sections of this chapter explain how to further configure the driver, if possible, and display printer information, if desired.  For instructions on how to change print options for different kinds of documents, see Chapter 2, "Using print Options and Printing to a File or Fax Printer".

For more information about the Adobe Printer Driver setup features, click Help in the Setup dialog box.  On-line help for the Adobe Printer Driver contains many topics not described in this user guide.  See the help index for a complete list of topics.

Configuring options in the PPD file

For some printers, the Adobe Printer Driver lets you configure certain options.  To do so, you use the Configure option.

To notify the Adobe Printer Driver of the installed options:

1.
Click Configure in the Setup dialog box.  The installable options possible for the selected PPD file appear.

For example, for some printers, the amount of memory available in the printer is configurable and can be upgraded to 4 MB, 5 MB, or 8 MB, as shown below, where the PPD file name depends on the PPD file you have selected.

2.
Select the value for the option to configure.

If more than four options are available, scroll through the list of popup menu items, click the downward arrow of the option you wish to configure, and then click the value you wish to assign to that option.  If you upgrade the printer, you may want to update these settings, too.

Displaying printer information

The Adobe Printer Driver provides a feature that lets you display information about the printer selected in the Chooser.  This feature displays the PostScript version and level, printer resolution, virtual memory available, and the name of the PPD file associated with the printer.  To use this feature, select the Printer Info option in the Setup dialog box.

Using Print Options and Printing to a File or to a Fax Printer

This chapter explains how to change page-setup and print options.  It also explains how to print to a PostScript file or to a printer with a facsimile (fax) feature.

Setting page-setup options with the Adobe Printer Driver

The page-setup options of the Adobe Printer Driver are compatible with those of the LaserWriter driver.  This section explains how to use the Page Setup feature to change page-setup options.

If you use the Adobe Printer Driver to change a page-setup option for a single document, remember to restore the option's original setting, if desired, before printing another document.  Page-setup options you set with the Adobe Printer Driver remain in effect on a document-by-document basis until you change them.

To use the Page Setup dialog box to change page-setup options:

1.
In the File menu of your application, select Page Setup.

2.
Select the values you want for the page-setup options described in the next section.

Page-setup options

The Adobe Printer Driver provides the page-setup options described in the following sections.

Page Image

This option shows the size, arrangement, and appearance of the printed results.  The page image changes to reflect the layout options chosen.  The outer, solid rectangle represents the edge of the physical paper, and the inner, dotted rectangle, represents the boundaries of the area that the Adobe Printer Driver will print.

For a listing of the numerical dimensions of this image, click the page image anywhere.  Dimensions include height and width of paper size and the imageable area for the top, left, bottom, and right margins.  Click a second time to return to the page image.

Paper

Use this option to choose any paper size that your printer supports.  The default is normally 8 1/2 x 11 inches (US Letter).  However, if you purchase the Adobe Printer Driver in Europe, the default paper size is A4.  Paper size options vary with printer model.  For a description of the paper sizes supported by your printer, refer to your printer documentation.  Make sure that the paper size you select matches the paper in the paper source.

NOTE:  If you reconfigure the Adobe Printer Driver with a new PPD file that does not include the previously selected paper size, the item "Other" is added to the menu and selected as the default.  This causes the driver to print the document on whatever paper is available at print time.

Layout

Use this option to specify the Adobe Printer Driver arranges pages on the paper.  The Adobe Printer Driver adjusts the orientation of the physical page to best fit the orientation of the virtual pages selected for printing.  The following options are possible for the portrait and landscape orientations specified for the virtual page:

- 1 Up, the default, where one page is printed on the sheet of paper.  For this layout option, the orientation of the physical and virtual pages match.

- 2 Up, where two pages are printed on the sheet of paper.  For this layout option, the orientation of the physical page is opposite from the orientation of the virtual page.

- 4 Up, where four pages are printed on the sheet of paper.  For this layout option, the orientation of the physical and virtual pages match.

In 2-up and 4-up mode, lines appear around each virtual page arranged on the page of paper.

Reduce or Enlarge

Use this option to reduce or enlarge the contents of the printed pages.  Scale factors range from 25 percent to 400 percent, and the default value is 100%.  The Adobe Printer Driver prints out a single page and positions the enlarged or reduced image in the top left-hand corner of that page.  For enlargements over 100%, the printer's paper size determines whether the enlarged image is partially or fully printed.  If pages in the document are larger than the printer paper size, for example, a complete image is not printed.  The Adobe Printer Driver does not automatically tile the print image, that is, it does not print an image over several pages.

Orientation

Use this option to choose the direction in which your document is printed on the paper - either "portrait" or "landscape".  Portrait orientation means that the page is taller than it is wide; landscape orientation means that the page is wider than it is tall.

The PPD file of the selected printer usually specifies the direction in which pages are rotated in landscape orientation.  If the PPD file does not specify this, the Adobe Printer Driver rotates the landscape pages clockwise.

