TITLE
    PC Compatibility Printing
Article ID:
Created:
Modified: 		24696
10/28/98
10/28/98
TOPIC

    This article discusses how to configure the Apple PC and DOS Compatibility cards for printing through a shared Mac OS printer.

DISCUSSION

    From the PC environment, you can print with most printers connected to the Macintosh, using the PC Print Spooler software. These steps assume you have PC Setup 1.5 or 1.6.4 installed. Both versions are available for download from Apple Software Update sites.

    Setting Up Printing In The Mac OS

    To print from the PC environment to a printer connected to the Macintosh, you must select a printer in the Mac OS Chooser and set up the PC Print Spooler software. Follow these steps, then go to "Setting Up Printing in the PC Environment," later in this section.

    Step 1
    In the Mac OS environment, open the Chooser (in the Apple menu) and make sure a printer is selected. If you are using a PostScript printer, be sure to select the LaserWriter 8 driver. For more information on selecting a printer, see the documentation or on-screen help that came with your computer.

    Step 2
    Open the Extensions folder inside the System Folder.

    Step 3
    Open the PC Print Spooler icon.

    Step 4
    Choose Preferences from the File menu.

    Step 5
    Choose your preference for printing error notification.

    Step 6
    Choose an option under "Interpret Print Data as."
    • Choose PostScript if your printer supports PostScript. If you plan to print non-PostScript files on a PostScript printer (such as printing files from the DOS prompt), make sure the checkbox labeled "Print non-PostScript as Epson" has an X in it.
    • Choose Printer Specific if you have selected in the Chooser a printer whose driver can read PC printer information directly from the PC environment. For a list of printer drivers that support this feature, see the Read Me file that came with your DOS Compatibility Software Update. If the printer driver selected in the Chooser does not support this feature, you cannot choose this option.
    • Choose Epson if you are using a QuickDraw printer (such as the StyleWriter or a LaserWriter that does not support PostScript). For more information about the Epson options, see the next section, "Epson Emulation Options."

    Step 7
    Click OK.

    Epson Emulation Options

    If you chose Epson in the Print Spooler Preferences dialog box, you can make the following settings:
    • Choose "Gaps between pages" if your applications are configured to print to a 60-line page. If your pages are clipped at the top or bottom when you print, select "No gaps between pages."
    • The font in the Default Font box is used when you are printing ASCII text from DOS and when the Faster Printing option is selected. For best results, use a fixed-space font such as Courier or Monaco. Using a proportional font, such as Times may change your document's formatting.
    • Choose Faster Printing when you want to quickly print text from a DOS application. When this option is selected, printers that use less than 300-dpi resolution (such as ImageWriter dot-matrix printers) will print in 72-dpi resolution.
    • Choose Better Quality if you want Epson printer fonts in your document to be translated to corresponding Macintosh TrueType fonts. Because Epson printer fonts are fixed-space fonts, the TrueType font will be scaled to behave like a fixed-space font. Printers that use less than 300 dpi resolution will print in 144-dpi resolution.

    Printing In The DOS Environment

    To print from the DOS environment, you must select a printer driver for each application from which you want to print. If you're using the PostScript printing option, choose the PostScript version of the printer driver for the printer connected to the Macintosh. If a driver is not available for that printer, you can use any PostScript Level 1 printer driver, such as Apple LaserWriter II NTX.

    If you are using the Printer Specific feature, make sure to select a driver that works with the printer selected in the Chooser in each application from which you want to print.

    If you are using the Epson emulation option, select the Epson LQ 2500 driver in each application from which you want to print. If that driver is not available, try one of the following:
    • Epson LQ-2550/LQ-1050/LQ-1010
    • Epson Action Printer 4500/ActionPrinter 4000
    For best results, use a fixed-space font such as Courier or use your application's graphical fonts in your documents. See "Epson Emulation Options," earlier in this section.

    Printing From Windows 3.x Or Windows For Workgroups

    If you're using the PostScript printing option, you should install and select the PostScript version of the Windows driver that came with your printer. If you don't have a Windows driver specifically for your printer, you can select another PostScript printer driver, such as one of the following:
    • Apple LaserWriter II NTX if you have a PostScript Level 1 printer
    • LaserWriter Pro 630 if you have a PostScript Level 2 printer
    If you are not sure whether you have a PostScript Level 1 or Level 2 printer, choose a PostScript Level 1 printer driver. If you select a driver for a PostScript Level 1 printer, you can print to any PostScript printer.

    If you select a driver for a PostScript Level 2 printer, you can print only to printers that support PostScript Level 2. If you are using the Printer Specific feature, make sure to select the driver for the printer selected in the Chooser.
    If you are using the Epson emulation option, select the Epson LQ 2500 driver. If that driver is not available, try one of the following:
    • Epson LQ-2550/LQ-1050/LQ-1010
    • Epson Action Printer 4500/ActionPrinter 4000

    Printing From Windows 95

    Before you print from Windows 95 for the first time and any time you change printer drivers, you must follow these steps:

      1. In Windows 95, open the Printers folder.If no printers are installed, see your Windows 95 documentation for instructions on how to add a printer.
      2. Select the printer that you are printing to.
      3. Choose Properties from the File menu. A window appears.
      4. Click Details. The Details page appears.
      5. Click the Spool Settings button. A dialog box appears.
      6. Click the button labeled "Disable bi-directional support for this printer." Then click OK. If this button is not available, click OK and go on to the next step.
      7. In the Properties window, click Port Settings. The Configure LPT Port window appears.
      8. Make sure the checkbox labeled "Check port state before printing" is unchecked. Then click OK.

    After selecting or changing to a PostScript printer driver, you must also follow these steps:

      1. In the Properties window, click PostScript.
      2. Click Advanced. A dialog box appears.
      3. Make sure the checkboxes labeled "Send CTRL+D before Job" and "Send CTRL+D after Job" are unchecked. Then click OK.
      4. Close the Properties window. Other than these settings, setting up printing from Windows 95 is the same as printing from Windows. See the previous section, "Printing From Windows or Windows for Workgroups."

Document Information
Product Area: Computers
Category: DOS Compatible
Sub Category: DOS Compatibility Cards; PC Compatibility Cards

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