
Printing Support
----------------
This beta version offers interim printing support using both native
drivers and the app's built-in Postscript generator.  It is part of
a project sponsored by Mensys to enable printing in the Mozilla apps.


Native Driver Support
---------------------
All native printer drivers should work if their output resolution is
set to 360 DPI or less.  If the resolution is set higher, the app will
attempt to reduce it to 300 or 360 DPI.  Should that fail, it will pop
up a 'Print to file' dialog and will create a PDF.

To change the resolution manually, press the 'Properties' button in the
browser's Print dialog.  This will open the driver's 'Job Properties'
notebook.  The name and location of the setting depends on the driver:
 - OMNI, EPOMNI:   'Print Quality' or 'Mode'
 - LASERJET:       'Graphics Resolution'
 - PSCRIPT, ECUPS: 'Resolution'

For the OMNI family of drivers, the most appropriate setting may be a
description such as "Normal" rather than a numeric value.

For ECUPS (and possibly PSCRIPT), the only resolution available may be
1440 DPI.  If so, the PPD for this printer is missing the "*Resolution"
entries that would let you change the DPI.  You have two options:
 - enable Mozilla's built-in Postscript support
 - edit the PPD to add the entries, then import the PPD into the driver.


Built-in Postscript Support
---------------------------
Mozilla's built-in Postscript support provides an alternative to using
the native PSCRIPT or ECUPS drivers.  Some users report that it offers
better print quality;  others may have to use it if they are unable to
change the native driver's DPI settings.

To enable it:
 - enter "about:config" in the browser's address bar, press Enter
 - click MB2 on any item in the preferences listing
 - select 'New->Boolean' from the popup menu
 - enter "print.os2.postscript.use_builtin" (no quotes), press OK
 - select "true", press OK

To use the built-in support, you must select a printer associated with
a native PS driver.  The driver won't actually be used - it simply acts
as a flag to tell Mozilla to produce PS output.

Built-in support has some limitations:
 - while it works for most Postscript printers, it does not work for
   all of them.  Users report that the printer appears to receive the
   job but never prints anything.
 - the current version does not use any of the driver's settings.
   Options such as duplexing are not available.


PDF Support
-----------
PDFs can be created by selecting 'Print to file',  When the file dialog
appears, give the file's name a ".pdf" extension.


Notes and Known Bugs
--------------------
* Printing directly from an email in Seamonkey does not work.  Instead,
select 'Print Preview', then press the 'Print' button on that window.

* The scrollbars on the 'Print Preview' window may be abnormally wide.
This is a cosmetic issue and should not affect printing.

* Resolution has been limited to avoid excessive memory consumption.
At 300 DPI, a print job on A4- or Letter-sized paper uses about 32mb;
at 600 DPI, it requires 128mb.  The 'Print to file' dialog appears
whenever a job needs more than 64mb.

* Memory use is controlled by the paper size and DPI settings, not the
number of pages.  If you use a small enough page size (e.g. a CD-cover
or photograph sheet), you may be able to print at a higher resolution.

* If you encounter problems, you may be able to identify the issue by
having the app create a log.  If you use Run!, you can add the 'G'
option to the exe's name (e.g. "firefox!G.exe").  Alternately, you can
start the app from the commandline using "firefox 2>&1 > firefox.log".

The log can not be examined while the app is open and will be over-
written when you restart the program.  To create a useful log, start
the app, duplicate the problem as soon as possible, then close the app
and move the log file to another directory.

* For additional support, please use the newsgroups - other forums are
not tracked.  Post your questions to either 'mozilla.dev.ports.os2' or
'comp.os.os2.apps'.


Rich Walsh <richATe-vertiseDOTcom>
October 30, 2010

