To set-up your print driver, go to the Xerox driver page (http://www.xerox.com/drivers/) and select the printer driver for your specific operating system. Look for the DocuTech 135/NS. Follow the download instructions for your chosen operating system. Install the driver on your system. Go to the application in which you are creating your document. Go to the print dialogue box and choose the Xerox printer as your destination printer. Print your document as you would print to your regular laser printer (uncollated). You will be asked to name your document with a '.prn' extension and also where to place the document on your hard drive. Once you have created your PostScript file, the safest way to upload the file is to compress it first. If you do not have any compression software, both WinZip and Stuffit are available for free on the Internet. After you have compressed the PostScript file, go to our ftp page and upload your file.

PDF Files

Go to the Adobe Acrobat page and purchase the latest version of Adobe Acrobat Distiller if you do not have the program already. As with PostScript files, it is safer to compress your file before uploading it. Once the file is compressed, go to our ftp page and upload the file.

FAQs

This section is designed to help our customers understand the difficulties of digital printing. Please feel free to send your questions and comments to info@prioritycopy.com.

Q. I just spent $30.00 on MEGA COOL FONTS 1997 and designed the perfect newsletter. Now when I got my proof back, the font changed to courier. What happened? Did I waste my $30.00?

A. I wish we had every font in the world but we do not. So when you opened your software with our PostScript printer set as your default, the font actually changed before you initiated the printing of the file. Try going to the Printers box and selecting the Properties of the PostScript printer. Make sure all fonts are selected to be sent as Outlines or Soft Fonts.

Q. When I PostScript a file, the DocuTech always aborts the file. Why?

A. Try changing the properties of the PostScript printer. Go to the PostScript tab and make sure the box labeled "Download header with each print job" is selected. The header must be present for the file to be processed properly.

Q. Is there a standard PostScript setup for sending files to the DocuTech?

A. You want to use the standard system driver. On the Macintosh platform that would be the LaserWriter 8 - in Windows you want the Windows PS driver - both standard drivers that most systems come with. The other part of the puzzle is the PostScript Printer Description (PPD) file you select. The one to look for is the Linotronic 530. This driver PPD combination will create a generic PostScript file, which is platform independent, resolution independent and (most importantly) device independent. For best results, however, go to the Xerox Driver page (http://www.xerox.com/drivers/) and download the driver for DocuTech 135/NS.

Q. One of my customers made a PostScript files for our shop but when we print it some of the copy has shifted in the document. What do we need to do to make this right?

A. My guess is that your customer is using a Word Processing application on a PC platform. These applications tend to reflow the copy when you change print drivers. What is probably happening is that the document has been created with whatever driver set-up is normally used in place. Then, when it is time to make the PostScript file, it becomes necessary to switch to a PostScript driver. The cure for this problem is to make the switch, and then before the file is created, go back through the document page by page and correct any copy reflow that may have taken place. Once you are satisfied that the document looks the way you want it to, then you make the PostScript file. If you are using a PostScript printer for your usual printing needs, it is recommended that you configure your print driver to a LaserWriter II NTX PPD and use that set-up for your normal printing routine. This way, when you go to make PostScript, it will not be necessary to go through the "clean-up operation" each time. If your printer is not a PostScript model, of course, you are stuck with the "clean-up operation."

Q. What if I want to make PostScript from 11 X 17 pages? The LaserWriter setup only allows for letter and legal size. Can I use the PPD for my HP PostScript printer, which supports tabloid pages?

A. In a word: No. You don't want to use your Hewlett-Packard PPD unless you only plan to print to that device. To have access to oversized paper you should choose an imagesetter PPD. Any Linotronic PPD will do the trick, you might alternatively use an AGFA Selectset or a VariTyper PPD. The reason is because, like the LaserWriter II, an imagesetter is generic. Imagesetters don't print duplex, or staple or bind, or pull from more than one drawer - all the device specific features you want to avoid when making generic PostScript.

Q. I frequently transfer print files to my vendor via email attachment. Sometimes when I attach a document to an email message the receiver is unable to open it. Other times it works fine. What's going on with that?

A. Different email applications treat attachments in different ways. Also it is possible make your own decisions about how to treat attachments by manipulating the preferences in some applications. If your attachment fails, the first step is to contact the receiving party and find out what kind of email application they are using. Ask them to look in their preferences and tell you what kind of compression/encryption their application uses. In most cases this compression/encryption mode is variable and in most cases you have a choice of "mime" or "BinHex". Check your own compression type and try to synchronize it with the receiving station then try your attachment again.