Options

Use the Options button to specify further layout and formatting information.  These Adobe Printer Driver options are identical to those of the Apple LaserWriter printer driver and are shown below.  The Adobe Printer Driver provides an additional option, Help, offering explanations of the options available in the Options dialog box.

Setting print options with the Adobe Printer Driver

You can use the Adobe printer Driver to select various print options, such as number of pages, paper source, and so forth.

To use the Printer dialog box to change print options:

1.
In the File menu of your application, select Print:

Application-specific options appear under the Paper Source and Destination boxes in the Printer dialog box.

2.
Select the values you want for the print options described in the next section.

Print Options

In addition to the familiar options provided by the Apple LaserWriter printer driver (number of copies, pages to print, and so on), the Adobe Printer Driver provides several new options, described in the following sections.

Paper Source

Use this option to choose how paper is provided to the printer, automatically from specific paper trays, or manually.  Paper source options vary with printer model.  You can specify a single source for all paper, or different sources for the first and remaining pages.  This feature would be handy, for example, if you wanted company letterhead to be used for only the first page of a document.  The default value is All, for a single source for all paper.

Destination

Use this option to choose among three destinations to which the Adobe printer Driver can send data from your application:

-
Printer, the default value, which specifies that the data is sent to a printer

-
File, which specifies that the data is saved to a disk file in a format you choose

-
Fax, which specifies that the data is sent to a printer capable of facsimile transmission

NOTE:  If the currently selected printer does not support fax transmission, the Fax option does not in the Printer dialog box.  If the printer is capable of fax transmission but doesn't have the Fax option installed, the Fax button is dimmed and you cannot use it.  You can use the Configure option in the Setup dialog box to install the Fax option.

The default value is Printer until you select a different destination.  That destination then becomes the default.  If the previous print job had a destination of Fax and fax transmission is not possible on the currently selected printer, the default values becomes Printer.

Options

Use the Options button of the Print dialog box to access the options described in the following paragraphs.

The options that you can set in the Print Options dialog box vary from printer to printer.  These differences include duplex printing, printer resolution settings, image enhancement functions, and so on.  The availability of these options depends on the selected PPD and the way in which the driver is configured with that PPD.

The settings for Cover Page, Print (color/grayscale), and PostScript Errors remain intact from document to document.  Printer-specific settings -- those that appear below the dotted line in the Print Options dialog box -- return to the default setting each time that you print.

Cover page:  Use this option to specify the presence and position of the document's cover page.

Print:  Use this option to specify whether to print the document in color.

The Color/Grayscale value provides for color printing and, for monochrome printers, maps colors to equivalent PostScript grayscale shades.  Color imaging generally produces better visuals than black-and-white even on monochrome printers.  Color/Grayscale is the default value.

The Black and White value limits printing to monochrome only.  Use this option for printers that do not allow color imaging at all, or if you wish to print more quickly.

The Calibrated Color/Grayscale value matches as closely as possible the colors on the printed page to the colors on the monitor screen.  This feature uses the device-independent color capabilities of PostScript level 2 printers and is available only on those printers.

PostScript errors:  Use this option to specify the level of error reporting for PostScript errors that might occur during the course of printing.

The No Special Reporting value provides no detailed information about the PostScript error.  No Special Reporting is the default value.

The Summarize on Screen value displays a message describing the nature of the PostScript error on the monitor screen.   This feature is available only when background printing is turned off.

The Print Detailed Report value sends a printed report describing the PostScript error to the printer.

Printing to a file

As an alternative to printing your document on your printer, you can save a PostScript language description of your document as a disk file.  PostScript language descriptions of your documents can be useful for the following tasks:  

Creating document archives

Printing documents without using the application that created them (at a service bureau, for example)

Diagnosing printing problems

Another use of printing to a file is to create an Encapsulated PostScript (EPS) file.  You can use EPS files to export single pages from one application to another.  EPS files can include any combination of text, graphics, and images, but they do not describe complete documents.  For example, by saving a page as an EPS file, you can insert a page of a document created with one application as an illustration in a document created by another application.

Here are some points to consider before printing to an EPS file:

- The Adobe Printer Driver cannot, by itself, ensure a correct EPS file.  The application must also support EPS output by telling the Adobe printer Driver where on the page the illustration or text is located.  If, when you import EPS files generated by the Adobe Printer Driver into other applications, the illustration looks distorted, your original application is not providing the driver enough information to produce the file correctly.  You can, however, print the file correctly even without the correct preview.

- EPS files can be more than one page.  When using the application's Printer dialog box, be sure to enter the same page number in the "From" and "To" fields so that only page is created for each EPS file.

EPS files generated by the Adobe Printer Driver provide two types of on-screen preview and an option for no preview, as described in "Save Options", later in this chapter.

To print to a file:

1.
In the Printer dialog box, select File from the Destination box, then click the Save button.  The Save dialog box appears.

NOTE:  No cover page is saved with the PostScript language description of your document even if you have previously chosen the Cover Page print option.

