New freeware Paperless Printer doo-dad

  • Thread starter Thread starter Chief Suspect
  • Start date Start date
For those who do not trust a direct download:

Name: Paperless printer
Vers: N/A
Auth RareFind
Site: http://www.rarefind.com/paperlessprinter/index.html
Plic: Nagware (Request a key after printing to a file)
Blic: Commercial
Note: Inspite of being NAG ware, about the most amazing paperless printer
I've seen.
No nags on the printouts!
Info:
Paperless Printer® is a universal document exchange utility. You can use
Paperless Printer to publish virtually any document in Adobe Portable
Document Format (PDF), Hypertext Markup Language (HTML), Microsoft Word
Format (DOC), Microsoft Excel Format (XLS), JPEG or BMP, preserving the
exact look and content of the original document, complete with fonts and
graphics. You can distribute your PDF and HTML documents by E-Mail or store
them on the World Wide Web, on intranet, a file system, or a CD. Other users
can view your work on Microsoft® Windows, Mac® OS, LINUX, and UNIX®
platforms. Paperless Printer also works as a preview tool. Users can print
from almost any Windows® application to this printer and visualize the
output on JPEG or BMP, without actually having to print on paper.
Paperless Printer is a 100% software product. It has no hardware parts.
Paperless Printer appears like a normal printer on a Windows PC. You can
actually see the Paperless Printer object in the Printers folder [Start ->
Settings -> Printers]. Using an application's Print command you can print
anything to this printer. Instead of printing on paper, Paperless Printer
creates content in PDF, HTML, DOC, Excel, JPEG or BMP files.
Paperless Printer can convert almost any application data to PDF, HTML, DOC,
Excel, JPEG or BMP including those created with drawing, page-layout, or
image-editing programs. Using the application's Print command, you can
create files directly from Microsoft Office applications, database
applications, word processing applications or common authoring applications.


MightyKitten


Chief said:
This is one of the newer products to come along for
rendering ANYTHING seen on your screen, which is
printable ... to save it as RTF, PDF, HTML, BMP, JPG.

Just stumbled onto this by chance. Get the URL on one line.
Click to expand...
http://www.rarefind.com/paperlessprinter/downloads/paperlessprinter_3.0_setup.exe
 
|
|This is one of the newer products to come along for
|rendering ANYTHING seen on your screen, which is
|printable ... to save it as RTF, PDF, HTML, BMP, JPG.


It's nagware. After you hit the save button to print a file it
brings up the registration wizard for purchasing. It saves the
work but the window comes back after every job.

-=-
 
|
| It's nagware. After you hit the save button to print a file it
| brings up the registration wizard for purchasing. It saves the
| work but the window comes back after every job.
|
====

Oh dear! They've changed the version on me!

Version 2 did not have any such nag screen, and performed identically.
Of course, the nag is *only* for businesses who may be reluctant in
paying up, but I agree it is a minor nuisance to the freeware home
user.

I will try to find a spot online to house version 2 for a.c.f.
readers. Too
large for me to upload via alt.binaries.freeware.
 
lunedì 15/mar/2004 _Chief Suspect_ ha scritto:
Version 2 did not have any such nag screen, and performed identically.
Click to expand...

Are you sure it performed identically?
I ask it because on ZDNet site (thanks MightyKitten for the link) is
written:
Limitations: Extra line at the bottom of each page.
Do you have it? What's this extra line?

Thanks,
 
|Oh dear! They've changed the version on me!
|
|Version 2 did not have any such nag screen, and performed identically.
|Of course, the nag is *only* for businesses who may be reluctant in
|paying up, but I agree it is a minor nuisance to the freeware home
|user.
|
|I will try to find a spot online to house version 2 for a.c.f.
|readers. Too
|large for me to upload via alt.binaries.freeware.

It's all good. I wasn't complaining, just pointing it out. I
think the program is pretty cool.

Here is 2.0
http://www.rarefind.com/paperlessprinter/downloads/
http://www.rarefind.com/paperlessprinter/downloads/paperlessprin
ter_2.0_setup.exe

-=-
 
Youre welcome, MLC.