Q. When I make a PostScript file from MS Word it always comes out with a ".prn" extension. Is there a way I can make it say ".ps"?

A. Actually, most print vendors understand that a ".prn" extension designates a print file but if you really want to rename the file it can be done two ways. 1) In the navigation box as the file is being written - pull down the "File Type" menu and select "All Files". Then you can name the file anything you want, or 2) rename the file after the fact.

Q. I have been trying to FTP Macintosh PageMaker files to my vendor but they keep coming out corrupted. What am I doing wrong?

A. Whenever you FTP application files on the Mac platform it is important to both compress and encrypt the files to prevent corruption. The best utility for this purpose is called "Stuffit". There is a shareware version of the program called "Stuffit Lite" which is available for download at the top of this page. The file should be compressed first then encrypted with either Bin-Hex or Binary encryption - both of which are available from within the Stuffit application.

Q. What's the best way0#ydadd pictures (photos, illustrations) to my documents?

A. There is a variety of ways to go about this. In Word Processing applications there is usually an "Insert" menu/command for this purpose. In Page Layout application the command in the Edit menu and might be "Place" or "Import", in Quark it is called "Get Picture". For streamlined documents the best way is to use you clipboard and paste the image onto the page. You can import the image into drawing (Illustrator, Freehand, Corel Draw!) or a presentation program such as PowerPoint or Persuasion. Perform any alterations, such as resizing, to the image before copying it to the Clipboard.

Q. Is there any difference between FTP used on the Windows platform and that used on the Macintosh?

A. The process is the same but there are critical differences in set-up. In many ways, FTP under Windows is much easier to deal with because everything is sent over in Binary mode and even Application Source files may be transferred without any special preparation (though it pays to compress these files just to make them transfer faster). On the Mac it is a different story. Text formatted files, such as HTML documents and (uncompressed) PostScript need to be sent in the Text mode rather than Binary. If you send application files it is essential that they be both compressed and encrypted to avoid corruption. Also compressed and/or encrypted files, and image files should be sent in Binary mode.

Q. What is FTP?

A. FTP stands for File Transfer Protocol. It is an International Standard for the transfer of electronic files first adopted by the European Particle Physics Laboratory (CERN) in Switzerland where much of the early Internet work was done. This standard means that everybody is on the same page when it comes to file transfers. Some might remember what it was like in the early 90's to use a modem for station-to-station transfers. FTP has eliminated the need to call the receiving station first in order to synchronize equipment before the transfer. If only the email application manufacturers would adopt a similar standard...

Q. What is PostScript?

A. PostScript is a Page Description Language (PDL) - in other words, the PostScript code described everything you see printed on the page including graphics, text and layout. When properly created (see the Instructions page for step-by-step instructions), PostScript contains everything needed to print a given document. Another PDL is called Hewlett-Packard Print Command Language (HP-PCL). PCL is not as desirable as PostScript because: 1) It is device dependent - meaning it can only be printed on a PCL printer. 2) It is resolution dependent - PCL only comes in two flavors (300 and 600 dpi) while PostScript is capable of printing to the limit of resolution of the printing device to which it is sent. 3) It is Platform dependent - PCL can only be created on a PC platform while PostScript can be created (and printed) from PC, Mac or UNIX.

Q. How can I reduce the size of my document files?

A. There are a number of ways to do this. One important method is to use the "Save as..." command. When you simply "Save" a document you are saving, in a lot of cases, the doc itself plus all of the most recent changes made to the document. With PageMaker, for instance, this means you add size to the file every time you change the view, or move from page to page. A "Save as...&q"š®. rewrites the file exactly as it appears on your monitor then replaces the original with the re-written version. Another good practice is to try to add images via the Clipboard whenever possible. You can import an image into a drawing program, for instance, then copy it to the Clipboard. This process changes the image into a Clipboard file (Windows Metafile in Windows, PICT resource on the Mac) which takes up less space in the document.

Q. Why make PostScript? Couldn't I just send you my Microsoft Word file?

A. Of course you can do that, but for black & white work it isn't recommended. Anytime you transfer an application file from one system to another you are creating complications. Of course we all know about the obvious things, missing fonts and graphics, does your vendor have the required application, etc., but it would seem that those problems could be avoided if we gather our resources carefully. There are more subtle things however, such as the way the system itself is set up, what versions of fonts are present and how the application configuration may differ from one system to another. These difficulties can be avoided altogether by supplying a generic PostScript file or a PDF file.