2.
Select the name of the file folder in which to save the PostScript file.

To create a new folder in which to place the PostScript file, click New Folder and specify the name of the new folder.

NOTE:  The New Folder option is unavailable for versions of the Macintosh system software earlier than System 7.0.

3.
Enter the name of the file to contain the PostScript document in the Create File field.

4.
Specify the details on how to save this file.  The possible options are described in the following subsection.

5.
Click the Save button.  The file is saved to the specified file and file folder, and you are returned to your application.

Save Options

The Adobe Printer Driver lets you set values for a number of options in the Save dialog box.  These options are described in the following subsections.

NOTE:  All Save option values return to the default values each time you select Save.

Format

Use this option to choose the PostScript or Encapsulated PostScript format in which to save a document.  The following values are possible:

PostScript Job:  This value provides a copy of the Adobe Printer Driver's PostScript output exactly as it would have been sent to the output device.  PostScript Job is the default value.

NOTE:  Because a document's cover page is printed as a separate job, it is excluded from the version of the document saved to a file, even if you request it in the Print Options dialog box.

EPS Mac Standard Preview:  This value provides a 72-dpi bitmap preview image for displaying the page on the Macintosh screen.  The preview image of an EPS file created using this format option may appear distorted when placed in other applications.

EPS Mac Enhanced Preview:  This value provides a QuickDraw PICT format as a preview for displaying the page on the Macintosh screen.  The preview image of an EPS file created using this format option scales accurately (without jagged edges) when placed within other applications, or moved to other operating systems.

EPS No Preview:  This value provides no associated preview image for displaying the page on a Macintosh screen.  This format is intended for transfer to computers other than a Macintosh.  If you choose this option, the preview images of the EPS generated files appear as blank or black boxes, or as a box containing an X, when imported into other applications.

NOTE:  Remember that EPS files can be no more than a single page.

ASCII/Binary

Use this option to specify whether the file should be saved in ASCII or binary format.

ASCII:  PostScript files are normally ASCII text files that can be opened with any word-processing application.  The default value is ASCII.

Binary:  Binary encoding speeds printing.  Your printer must be set up to receive binary data or selecting this option may cause printing errors.

NOTE:  If you select the Binary option in the Save dialog box, the PostScript files can include binary characters, which may make them unsuitable for use with word processors and certain telecommunications applications.  If you intend to transfer the PostScript file over telecommunications services, the services must fully support binary data transfer.

Level of PostScript Compatibility

Use this option to specify the level of PostScript compatibility for the file to be saved.

Level 1 Compatible:  This value specifies compatibility with all PostScript printers.  This is the default value.

Levels 2 Only:  This value specifies compatibility with Level 2 printers only.  Using Level 2 features speeds printing.  However, PostScript files created with this option will most likely not print correctly on a PostScript Level 1 printer.

Font Inclusion

Use this option to include downloadable fonts in the PostScript file.  The following values are possible:

None:  Select this value if you assume all needed fonts are already available on the device where it will be viewed or printed and wish to include no fonts.  None is the default value.

All:  Select this value to include all fonts used in the document that are available on the host Macintosh.

All But Standard 13:  Select this value to include all fonts used in the document that are available on the host Macintosh except the core set of 13 standard typefaces that all PostScript printers support.

The core set of 13 standard typefaces includes Courier, Courier Bold, Courier Oblique, Courier Bold Oblique, Symbol, Helvetica, Helvetica Bold, Helvetica Oblique, Helvetica Bold Oblique, Times Roman, Times Bold, Times Italic, and Times Bold Italic.

Sending a document to a fax printer

This section explains how to send a document to a printer capable of facsimile (fax) transmission.  This option is available only when the printer you select in the Chooser supports fax transmission.

To use the Adobe Printer Driver to send a document to a fax printer:

1.
In the File menu of your application, select Print.

2.
Choose Fax for the Destination option value, then click the Fax button.  The Fax dialog box appears.

3.
Type in the sender and recipient information, using the Tab key to move down from field to field.

The contents of the From field and its associated Organization and Fax Phone fields are saved to use in the next fax transmission.

4.
Choose values for the fax cover-page and output options described in the following section.

Fax options

This section describes the Fax options to set.

Cover Page

Use this option to specify the kind of cover page, if any, to be transmitted with the document.  A value of None means that no cover page is included.  A value of Standard means that a standard cover page is included.  The default value is Standard.

Output

Use this option to specify the form in which to transmit the document.  The following values are possible:

Normal:  The document is transmitted as a rasterized image at standard resolution, that is, approximately 200 dpi horizontally and 100 dpi vertically.

Fine:  The document is transmitted as a rasterized image at high resolution, that is, approximately 200 dpi both horizontally and vertically.  Fine is the default value.

PostScript:  The document is transmitted as unrasterized PostScript code.  If the receiving fax device can also handle PostScript code, this option provides for faster transmission and higher-quality output.