Configuring your printer driver

Instructions for configuring each printer are contained in the printer driver files. Pictured below is part of the “hpglrtl.plt” printer driver file. It shows the Size and Style records, and along with the settings are instructions for their use.

For specific information and guidance in configuring and using the driver associated with your printer, you can open the printer driver file that you intend to use in an appropriate text editor, such as Windows Notepad. You then can follow the instructions in the file to configure your printer driver. Facilities for doing just this are provided in the File menu of the Print dialog box.

1. From the Print dialog box's File menu, choose Edit Printer Driver.
   The text editor (such as Notepad) opens with the selected printer driver loaded.


2. Make any changes that you require and save them (choose File > Save in Notepad).


3. From the Print dialog box's File menu, choose Reload Print Driver, to include any changes into the loaded file.

Several common customization tasks are discussed in Customizing printer drivers.

Configuring PostScript Drivers

The following PostScript printer drivers are supplied:

• “pscript.plt” (for monochrome)

• “pscriptc.plt” (for color)

• “ps650c.plt” (for large format monochrome)

• “psc650c.plt” (for large format color)

• “epscripm.plt” (monochrome Encapsulated PostScript)

• “epscripc.plt” (color Encapsulated PostScript)

Both the Encapsulated PostScript printer drivers optionally add a preview/thumbnail image to the PostScript files that they produce. Some applications use these thumbnails to preview the PostScript image.

By default, the prolog file “pscript.pro” is used to provide the header for the PostScript file. You can edit the prolog file, which also is a text file, to change default settings such as which paper tray is used. (You can also edit the prolog record in the printer driver to specify a different prolog file.) The settings in the prolog file are dependent on the printing driver; refer to your printer´s programming manual for the correct syntax.

Each of the supplied prolog files in the “hpt*.pro” series — for example, “hptlegal.pro” — specifies a particular paper tray for the HP LaserJet 4v laser printer.

HPGL-2/RTL printers

The HPGLRTL driver produces HPGL-2 vectors from vector data sources and RTL rasters from raster data sources.

Many devices that support HPGL-2/RTL have numerous limitations. For example, these devices do not support both HPGL-2 vectors and RTL rasters in the same print. Nor do they support all the different RTL pixel formats and color depth. In addition, they may not support all of the RTL compression modes described in the RTL specification from Hewlett Packard (for more information, see RTL compression modes).