Every print job starts as output from an application. The first step, albeit one that is already performed for you, is to produce output from an application and tell it what size paper you want to use and the orientation of that paper. In most applications, this is usually accomplished by using the standard File → Page Setup (Shift--P) command, which brings up the dialog shown in Figure 10-7. Most of the time, you’ll
want to leave the default settings in this dialog or just change the orientation of your page. However, if you are printing a 4×6 photo or an envelope, you’ll want to select a printer attached to your system that gives you access to the page sizes it can handle.
Not all applications have a Page Setup dialog box, and those that do don’t always have the Shift--P keyboard shortcut.
The second step in getting output from an application is to print a document using the standard File → Print (-P) command, which brings up the dialog shown in Figure 10-8. From here, you can print to a printer, save to a PDF file, or fax documents anywhere in the world. This rather simple dialog gives access to a wealth of options that can be performed by both the system and by individual printer drivers. The dialog lets you select the printer to print to, listing both local printers and remote printers. It also gives you the opportunity to choose a preset setting and to customize the printer- and, possibly, application-specific settings.
The following settings are always available:
Lets you specify how many copies of a document you want to print. Some applications put additional controls into this pane to allow you to specify what content to print in terms that make sense for the application. For example, when you print from Microsoft Excel, you have control over the sheets to print out of a workbook.
Gives you the ability to print up to 16 pages on one side of a sheet of paper and the option to print on both sides of the sheet, if your printer supports duplex two-sided printing. Confusingly enough, you can’t control the orientation of printing here—you have to set that using the Page Setup dialog before you print.
Lets you schedule a print job to be printed at some time in the future. You can even place a job on the printer queue, and hold it indefinitely until a time when you are ready for it to be printed. This last option is useful for when you are traveling and don’t have access to your printer back at the office, but want to create print jobs before arriving at your destination.
Lets you control how the pages are ordered when printed, or to print only even- or odd-numbered pages. This is handy when you want to manually print two-sided documents on a printer that doesn’t support duplex printing.
Sets whether you want the transformation from the document’s color space to the printer’s to be performed by the printer. Usually you want Mac OS X to perform this work unless you have already modified the colors in the document to print correctly on the target printer. This pane also gives you access to filters—such as applying a sepia tone or converting a grayscale document to black and white—that are performed by Quartz.
Allows you to print a cover page with your document, including the type of cover page and whether it prints before or after your document.
Gives a text representation of all the current settings for a print job.
In addition to these standard settings, many printer drivers add options to this menu. For example, the HP LaserJet printer driver adds panes to let you select which paper tray to use, whether or not to generate a cover page, and the resolution you want to print at. As another example, the Epson Stylus Photo printer drivers add panes allowing you to select the kind of paper you are printing on since different papers react differently to photographic printing.
Sometimes you have to look carefully here for a setting you want to use. For example, the driver for HP’s InkJet printers that support duplex printing don’t allow you to set up two-sided printing using the Layout pane; instead, a separate two-sided printing pane is provided and accessible via the lower pull-down menu. Of course we can’t test and detail the quirks of each printer model here, but the point is, you’ll need to check out all the options that your printer driver gives you.
The Print dialog’s Presets menu lets you create presets of your chosen settings across all the option panes, allowing you to quickly set up a print job. For example, you might want to provide a Double-Sided setting so you can quickly opt for duplex printing. Another good idea is a Photo preset that sets the paper type and ColorSync options for your particular printer.
To save a set of print settings, simply use the pull-down menu and select the Save As option. Once applied, the name that you choose for a group of print settings will always appear in this menu.
Some applications that aim for an ease-of-use interface, such as iPhoto, can choose to present a simplified print panel, as shown in Figure 10-9. This panel presents several of the settings located in the various sections in a single interface, which omits many of the more complex settings of the regular print panel. You can get to all the options by clicking the Advanced Options button.