[NBLUG/talk] Printing PDF files - slow...

[Dave Sisley]

Ken McGlothlen wrote:
> Dave Sisley <dsisley at sonic.net> writes:
>
> | I've run into a problem at work where there's a need to print PDFs, and 
> | I never noticed how slow that can be for certain files.  [...]
> | 
> | I'm sure a big part of this is the size of the file.  A small test file
> | printed fairly quickly, but I tried [...] Test file #1 was a 40-page
> | document, 418.5 kb and took a half hour to print.  A few pages would print at
> | a time, then a long pause, then more pages, etc.  Test file #2 was a 1-page
> | document, 1.5 mb in size (graphics intensive) that took about 10-15 minutes
> | to print.
> | 
> | The printer is an HP 1320 connected to the network [...] it has 16mb total
> | memory, with 5.58 available.
>
> Hi, Dave.
>
> I assume we're talking about a LaserJet 1320, in which case it has the standard
> amount of memory, and understand HP PCL 5 and 5e, and PostScript Level 2.
>
> Off-hand, I don't think it's the printer.
>
> I also suspect it isn't the files per se; after all, you're able to open them
> efficiently, I assume.  Without knowing what's actually in the files, it's hard
> to say, but the size of the files tells me that there's nothing particularly
> aggressive about the contents.
>
> This leads me to wonder about your print spooling.  It could be that the print
> spooler is configured to send the PDFs to the printer as PCL files, and that
> the PDFs are sufficiently complex to rasterize that it's bogging down the
> spooler.  Are you using CUPS?  lpr?  And what is (if anything) doing the
> rasterization?  GhostScript?
>
> Do you have a way to export PostScript and send that directly to the printer?
> That might be a useful test.
>
> ---Ken
Thanks, Ken.  In testing on my own machine, I'm just using cups.  I 
tried to export the file to a .ps file, but it didn't seem to speed up 
things:  kpdf created a 39mb postscript file from the 1.5mb .pdf.  This 
file is, as I said, graphics intensive.  I believe (not certain, though) 
it was made with either Photoshop or InDesign.  It may be that I need 
the person who generates these files to send something else, but they 
seem to print fairly quickly from a Mac.  It sounds like you're on to 
something - is there some tweaking to the print options I can do?

Thanks for the tips!

-dave.

-- 
Dave Sisley
dsisley at sonic.net
roth-sisley.net