Posted by BetsyMI on 3/22/07 10:14am
Msg #181333

Post Script Driver Mode...what is this?

I have a signing agent application that asks if my printer has a "Post Script Driver Mode" and it says it must be activated. There's nothing in my printer manual about this, and I've never had a problem printing a package in over three years.

Anybody know what this is?

Thanks!

Reply by Lee/AR on 3/22/07 10:42am
Msg #181342

Go to 'printers' & see if it's already installed. If so, choose it to print this pkg. If not, 'install new printer' & pick from list. You may have to download the driver. PITA.

Reply by Joan_OH on 3/22/07 11:22am
Msg #181351

Post script is a type of driver. Works great for pdf's. Go to your printers page and see if it's installed. If not, it should be easy enough to do so. I can't imagine a printer not having post script available, although I'm sure some of the ancient models didn't have it.

Joan-OH

Reply by Ever/CA on 3/22/07 12:42pm
Msg #181368

This reminded me... postscript and paper size

I have the PostScript driver installed for my HP1320tn. Unlike with PCL 5e and PCL 6 though, I can't get it to correctly pick the right paper size (letter vs. legal) for each page. It always picked up from just one of the trays.

I was told from another forum that PostScript was really like that, i.e. just one paper size. Does anyone here have other experiences and tips to share? I've tried all sorts of combinations in the printer settings but nothing worked.

Thanks,
Ever

Reply by PAW on 3/22/07 3:04pm
Msg #181403

Re: This reminded me... postscript and paper size

Postscript has been around for about 25 years. Long before PCL. It was "invented" at Xerox to provide a way to easily print digital documents on Xerox laser printer systems. The management of Xerox wasn't impressed, so the "inventors" left Xerox and formed their own company, Adobe. For a long time, it was the only real language for the laser printer masses. With the advent of the PC and small, affordable desktop laser printers, PostScript Level 2 was born and flourished until PCL (from HP) came on the scene. But, PS still is dominant in the pre-press and publishing business as the page description language of choice. Just like the Mac is the computer of choice in those industries.

Anyway, so much for the history lesson. In order for the printer to properly select a page, it has to be explicitly told to do so. That is, the PS file has to have the necessary printer codes for paper selection coded into it. Since the document assembly software has no idea what printer will be used for printing, it can't put the proper code in the PS file. The result is that the printer will select the paper from the default bin since it doesn't know any better. It doesn't know page size either, so even smart printers that can select the proper paper depending on the page size, is still at a loss.

End result, manually change the default tray to whichever one contains legal and print. Not much else you can do.