print to file .prn & .ps

  • Thread starter Thread starter Butterfly
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Butterfly

What printer should I install on Win2000 Professional to be able to print a
document to a PostScript file (.ps) ?

If printing to a .PS file is not possible, how can I convert to Windows
default .PRN file to a viewable file like .PS, .PDF, .JPG ?

Some applications don't have a saving option and sometimes you need to print
a receipt from an online purchase or something like that. Later I might need
to view that receipt or print a hard copy. Printing to a generic PostScript
file and converting that file to a PDF seems awkward but I don't have any
better idea.

Thanks in advance!
 
Butterfly said:
What printer should I install on Win2000 Professional to be able to print a
document to a PostScript file (.ps) ?

If printing to a .PS file is not possible, how can I convert to Windows
default .PRN file to a viewable file like .PS, .PDF, .JPG ?

Some applications don't have a saving option and sometimes you need to print
a receipt from an online purchase or something like that. Later I might need
to view that receipt or print a hard copy. Printing to a generic PostScript
file and converting that file to a PDF seems awkward but I don't have any
better idea.

Thanks in advance!
Click to expand...

Install any printer driver that includes a postscript option, then
set the output to "File" within the printer setup.

A better option might be to install a "Generic/Text only" printer
driver, again selecting its output so that it goes to a file.
 
Hi Pegasus,

Sorry, my mistake.
This morning I installed the HP LaserJet 4L/4ML PostScript which I thought
should be generic enough. The bloody Windows PRINT dialog, shows the .prn
file extension by default and I was expecting to see .ps there as well.
I just saved the file with a .PS extension, converted it with Acrobat
Distiller and opened it as a PDF and everything works pretty well, except
that the resolution is pretty low, but I guess that's the price I'll have to
pay for not having a printer at home and living the present moment in the
year 2004 and not 2014 when the algorithms hopefully will see some serious
improvements.
 
If you have Acrobat Distiller installed then you should also have the
Acrobat Distiller printer instance installed...you should print the ps file
using the Acrobat Distiller printer, not a real one; if you choose the
right settings for the printer and have the right settings when converting
to pdf it will solve your resolution problem. For more info see the online
Help in Acrobat. When installing Acrobat it should also have installed a new
menu in Word. When printing from Word you should use the special Convert to
PDF macro command on that menu for best results (eg. if you want to retain
hyperlinks from the TOC).

Adrian
 
Just pick any PostScript printer, I generally use a Apple LaserWriter.
Select a printer which supports colour if you need colour output. I
think Adobe have a PostScript driver on their site which you can
download.

If you have an app which doesn't support print to file then you can
always setup a print to file printer and use the FILE: port, it will
then prompt you for the filename when you print.

Tony Edgecombe
www.frogmorecs.com/ng
Software for printing
 
I agree. Use the Adobe Postscript Print Driver and print to FILE: to generate a .PS file.

As for PDF, use the Adobe PDFWriter in Acrobat.

Dave



| Just pick any PostScript printer, I generally use a Apple LaserWriter.
| Select a printer which supports colour if you need colour output. I
| think Adobe have a PostScript driver on their site which you can
| download.
|
| If you have an app which doesn't support print to file then you can
| always setup a print to file printer and use the FILE: port, it will
| then prompt you for the filename when you print.
|
| Tony Edgecombe
| www.frogmorecs.com/ng
| Software for printing
|
| > What printer should I install on Win2000 Professional to be able to print a
| > document to a PostScript file (.ps) ?
| >
| > If printing to a .PS file is not possible, how can I convert to Windows
| > default .PRN file to a viewable file like .PS, .PDF, .JPG ?
| >
| > Some applications don't have a saving option and sometimes you need to print
| > a receipt from an online purchase or something like that. Later I might need
| > to view that receipt or print a hard copy. Printing to a generic PostScript
| > file and converting that file to a PDF seems awkward but I don't have any
| > better idea.
| >
| > Thanks in advance!
 
Just pick any PostScript printer, I generally use a Apple LaserWriter.
Select a printer which supports colour if you need colour output...
Click to expand...

FWIW, I get the best results by using the HP Laserjet 6MP driver.

Andrew
 
While other printer drivers may work in most cases there may be some
instances in which they don't...for example, a PDF may look superb, but text
in certain fonts may not be searchable. To avoid problems like this, Adobe
recommends using the Acrobat Distiller printer driver instance in all cases.
In fact, even the PDF Writer driver is no longer installed by default in the
latest Acrobat versions.

(We happily used the Apple LaserWriter print driver for years, but then hit
problems that only the distiller driver could solve.)

Adrian
 
I don't think it makes sense to give a different recommendation for creating
a PS file and PDF because when you create a PDF file directly an
intermediate PS file is created "behind the scenes" anyway. The only thing
is that you can create a PS file for free using the Adobe PS (Distiller)
driver whereas you have to pay for the abilty to convert that PS file into a
PDF with Acrobat.

Adrian
 
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