Printing to a PostScript printer

PostScript is a page-description language that sends printing instructions to a PostScript device. All the elements in a print job (for example, curves and text) are represented by lines of PostScript code that the printing device uses to produce the document. For improved compatibility you can choose a device independent PostScript device. You can also select a PostScript Printer Description (PPD) file. A PostScript Printer Description file describes the capabilities and features of your PostScript printer and is available from your printer’s manufacturer.

You can print to a PostScript printing device. To ensure that a print job prints properly on a PostScript Level 1 device, you can test for potential issues such as complex graphics and banding in fountain fills.

You can automatically increase the fountain steps in a fountain fill to decrease banding. To ensure that your print jobs print properly, you can reduce curve complexity by increasing flatness. Curve flatness determines how smooth a curve appears when printed.

A print job that contains too many fonts may not print properly, and a print job that contains too many spot colors increases file size. You can set the PostScript options to warn you when a print job contains more than a set number of fonts or spot colors.

By default, the printing device driver downloads Type 1 fonts to the printing device. You can disable the Download Type 1 Fonts option, so that fonts are printed as graphics (either curves or bitmaps). This may be useful when the file contains many fonts that would take an unacceptably long time to download or would fail to download because of their file size. Bitmap versions of TrueType fonts look better in small print and print faster than regular fonts. You can choose the maximum number of bitmap fonts that a print job can contain.


To select a PostScript Printer Description file

CorelDRAW btnbacktotop Printing to a PostScript printer
1.
 
Click File CorelDRAW onestep Printing to a PostScript printer Print.
2.
 
Click the General tab.
3.
 
Choose a PostScript printer from the Name list box.
4.
 
Enable the Use PPD check box.
5.
 
Choose the folder where the file is stored.
6.
 
Double-click the filename.

To print to a PostScript device

CorelDRAW btnbacktotop Printing to a PostScript printer
1.
 
Click File CorelDRAW onestep Printing to a PostScript printer Print.
2.
 
Click the General tab.
3.
 
Choose a PostScript printer from the Name list box.
4.
 
Click the PostScript tab.
5.
 
From the list box in the Compatibility area, choose the PostScript level that corresponds to the printer.
If you want to compress bitmaps when printing, enable the Use JPEG compression check box in the Bitmaps area, and move the JPEG quality slider.

CorelDRAW note Printing to a PostScript printer

 
Bitmap compression settings can be saved in PostScript Interpreted (PS or PRN) files when you print to a file using a PostScript driver. For information about printing to a file, see “To print to a file.”

To test for complex graphics

CorelDRAW btnbacktotop Printing to a PostScript printer
1.
 
Click File CorelDRAW onestep Printing to a PostScript printer Print.
2.
 
Click the Issues tab.
3.
 
Click Settings.
4.
 
Double-click Printing.
5.
 
Enable any of the following check boxes:
Text with texture fills (PS Level1 Only)
Bitmaps in complex clipping paths (PS Level1 only)
Texture fills in complex objects (PS Level1 only)
Complex clipping regions (PS Level1 only)
Objects with outline having many nodes (PS Level1 only)
Objects with outline and fill having many nodes (PS Level1 only)

To test fountain fills for banding

CorelDRAW btnbacktotop Printing to a PostScript printer
1.
 
Click File CorelDRAW onestep Printing to a PostScript printer Print.
2.
 
Click the Issues tab.
3.
 
Click Settings.
4.
 
Double-click Printing.
5.
 
Enable the Banded fountain fills check box.
If you want to optimize fountain fills to reduce complexity, enable the Optimize fountain fills check box under the PostScript tab.

CorelDRAW note Printing to a PostScript printer

 
Testing fountain fills for banding applies only to linear fountain fills.

To automatically increase fountain steps

CorelDRAW btnbacktotop Printing to a PostScript printer
1.
 
Click File CorelDRAW onestep Printing to a PostScript printer Print.
2.
 
Click the PostScript tab.
3.
 
Enable the Auto increase fountain steps check box.

CorelDRAW note Printing to a PostScript printer

 
Enabling the Auto increase fountain steps check box increases the number of steps used to render fountain fills, which may increase printing time.

To reduce curve complexity

CorelDRAW btnbacktotop Printing to a PostScript printer
1.
 
Click File CorelDRAW onestep Printing to a PostScript printer Print.
2.
 
Click the PostScript tab.
3.
 
Type a value in the Maximum points per curve box.
4.
 
Type a value in the Set flatness to box.
5.
 
Enable the Auto increase flatness check box.

CorelDRAW note Printing to a PostScript printer

 
Reducing curve complexity can help alleviate printing problems caused by curves that have too many points on each curve, but it results in increased printing time.
 
As the flatness increases, curves begin to appear as connected straight lines.

CorelDRAW tip Printing to a PostScript printer

 
When the Auto increase flatness check box is enabled, the maximum allowable flatness value, specified in the Set flatness to box, increases by a value of 10. If a curve is still too complex when the flatness value exceeds this limit, the printing device skips the problematic curve. If the printing device skips a curve, it does not appear in the final output. For this reason, it is important to inspect proofs before you publish the work.
 
If you are having problems printing complex objects, type 10 in the Set flatness to box. If this does not achieve the required results, continue to increase the flatness value by increments of two, and evaluate the results.

To set color separations and font warning options

CorelDRAW btnbacktotop Printing to a PostScript printer
1.
 
Click Tools CorelDRAW onestep Printing to a PostScript printer Options.
2.
 
In the list of categories, double-click Global, and click Printing.
3.
 
Choose Spot color separations warning from the Option list.
4.
 
Choose one of the following from the Setting list box:
If any spot colors are used
If more than 1 spot color used
If more than 2 spot colors used
If more than 3 spot colors used
5.
 
Choose Many fonts (preflight) from the Option list, and choose a number from the Setting list box that appears.

To disable the downloading of Type 1 fonts

CorelDRAW btnbacktotop Printing to a PostScript printer
1.
 
Click File CorelDRAW onestep Printing to a PostScript printer Print.
2.
 
Click the PostScript tab.
3.
 
Disable the Download Type1 fonts check box.

CorelDRAW note Printing to a PostScript printer

 
Type 1 fonts can be downloaded only for PostScript devices.
 
When the Download Type1 fonts check box is enabled, the Convert TrueType to Type1 check box is enabled by default. This ensures that TrueType fonts are converted to Type 1 fonts so that they can be downloaded. Disable the Convert TrueType to Type1 check box only if the output device has difficulty interpreting Type 1 fonts.

To choose the maximum number of bitmap fonts

CorelDRAW btnbacktotop Printing to a PostScript printer
1.
 
Click Tools CorelDRAW onestep Printing to a PostScript printer Options.
2.
 
In the list of categories, double-click Global, and click Printing.
3.
 
Choose Bitmap font limit (PS) from the Option list.
4.
 
Choose a value from the Settings list box.
If you want to set a maximum bitmap font size, choose a font size from the Bitmap font size threshold (PS) list box.

Printing to a PostScript printer