Print Setup

Before you can print, you must choose a printer driver so that PageStream knows how to print your documents. The Print Setup dialog box allows you to select the printer driver and other printing defaults.

For AmigaOS computers, printer setups can be saved and later reloaded using the Load and Save buttons.

Setting up a PostScript Printer

1. Choose Print Setup from the File menu.

The Print Setup dialog box will appear.

2. Select the custom PostScript printer driver (Amiga only).

Choose PostScript from the Type pop-up menu.

3. Select the PPD file for your printer.

Click the Browse (>>) button to the right of the PPD text box. A file selector will open from which you can choose the PPD (PostScript Printer Description) file that matches your printer model.

4. Choose the optimized screen.

Choose Default unless you want to specify a screen frequency. Depending on the PPD file you select, there may be more than one choice in the Screen pop-up menu or none at all. You can override the optimized screen values for each page or plate in the Plate Control dialog box. If you wish to specify a custom screen frequency, choose Custom from the Screen pop-up menu and click its Browse (>>) button to enter the angle and frequency for each plate.

5. Select the destination.

Choose Printer to direct output to a MacOS printer. On AmigaOS computers, choose PAR: for printers connected to the parallel port, SER: for printers connected to the serial port, or Device for printers using a different device.

ChooseDisk File to direct the output to a file so that it can be printed later or on another computer. Choose EPS Disk File to direct output to an Encapsulated PostScript File so that the page can be imported into another program.

6. Set the paper options.

Source: The options will vary depending on the PPD file selected, but most printers have a paper cassette and allow manual feeding.
Size: Select the paper size from those available for your printer. The Area text box will show the maximum imageable area for the paper size selected. If the size you are using is not listed, choose Custom and enter its dimensions into the Horz and Vert text boxes.
Orientation: Choose Portrait (vertical) or Landscape (horizontal). This is the orientation of the paper in the printer and does not reflect the orientation of the page. PageStream will automatically orient your page to best fit the paper.

7. Click Save or Use.

Choose Save to make the settings permanent, or Use to change them for this session.

PPD files

PostScript Printer Description files provide your PostScript printer's specifications to PageStream so that it can offer you its extra options. PPD files contain a list of fonts resident in the printer, its pre-defined paper sizes, the resolutions it can print, and its optimized screens for color separations. PageStream assumes that your printer matches the selected PPD file.

PPD files are ASCII text files and are identical on all platforms. Printers normally come with a PPD file. If your printer did not include a PPD file, contact your printer manufacturer. PPD files are normally stored in the System:Extensions:Printer Descriptions directory on MacOS computers, and in the SoftLogik:Printers/PPD directory on AmigaOS computers.

If a PPD file is not available for your printer model, the General PPD file can be used for most PostScript printers with the standard 35 fonts. Do not substitute PPD files for imagesetters; always use the PPD file matching the imagesetter.

Setting up a non-PostScript printer

Setting up PageStream for non-PostScript printers with MacOS is easy. PageStream will simply display the Page Setup dialog box for your printer when you choose PageStream's Print Setup command. Note that after you click OK in Page Setup, MacOS will display the MacOS Print dialog box. Just click OK without making any changes.

To setup PageStream for non-PostScript printers with AmigaOS:

1. Choose Print Setup from the File menu.

The Print Setup dialog box will appear.

2. Select a printer driver.

Choose a driver name from the Type pop-up menu. Select Preferences if you want to use PageStream with your AmigaOS printer driver.

3. Select the model of your printer.

If you chose the HP, Epson or Fargo drivers, choose the model name from the Model pop-up menu. If your model is not listed, choose the closest model from the list.

4. Select the printer port.

If you chose the HP, Epson or Fargo drivers, choose PAR: for printers connected to the parallel port, SER: for printers connected to the serial port, or Device for printers using a different device. Choose Disk File to direct output to a file so that it can be printed later, or on another computer.

5. Set the paper options.

Orientation: Choose Portrait (vertical) or Landscape (horizontal). This is the orientation of the paper in the printer and does not reflect the orientation of the page. PageStream will automatically orient your page to best fit the paper.
Offset: Some printers print pages offset incorrectly, even though they are supposedly compatible with the emulation standards followed by the custom drivers. You can offset PageStream's output to accomodate this by entering horizontal and vertical offsets into the Horz and Vert text boxes.

If you chose the HP, Epson or Fargo drivers, set these additional options:

Format: Choose Continuous feed for fanfold paper. Choose Single for sheets of paper.
Size: Select the paper size from those available for your printer. If the size you are using is not listed, choose Custom and enter its dimensions into the Horz and Vert text boxes.

6. Set the resolution.

Choose the print density from the Resolution pop-up menu. The lower the resolution, the faster PageStream will print. High resolutions provide better quality output, but take longer to print.

7. Set the dither type.

Choose the dither pattern from the Dither pop-up menu. Dithering prints dots in patterns to create the appearance of shades of gray or color. The dither options are:

Halftone: The size and density of the dots is varied to change the gray or color intensity.
Ordered: This is the standard type of pattern. Dots are of the same density and are printed in straight rows and columns.
Floyd-Steinberg: Intensities are formed by an algorithmic formula to distribute the intensities through neighboring dots. This dither option is very slow.
Threshold: This prints all colors in black or white, with no grayscales. This is recommended for text and for graphics that do not have grayscales or colors.

8. Set the screen type.

Choose the Screen popup menu to from select a predefined set of frequencies, angles and spots or choose Custom to define the frequency, angle and spot for each ink.

9. Set the color correction.

Choose the Color popup menu to select the predefined gamma and UCR/GCR color correction values or choose Custom to define the gamma levels for each ink and the UCR/GCR percentages.

10. Click Save or Use.

Choose Save to make the settings permanent, or Use to change them for this session.