Streamlining the PostScript Creation Process

Now that you see how complex the whole PostScript creation process is, it s a wonder that anyone ever gets it right! But have heart. I have a nifty solution for you that will simplify your PostScript life considerably.

Using Print Styles

The entire process covered under Understanding Page and Output Settings, with multiple tabs with dozens of choices, can be simplified to just one menu choice ”yes, that s right, one menu choice. The magic one-button solution is print styles. All advanced page layout applications, including QuarkXPress, InDesign, FrameMaker, and PageMaker, offer print styles. The details differ from application to application, but in general here s how the process works:

1. Create a print style for every type of document you may want to print. (Figure 3.18). These styles will then show up in your Print windows , usually under a Print Styles menu.

   
   Figure 3.18: Create Print Styles (left) and then look for them in your Print window (right)

2. When you activate the Print dialog, choose the print style that covers the kind of document and output you want (Figure 3.19). Presto, you are finished ”the entire Print dialog box and all its included tabs are preconfigured.

Figure 3.19: Select a print style in the Print dialog, and all your options configure themselves .

Note  

Print styles are very versatile. They can be copied , edited, duplicated , and transferred. I create over 2000 PDF documents every year, with over 95 percent being right the first time, and print styles are one of the three main reasons why. The other two reasons are saving PostScript settings (covered in the following section) and using watched folders (covered in the next chapter).

Saving PostScript and Other Settings

The other timesaving feat you can employ to reduce the assignment of PostScript files and other settings that you reuse is to capture them. Many Print dialog boxes and windows have a Save Settings or Capture Settings button, which can be used to secure a set of settings for reuse.

Using the Save Settings or Capture Settings feature will save the current PostScript setup, and it will remain saved and will be used every time you create a PostScript file until you either change the settings or switch your PostScript printer driver. Now, whenever you print a PostScript file, you can bypass the PostScript Settings window, saving lots of time.

The combined use of print styles and saving/capturing settings will save you considerable time and frustration.