# 3418 - Postscript Preferences This document provides detailed information and descriptions for each of the options located in the Postscript Preferences dialog box. This dialog box is accessed by clicking File, Print, Options, Options, Postscript Preferences. Use Postscript Level 2 Features Enables the use of PostScript level 2 features. This option is only available to Level 2 PostScript devices. PostScript Level 2 is a more advanced PostScript language. Using it can reduce printing errors and allow you to access new features. You must have a PostScript Level 2 device to take advantage of these features. Random printing errors will occur if you attempt to enable this setting on a PostScript Level 1 device. Consult the printer documentation for information about the PostScript level it supports. Use JPEG compression Compresses bitmaps using JPEG compression when printing. Enabling this option can reduce the size of the print job. This setting is commonly used with the Print To File option to reduce the overall .PRN file size for delivery to a Service Bureau. This feature is for PostScript Level 2 devices only. Quality Factor (2-255) Specifies the degree of JPEG compression used when printing bitmaps with the Use JPEG Compression feature enabled. Note: Due to the nature of JPEG compression, there may be some quality loss with higher values. Use this option with caution. Maximum points per curve: (Default 1500) Specifies the maximum allowable number of control points per curve. Reducing this number helps alleviate printing problems caused by objects that are very complex. Tip: If you are experiencing blank output, or PostScript errors, try reducing the maximum points per curve to 300. Set flatness to: (Default 1.0) This value determines how smooth a curve will appear when printed. As the flatness increases, curves begin to appear as connected straight lines. If you are having problems with complex objects, start by leaving this value at 1.00 and enable the Auto Increase Flatness check box. If this doesn't help, increase the flatness by 2 and try again. Note: A flatness level set too high will produce distorted curves. Auto increase flatness Causes the application to automatically increase the flatness in increments of 2, as needed. When attempting to print an object, all printing will cease when the flatness value exceeds the value set in the Set Flatness To box by 10. At this point, the printer skips the problematic object and goes on to the next object. Tip: If objects are being dropped from your output due to complexity, try enabling the Auto Increase Flatness check box. Auto increase fountain steps Enables an analysis of your file and the various print settings you have specified, and, if necessary, automatically increases the number of steps used to render fountain fills to avoid banding. Banding is the appearance of strips across a fountain fill which occurs when a fountain fill does not contain enough steps. This option may increase print time, but it will ensure the best possible rendering of fountain fills. Optimize fountain fills Enables an analysis of the file and the various print settings you have specified. If the number of steps in a fountain fill is greater than the number that your output device can render, the number of steps used to render the fountain fill is decreased automatically. Tip: By enabling both the Auto Increase Fountain Steps and Optimize Fountain Fills check boxes, you can increase the number of fountain steps that require more steps and reduce the number of steps in fountain fills that are too complex. Output color bitmaps in RGB Defines bitmaps in RGB values instead of the usual CMYK values that are found in PostScript files. Use this option when you are outputting to RGB devices (e.g., slidemakers). Tip: Use this option when you are printing to CMY devices. It is easier for these devices to translate from RGB to CMY than from CMYK to CMY. Maintain OPI links Tells the service bureau's Open Prepress Interface (OPI) server to substitute the low-resolution images in your file with the corresponding high-resolution images. This substitution is done before your print file is rasterized and imaged to film. Download Type 1 fonts By default, the printer driver downloads Type 1 fonts to the printing device. If you disable the Download Type 1 Fonts check box, fonts are printed as graphics (either curves or bitmaps). This may be useful if the file contains a large number of fonts that would take an unacceptably long time to download, or would fail to download because of their size. This option is available for PostScript devices only. Tip: If you have difficulty printing text to your PostScript printer, (i.e.; text dropped from the output, font-related PostScript errors, etc) try disabling this check box. Convert True Type to Type 1 Converts True Type fonts to Type 1 fonts. If you enabled the Download Type 1 Fonts check box, by default the Convert True Type to Type 1 is also enabled. This ensures that True Type fonts are converted to Type 1 fonts so that they can be downloaded to the printer. Complex objects (Warnings) Allows one or more warnings to be issued if objects are detected that are too complex and may cause printing problems. Banded fountain fills (Warnings) When enabled, this feature will warn the user of potential banding (the appearance of discreet strips in a fill) which is caused by too few steps in a fountain fill. This warning only applies to linear fountain fills. Too many spot colors (Warnings) Warns you if your print job contains too many spot colors. You can change the number of colors that triggers this warning in the Special Settings list box. Refer to Fax on Demand document #3419 - Printing: Special Settings/Options for more information. Too many Fonts (Warnings) Warns if your print job contains too many fonts. You can change the number of fonts that triggers this warning in the Special Settings list box. Refer to Fax on Demand document #3419 - Printing: Special Settings/Options for more information.