Postscript Printing Solved!! - Summary

[Suzette Seveny <sseveny@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Many, many thanks to all the wonderful replies I got.  Unfortunately, it took 
an unusually long time for my message to appear on the list (especially 
FrameUsers - around 4 hours!) by which time I was quite frantic, and somehow 
had gotten hold of a phone number for Adobe.  This wonderful person in Acrobat 
Support (David) was a lifesaver, and walked me through it all.  I was a 
hysterical, suicidal idiot by the time I was transferred (yet again) to him. 
 Now I am sane again, and I'm keeping all the notes from everybody (including 
this one) because I know someday I will have to reload my computer and go 
through this again.

Several people asked me to post the solution (that's really encouraging isn't 
it - a call for help and as many responses from people in the same situation as 
solutions), so here it is.

Environment - Windows 95, FrameMaker 5.5.3 and HP LJ 5P
Problem:  Couldn't print (losing letters and funky spacing) or produce a PDF.

My main problem was I had installed PS4.2.4 drivers, but I wasn't set up right 
anyway, and I might have existed in ignorance if not for this problem.

1. Deleted all printers that used these drivers.
2. Took Dov Isaacs advise and edited the PPD files to change strings 2012, 2013 
or 2014 to 2015. (I just did a search for *.ppd and looked at each one.)
3. Added a new postscript printer - here's where I got confused.  You have to 
add a postscript printer, before you can install Distiller.  It doesn't matter 
which printer you install, as long as it's a postscript printer.  You probably 
will never use it.
4. Installed Distiller 3.01 that was on my FrameMaker CD.
5. Used the Adobe PS4.2 Setup Utility to add a new printer driver.  When 
prompted for a PPD file, I selected Distiller 3.0 from 
c:\acrobat3\distillr\extras\high_end
6. Downloaded Distiller 3.02 (ad302.exe) from the Adobe website and installed 
it.
7. Checked these things in the properties of my Acrobat Distiller 3.0 printer:
   * Graphics - Resolution = 600 dpi
   * Fonts = Send True Type fronts
   * Print to the following port:  \DISTASST.PS  (Unknown local port)
   (it's supposed to say unknown)

>From FrameMaker (with Distiller Assistant running), I print to Distiller 3.0 
printer (a virtual thing - no printing actually happens).

The result?  A beautiful PDF file - screenshots not fuzzy and still in colour - 
a thing of sheer delight!!

One drawback though - I had to reformat all my documents because of unknown 
fonts.  Oh well, our documentation standards haven't been set in stone yet 
anyway.

Thanks again for all the help and (God willing) I will NEVER have to go through 
that again.

PS - Does anybody know what this error message means?  I get my PDF anyway - 
but maybe I should know.

Suzette Seveny


** To unsubscribe, send a message to majordomo@omsys.com **
** with "unsubscribe framers" (no quotes) in the body.   **