Here follows my observations and opion about paperless printer

As far as papeless printers go, you will have 6 options:
1) Use a truly freeware PDF printer (most require ghostscript and/or manual
installation). Though I appriciate these efforts, It is not my kind of
stuff.
2) Use a freeware pdf printer that adds the text "created with <Insert name
here>"
3) Buy a papeless printer application
4) Use the www.rarefinds.com nag ware version.
5) Print to .txt or .prn with windows default printers.
6) don't use a paperless printer at all

To the best of my knowledge, there isn't any other paperless printer who
does not have any form of nag ware, except or some sourgeforce project, and
all of those I've seen fall under catagory 1 of the above options.

unless:
There was, once (in a galaxy far away, ect., ect., ect...) a freeware HTML
printer, I even believe it was created by billyBoy's guys, but I never found
it agian. It was quite buggy, and had only html 3.2 support.

As I already wrote, I'm not to sure about version 2.0 'freeware' specific
things,
I think I'd rather prefer the 3.0 'freeware' over the 2.0 version. Though
you as printer operator have some anoyance out of it, your reader's dont.
This, I think, is worth something. Of course I would have prefered it to be
a genuine freeware package, but I have not found a good real freeware
substitute (again, see point 1 of options).

MightyKitten
 
Chief Suspect wrote:
Version 2 did not have any such nag screen, and performed identically.
Of course, the nag is *only* for businesses who may be reluctant in
paying up, but I agree it is a minor nuisance to the freeware home
user.
Click to expand...

When I registerd, I couldn't help a smile:
They use actual currency ratings, so (for a change) it was cheaper in
(number of)
Euro's as in (number of) US$ (24 to 29 to be exact). This is seldom the
case, even with the euro having a higher value as the US$
 
lunedì 15/mar/2004 _MightyKitten_ ha scritto:

[...]
I think I'd rather prefer the 3.0 'freeware' over the 2.0 version. Though
you as printer operator have some anoyance out of it, your reader's dont.
This, I think, is worth something.
Click to expand...

[...]

I agree with you: it's better to not annoy the reader, then I'll go with the
nagware version.
Thanks for your helpful advice :)
 
I swear I must repeat this message every month on average. . .

THE program you want to get for this is Messenger Plus. Prints to a
proprietory PDF-like format known as .efx. You can also convert to a tiff
or jpeg. In the proprietory format, you can annotate with hyperlinks,
drawings, text, sounds, etc. Has built in OCR so that you can copy text to
other apps or search for text.

You can merge docs, append the current print job to previous files. . .

You also have the option to save files with a self-executing viewer. This
lets you send files as email attachments so that others can see the document
as you created it, even if they don't have the program that created it.

Given away by eFax to promote their Internet fax service but you DO NOT have
to subscribe to download the program. The program itself has no nag screens,
no prompts, isn't crippled, doesn't time out. . . nothing, nada. Company has
been actively improving it with each version. Best program of its kind.
Period. Should be pricelessware.

Get it here:
http://www2.efax.com/efax/twa/page/download?

'Nuff said
 
Now, try to take this in a friendly way. Nobody is flaming you.

Your 'nuff said' took a wrong turn somewhere.
The subject of this thread is for a freeware program that produces
documents mentioned in the original post: For your benefit,
these were: RTF, PDF, HTML, BMP, JPG. and EXCEL
(excel omitted from the original post-sorry).
Now, what good would an .efx document do us, even if
was ".pdf-like"? Do you mean to say that .efx documents
ARE .pdf files? And, we need only to change the extension
to .PDF? If we settled for your .efx document, and sent
it to many friends in an email, would they be able to see and
use it?

You see, it works like this: Most everyone has Adobe AcroRead,
but practically nobody has .. Messenger Printer. And, pitifully few
have a need for .TIFF files anymore. (I said FEW). People use HTML.
What about HTML? Does your .efx program produce
an HTM/L document readable in your browser? People popularly
use .RTF and .BMP, too. Does MP produce those?

Well, It's fine, too, that your Messenger Printer will
save to JPG or TIFF (which is the native format for FAX).
OCR may be useful in some cases, too. But, mainly I fail
to see any but another program not very like Paperless Printer....
despite your having to 'say this every month'. Maybe because
you are not exactly on the same subject is the reason?
If this Messenger Plus does everything that the subject program
will do ... then you should say so. Otherwise, it seems an
entirely different animal of pretty good use only by yourself, maybe
a few others.
=====================



| I swear I must repeat this message every month on average. . .
|
| THE program you want to get for this is Messenger Plus.
 
| Are you sure it performed identically?
| I ask it because on ZDNet site (thanks MightyKitten for the link) is
| written:

| Limitations: Extra line at the bottom of each page.
| Do you have it? What's this extra line?
|
=====================================

I have used Version 2.0 a long time, and it does the same, exact
routines as Version 3.0 insofar as I am able to determine. Version
2.0 does indeed place a last line at the bottom of the page;
www.paperprinter.com .
 
