different printout when changing printer

[lalbatros]

Hello,

I had to print my big workbook with a different printer.
I had to re-adjust the page setup of more than 20 pages.
Except for the printer there should have been no difference (same size, orientation, ... nothing changed)

Is there a way to avoid that?
What is the reason?

Thanks,

Michel

 

[thisoldman]

The reason is different printers and printer drivers. Each printer will accept only certain instructions from the computer and each printer has different capabilities. I sometimes think of the driver as a language translator. Does the printer use the instruction language for Epson color inkjets produced before 2015 or does it use the Canon language for black and white laser printers produced this year?

The only way to ensure a reasonably printer agnostic printout of your document is to save it as a pdf and then print the pdf.

 

[lalbatros]

Thanks for the answer.
I still can't understand why what would work with the pdf intermediate step would not be automated by any driver. (postscript?)
I asked the question because I had a terrible case that took me quite some time and attention to adjust.
I wonder if this is a Windows only feature?

 

[thisoldman]

PDF does stand for Portable Document Format. I think it's a bit more than just Postscript. I remember when printers were advertised with Postscript capabilities as a feature. An Excel document is both text and images (and audio and 3D images).

As I understand it, a pdf places text and images using an x-y coordinate system. I guess it could be likened to an image of a document.

You can add audio and video to a pdf, and that may be a case of creeping featurism, but it could also be useful. The document becomes a portable website, without the need for an internet connection.

 

[Fluff]

I wonder if this is a Windows only feature?

Nope. Its a printer issue.
A lot of printers have what is called a "printable area" & this will vary from one printer to another.
So a page that will fit on one sheet of paper on one printer, may need mores sheets on another printer.