HPDeskJet 895Sce - "Print to file"

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Archived from groups: comp.periphs.printers (More info?)

"Print to file" is one of the options when printing - Under what
circumstances would one use a printer to "print to a file" (as opposed
to "saving" a document as a file)? Is the "file" simply a way of
holding the document to print later? Or is it a text file that is
located in your Printer folder?

A google search turned up a paper advising how one can convert PDF files
to Word or Word Perfect files through "printing to a file". Can anyone
explain just how a printer prints to a file, where would such a file be
located, and what would be the purpose of such a command?

Thanks for any help.

Molin Vardo

 

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Archived from groups: comp.periphs.printers (More info?)

[This followup was posted to comp.periphs.printers and a copy was sent to
the cited author.]

In article <40d491a3$1_1@news.iglou.com>, molingfort@netscape.net says...
> "Print to file" is one of the options when printing - Under what
> circumstances would one use a printer to "print to a file" (as opposed
> to "saving" a document as a file)? Is the "file" simply a way of
> holding the document to print later? Or is it a text file that is
> located in your Printer folder?
>
> A google search turned up a paper advising how one can convert PDF files
> to Word or Word Perfect files through "printing to a file". Can anyone
> explain just how a printer prints to a file, where would such a file be
> located, and what would be the purpose of such a command?

The file created is all the data that would be sent to the printer. It
has many uses, depending on the type of data. I've sometimes used it to
save HPGL/2 generated by an HP DesignJet driver so it can be printed on
another large-format printer elsewhere (and saved to reprint if needed.)
You can commonly dump it to a printer port like this:
copy con /b file.prn lpt1
copy con /b file.prn \\server\share

The /b means binary, and tells it to copy the whole file. Without it,
Windows stops at the first Ctrl-Z (ASCII 26) it finds. If the printer is
on a USB port, the easiest way to print to it is to share it, then print
to your own share.

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