White Paper
Creating a PCMacLAN Print Spooler
   
     
  Using the PCMacLAN Print Spooler  
  If you are running a Mac operating system, you may wish to send jobs directly from a creative application such as Adobe¢ç Illustrator¢ç to a virtual printer on a Windows¢ç system. Rather than invest in a server setup, you may opt to use PCMacLAN¢ç.

 
  Configure the PCMacLAN Print Spooler  
 

Creating a PCMacLAN print spooler gives you a virtual device that shows up on your Mac system as a chooser level device. This is especially useful if the spooler directs the postscript file to a specific RIP-Queue Hot Folder.
Use the following steps to configure a PCMacLAN print spooler:

1. Determine which printer you wish to use as a virtual printer on your Mac.
2. Copy the PPD for the desired printer from the Onyx56\Server\ppd directory to the PCMacLAN folder (usually located under Program Files\Miramar).
3. Launch the PCMacLAN Print Server controller.
4. Within the PCMacLAN Print Server, select Create New Spooler from the Spooler menu to open the Spooler Configuration dialog.

 
 

PCMacLAN Print Server
 
 

4. Within the Spooler Configuration dialog, enter a unique name for the new
virtual printer.
Leave the Type set to ¡°LaserWriter¡± and the File Extension set to ¡°ps¡±.

 
 

Spooler Configuration dialog
 
 

5. Using the Destination radio buttons, set the file destination to Folder.
6. Click Browse to select the appropriate Hot Folder.
7. Within the Browse dialog, highlight the input folder (Hot Folder) for the desired Onyx Graphics workflow printer and click Save.

For example: if you want the postscript output from the PCMacLAN virtual
printer to go to the default Hot Folder for the Epson Stylus Pro 9600, you
would highlight the Epson Stylus Pro 9600 folder located in the ONYX56\
INPUT directory and click Save.

8. Use the PPD File drop-down menu to select the PPD that you copied to the PCMacLAN folder in step 1.


Spooler Configuration dialog

 
 

9. Click Options to open the Options dialog and select Send As-Is.
10. Click OK to return to the Spooler Configuration dialog.
11. Click OK to finish.

The main dialog window now displays the new spooler. At this point, you can close
the PCMacLAN Print Server dialog.

 
 

PCMacLAN Print Server
 
 

Configure the Mac Chooser
Next, you need to configure the Mac Chooser to use the PCMacLAN printer. Before you begin, copy the Mac PPD for your printer from the PC to the Mac. On the PC, the Mac PPD¡¯s are found in the Onyx56\Server\PPD\Mac folder.
Depending the version of the Mac OS you are using, copy the Mac PPD into the appropriate folder:


Mac OS 7.x - 9.x
Copy the Mac PPD to the Mac > System Folder > Extensions > Printer Descriptions folder.

Mac OS X
If you are using Classic mode in Mac OS X (running Mac OS 9 programs with Mac OS X as the boot system) it is recommended that you boot up with Mac OS 9 and install the Mac PPD before rebooting with Mac OS X. Sometimes, Mac OS 9 and Classic do not recognize files as PPD¡¯s if you copy them using Mac OS X.
Copy your Mac PPD to the Mac > Library > Printers > PPDs > Contents > Resources. Ensure that you place the PPD in the appropriate language folder. For example, the English folder is listed as ¡°en.lproj¡±. This folder should display a list of standard PPD¡¯s which install with Mac OS X ? this helps you to know you are placing the PPD in the correct directory.

Configure the Mac Printer Driver
Configure your Mac printer driver using the new Mac PPD you copied over from the PC using one of the following options based on your OS:

Mac OS 7.x - 9.x
1. Go to the Apple Menu > Chooser, and select LaserWriter ? or Adobe PS driver if you have it installed. If you installed your pipeline (your Mac to PC connectivity software) correctly with file sharing and printer sharing, your virtual printer should appear in the window to the right.
2. Highlight the virtual printer and click Setup.
3. Click Select PPD and assign the new Mac PPD you wish to associate with your virtual printer.

Mac OS X
1. Go to your Applications > Utilities folder and launch the Print Center application.
You may want to drag this icon into your Dock so it is handy for launching later.
2. Click Add Printer and select AppleTalk for your port.
3. Use the Printer Model drop-down menu to select the Mac PPD that you copied from the PC.
4. Click Add.

You¡¯re now successfully configured your PCMacLAN and your Mac to use the virtual
printer from your Mac applications.

 
 
 
July, 2003 Juan Kim of VALLOY Inc.