[reportlab-users] PDFs generated by ReportLab not printing

[Tim Roberts]

Andy Robinson wrote:

> 2009/5/27 Robin Becker <robin at reportlab.com>:

>   

>> ......

>> both, we use many windows fonts as ttfs and all seem to print OK on our

>> laserjet 1010. I just printed your "Some text in Arial Unicode MS" example

>> and that worked fine.

>>     

>

> I'm dredging up ten-year-old memories here but it depends what is

> driving the laserjet.

>

> First, it at least used to be possible to use HP LaserJets with either

> PCL drivers (the default on Windows) or postscript drivers (the

> default on Mac).


This is true, but only if the printer supports both.  All HP printers
support PCL.  Only some support Postscript.  It looks to me like the
LaserJet 1010 is PCL only, and a stripped-down version of PCL at that,
without any native font support.  It's a simple, stupid, raster bitmap
renderer.


> Secondly, AcroRead on Windows may not be using

> Postscript at all - Windows has its own printing system involving

> sending graphics to the printer as a 'device context' (sort of like

> our canvas).

>   


Yes, but...  if the printer has a Postscript driver, Acrobat uses the
Windows "passthrough" mechanism to send Postscript directly to the
printer.  After all, Adobe wrote the Windows Postscript driver, so they
have a pretty good understanding of how to make it do tricks.

For the LJ1010, what you say is spot on: Acrobat converts the Postscript
to GDI, then the driver converts GDI to PCL.


> Macs used to use Postscript between the computer and printer but I

> don't know these days.

>   


Of course, that only applies if the printer speaks Postscript....

-- 
Tim Roberts, timr at probo.com
Providenza & Boekelheide, Inc.