Now, try to take this in a friendly way. Nobody is flaming you.
Your 'nuff said' took a wrong turn somewhere.
The subject of this thread is for a freeware program that produces
documents mentioned in the original post: For your benefit,
these were: RTF, PDF, HTML, BMP, JPG. and EXCEL
Click to expand...
Now, what good would an .efx document do us, even if was ".pdf-like"?
Click to expand...

I tried a few of the PDF virtual printer programs. They don't allow you to:
1. Mark up the document post-print.
2. Add working hyperlinks, sound files, graphics (unless the original
program produced them), etc
3. Merge documents or append to documents while printing.

These are common issues mentioned in this NG and the reason I so frequently
point people to eFax.
Do you mean to say that .efx documents ARE .pdf files?
Click to expand...

No they aren't.
If we settled for your .efx document, and sent it to many friends in an
Click to expand...
email, would they be able to see and
use it?

Yes, either by downloading the program themselves, or YOU can send it with a
self-executing viewer that will open when they click the file.

For example, you have program called Obscure. You want to send an Obscure
document to your friend, who doesn't have the program. You could print out a
hardcopy and fax or email it to him. . . or you could send a "paperless"
version via email by printing as an eFax document. You could include in the
document clickable hyperlinks to your website, perhaps an embedded sound
file explaining certain aspects of the document in more detail, coloured
graphics to highlight information. . .

He is able to open the file though he doesn't have Obscure and see it
exactly as you produced it -- colours, graphics, etc. He can click your
links, click the icons that play your embedded sound files. If he's looking
for particular text he could search it just as if it was a text document. He
could even mark up the document some more and send it back to you for your
feedback.

I most often use it to print web pages that won't print correctly via the
File | Print menu. Or, I print off monthly bank statements from my on-line
banking then append the printout to my previous files "on the fly."
I've occasionally sent friends graphics when they don't have the commercial
graphic programs that I have.
And, pitifully few have a need for .TIFF files anymore.
Click to expand...

Will also print to jpg, if that's your preference.
But, mainly I fail to see any but another program not very like Paperless
Click to expand...
Printer....despite your having to 'say this every month'. Maybe because you
are not exactly on the same subject is the reason?

As I followed the thread of this post, it seemed to focus more on the
"paperless" aspect. See Mighty Kitten's earlier post re: 6 options for
paperless printing. eFax WON'T convert or print to HTML, RTF or EXCEL
though. If that is the primary focus of this thread, I withdraw the
suggestion.

Hope this clarifies. . .

<<M>>
 
I swear I must repeat this message every month on average. .. .

THE program you want to get for this is Messenger Plus.
Click to expand...

Congratulations on recommending perhaps the crappiest piece
of software I've seen in a long time.
It's adware (and spyware, too judging from the amount of
firewall warnings I got) which includes an ad box within the
program window *and* an occassional popup, too.

The ONLY, let me repeat ONLY, good thing about it is its
ability to save an entire web page as either a JPG or TIF.
I'd rather use URL2BMP to take "screen shots" of web pages,
though.
 
THE program you want to get for this is Messenger Plus.
Congratulations on recommending perhaps the crappiest piece
of software I've seen in a long time.
It's adware (and spyware, too judging from the amount of
firewall warnings I got) which includes an ad box within the
program window *and* an occassional popup, too.
Click to expand...

No, it does not phone home.
No, it doesn't display an ad box
No, it doesn't have any popups that I've ever encountered.

Suggest strenuously that you avoid it however.
 
No, it does not phone home.
No, it doesn't display an ad box
No, it doesn't have any popups that I've ever encountered.
Click to expand...

Yes, it does all that.
Suggest strenuously that you avoid it however.
Click to expand...

You should have recommended that *before* I installed it. :)
 
To my mind, PaperlessPrinter is by far the best of the "free" PDF
creator programs around.

In general their behaviour depends on the version of Windows and what
PostScript printer drivers you have installed, but PaperlessPrinter
gives me pdfs with text that can be searched or copied and pasted,
using both TrueType and Type 1 fonts. That is exceptional. In addition
it understands Acrobat's built-in generic serif and sans fonts and
uses them by default where appropriate.

By the way, it didn't install correctly for me and I had to set the
printer port to WINSERVE rather than LPT1 before it would work.
 
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