Re: Virutal Printer Problem

[Markus Frischknecht <mfrischknecht@xxxxxxxxx>]

Hello,

Colin Green wrote on Mon, 26 Jun 2000:
> I saw a message on the Frame list regarding the virtual printer and was
> excited to get this device. I use a Mac pwr PC and, unfortunately, do not
> have a postscript printer (yet). But I make Acrobat files from Frame by
> switching the Chooser to the Abode ps driver (yup, 8.5.1). However, it
> reeks havoc to do so. It takes 5 to 10 minutes to tweak my Chooser back to
> the original printer driver (Epson Stylix), a procedure that includes a
> system reboot.
>
> However, after I downloaded the virtual printer, I noticed that the icon
> was "greyed out" on my desktop; ...
> [snipped]

I recently (re-)installed Adobe PS 851 several time for a software conflict
test, and this is my view on the installation process:

To start off, make sure that you actually have the separate plug-in
"Virtual Printer" v8.5.1, available at

<ftp://ftp.adobe.com/pub/adobe/printerdrivers/mac/8.x/plugins/vprint.sea.hqx>

("DESCRIPTION:
The Virtual Printer plug-in enables you to generate PostScript files when
you don't have a printer connected to your printer, or your computer is
not connected to a network.")


Then make sure that you use Appple's PrintingLib instead of Adobe PS' own
version, if the Mac LW driver is the same or a later version (you can keep
Adobe's version in a different folder, of course). For this to be possible,
make a backup copy of the Apple version outside the System Extension
folder; otherwise, the installation process of Adobe PS 851 will overwrite
it.

I've seen the problem with a disabled Virtual Printer option (not the
desktop printer icon in my case, but the option for hardware-independent
settings were inaccessible). It was solved by removing everything that
belongs to Adobe PS (except the PPD files), including the *preference
file*. Then I copied every file from a different installation over to the
correct locations, made sure that the Virtual Printer plug-in was in the
right folder (see its read me file) and the Acrobat PPD file was in the
Printer Description folder. After a restart, I went into the Chooser and
re-selected Adobe PS. This created (after about three attempts...) the new
enabled Virtual Printer icon.

Finally, switching between the Virtual Printer and another driver can take
several seconds, but probably depends on the version and manufacturer of
the second printer's driver. In my case, switching from the Virtual Printer
to the Apple LW 8.6.5 (used for an LPR printer) takes just three or four
seconds whereas the reverse path takes up to ten seconds. I've no idea what
the Epson driver does in this respect, but for an experiment, try starting
from the Apple LW driver, then switch to Virtual Printer and back.

Hope this helps
Markus

--
Markus Frischknecht
Email: mfrischknecht@access.ch



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