UNIX Printing: Can PS Printers now Print native PDF files?

[Alzhy]

We recently launched a major application that prints to many different kinds of printers - QMS, HP, Tektronix.. etc.. -- all of which are Postscript capable. I have not a grasp yet of how the application prints which I had assumed always prints in Postscript format. Yesterday, we had a problem on one QMS printer wherein one user was claiming he could not print "PDF" files. What immediately came to my mind is that the application was probably sending raw PDF file (without converting to PS) straight to the printers via the "lp" command -- which would be suspect since the printers would obviously understand only raw text, PS or native printer language (PCL, hpgl, etc..). But my users are insistent that they are able to send PDF files straight to the other non-QMS printers (HP, Tek, etc..) ???


So my question is - are there now printer PS modules that can actually understand PDF files sent to it and print them?

Thanks.

[Jose Mosquera]

Hi,

As an alternative check this product:
http://hpux.connect.org.uk/hppd/hpux/PostScript/pstotext-1.7/

Rgds.

[Rodney Hills]

How is your user submitting the file for printing? Is it possible some other utility is getting run that the user is unaware of that is converting PDF to PS?

I have never heard of a printer that can print PDF files.

-- Rod Hills

[Alzhy]

Jose .. thanks. We're aware of the many tools for pdf,ps, etc.

Rodney, that's what strikes me as welland to my knowledge - I have not encountered a printer that will interpret a PDF file directly. PDF files need to be converted to either PostScript or the printer's native language (PCL, etc.).

Anyway, the user claims the following is printed on the printer in question:
Product name QMS 4032 Print System
Version 2015.27, Revision 1
Release 2.6, Firmware Level 2
Error name: invalidfont
Offending operator:cshow

Also, I have one confirmation that THEY ARE NOT PRINTING PDF files directly but such is passed to a filter (acroread for UNIX).

But what is confusing is, if the same file is copied to a Windows PC and printed via Acrobat Reader and sent to the same printer - the printer does not complain! It's just that if the PDF file is converted to PS on Acrobat for UNIX that the printer complains with the error above.

Any hints?

[Bill Thorsteinson]

Windows will format the document for the
printer before sending it.

On Unix, Linux, HPUX, etc. this is done by
filters in the print spooler.

Many version of Linux are switching from LPD
to CUPS which is easier to configure. Its
filters will also print postscript to
printers without postscript capability after
appropriate conversions.

[bbb3456]

I think there is some issue in the printer defination. could you send me the defination

[bbb3456]

I mean printer defination

[Bill Hassell]

Since you're aware that different mfr's use different printer languages, then the only rule to note in HP-UX is that there is no support for language translation. ASCII is all you get...well, if you seup a printer using the postscript model script, you can print the plain ASCII file with lp -oascii option and get something. However, with the QMS, it appears that the error message is from the Postscript interpreter, indicating that it does not like the format of the received data. NOTE: there are several versions of Postscript. If the Acrobat Reader sends Postscript level 3 code to a Postscript level 1 printer, you'll get these kinds of errors.

HP-UX provides no filters, ppd or configuration files. Windows is VERY different. Acrobat Reader, like all applications in Windows, knows nothing about Postscript or PCL, etc. Instead, it send the print information in a meta-language which is interpreted by the Windows driver into a format useful on the destination printer. That's why it appears that Acrobat Reader supports more printers on Windows--it's the printer drivers that are doing all the work.

As far as PDF on HP-UX, you need a filter like Acrobat Reader to turn this into a printer language. Since Adobe invented Postscript and PDF file formats, they naturally do not provide (as far as I know) a PCL output option, just Postscript. And I know of no printer in the world that can read a PDF file directly and print it. The reason is that there are huge ranges of options that must be selected before printing. For instance, the original file may be formatted for A2 and your printer doesn't have that size of paper--requiring resizing to fit. There are many other options within the PDF format that make it quite unsuitable as a printer language.

[Sam McKnight]

I print many pdf files on my two Postscript printers. I run hp-ux 11.11, and print pdf files with Adobe Acrobat Reader 5.0.5. Any Word or Wordperfect file is transformed to a pdf file for reading and printing. I also can save graphics files in pdf.

For printing pdf files, the only thing I have to be careful about is what language level I choose in Acrobat Reader. My hp 2600 is a Level 3 printer, and I print with Level 3 when I use it. According to the manual, the Laserjet 4m is a Level 2 printer but it will not print Level 2 output. I have to use Level 1 with it.

[Thomas Bianco]

sidenote factoid: we have several printers that support raw pdf by lpr/ftp/etc..., but these are highly expensive large format printers.