Sections

1. Introduction
2. How to create a Postscript or PDF file from a Latex document
3. How to create a Postscript file using a Macintosh Wordprocessor
4. How to create a Postscript file using a Windows Wordprocessor
5. How to create a PDF file using a Macintosh or Windows Wordprocessor

  Introduction

Postscript is a page-description-language designed by Adobe Systems to improve output on laserprinters. A Postscript file can be viewed as the output a computer sends to a laserprinter, captured in a file. Postscript describes objects on a page mathematically, rather than using a rigid bitmap. As a consequence the page can be enlarged or reduced without distortion, and on any system it may be printed/viewed at the maximum resolution available. For this reason Postscript has become a standard format for storing documents in a system-independent fashion. Information about viewing Postscript files may be found in " How to view the files in the ILLC archive".

Since Postscript was not originally designed as a tool for universal document exchange, it has some flaws. Adobe systems created the PDF format to overcome these flaws. To view PDF files, you need the free Adobe Acrobat Reader program.

   How to create a Postscript or PDF file from a Latex document

A Latex installation usually includes a program called `dvips' or `dvi2ps' which converts DVI-files generated by Latex to Postscript. However, note that with the standard settings, the fonts contained in the postscript file will be so-called `Type 3' (bitmapped) fonts, which are resolution-dependent. This may cause problems when you want to convert your document to PDF format, or if someone tries to print it on an extremely-high-resolution printer (such as are used at professional printing shops). If you use the '-Ppdf' or '-Pwww' flag, as in

dvips -Ppdf myfile.dvi

then the dvips program generates postscript files using `Type 1' (scalable) fonts (provided these fonts are installed), which should eliminate font problems.

If you want to create a PDF file from a Latex document, the easiest way is to use the dvipdf script (if installed). You can also use the dvips program to create a postscript file as describer above, and then convert it into a PDF file using the ps2pdf script (if installed).

Important Note: please note that the dvipdf and ps2pdf scripts use the GhostScript program, and that versions before Ghostscript 6.0 are not capable of handling Type 1 LaTeX fonts. Instead, the fonts are converted into Type 3 fonts. This doesn't look nearly as good, and (as stated above) can cause problems on printers with very high resolutions. You can check whether your document contains Type 3 fonts by opening your PDF file in Acrobat Reader, and selecting `Document Info - Fonts' from the menu.

The computer systems of the Faculty of Science (FNWI) use Ghostscript 6.50, which does not have this problem. If your Ghostscript version is lower than 6.0 (you can check this by typing `gs --version'), and you cannot convince your System Administrator to update the program, you can convert your DVI or postscript file to PDF using Adobe's Online Conversion Service, which offers limited free trials.

More information on creating good postscript and PDF files from Latex documents can be found here:

• Creating quality Adobe PDF files from TeX with DVIPS
• Van Zandt: TeX to PDF
• Making a Compact Beautiful PostScript or PDF from a TeX Source

   How to create a Postscript file using a Macintosh Wordprocessor

Instead of printing your document to paper, you can tell your computer to "print to a PostScript file." What this means is that instead of sending the PostScript code to your printer, your computer will write it to a disk file.

1. Verify that a reasonably current Postscript Printer Driver has been installed on your system. Best results are achieved using the Laserwriter printerdriver (version 8.4 or later), or the AdobePS printerdriver (version 8.6 or later, or version 8.5.1 with the Virtual Printer plugin. I recommend against using versions of the Laserwriter driver before 8.1: the Postscript files created by these drivers are not completely compatible with other systems. Note that some installers (in particular the AdobePS Installer) may replace newer library files with older versions: always make a backup of the System Folder before installing any new printer drivers.

2. Select the Postscript printer for printing, either by using the Chooser, by selecting a printer on the desktop and making it the Default Printer, or by using the Printer Selection menu in the Print Dialog of a Word Processor.

3. Open the document you want to convert to Postscript in your Word Processor. Verify whether all settings in the Page Setup dialog are set correctly.

4. Select the Print command from the File Menu. In the Print dialog, set Destination to "File". The Print button should change to a Save button.

5. Make sure that the following are set correctly

   • Format should be set to "Postscript Job".
   • Postscript Level should be set to "Level 1 Compatible" or "Level 1, 2 and 3 Compatible".
   • Data Format should be set to "ASCII".
   • Font Inclusion should be set to "All But Standard 13".
   • Unlimited Downloadable Fonts should be turned off.
   • Cover Page should be set to "None".

   Note that, depending on the driver you are using, some of these settings may be missing, or found in the Page Setup dialog or the Save Postscript File dialog instead of the Print dialog.

6. Click on the Save Button in the Print dialog. A Save File dialog window should pop up, possibly including other Postscript options. Verify whether all options are set correctly. and enter a filename for the Postscript file. By convention, Postscript files have names ending in ".ps".

7. Click on the Save Button in the Save File dialog. Your wordprocessor will send the document to the printer driver, which will convert it to a Postscript file.

8. When your printer driver is finished creating the Postscript file (you can check this using the Print Monitor), it is a good idea to check the result by trying to view the Postscript file. Information about viewing Postscript files may be found in " How to view the files in the ILLC archive".

   How to create a Postscript file using a Windows Wordprocessor

I have no personal experience with creating a Postscript file on a Windows system, but the process is similar to that on a Macintosh system. Amir Herzberg has created a page on this very subject, with full instructions including which settings to use for best results.

Very likely, using the printer driver for your own printer will result in files that are targeted at that printer, and hence not completely portable. To achieve portability, you will need to install and use another printer driver. The AdobePS printerdriver (version 4.1) apparently yields better results than most standard printer drivers, although Amir Herzberg suggests that the MS Publisher Imagesetter (which is included with most Windows distributions) works just as well.

   How to create a PDF file using a Macintosh or Windows Wordprocessor

If you have the full Adobe Acrobat program, you can use that to create PDF files.

If you do not have this program (and you cannot convince your System Administrator to install it), Adobe has an Online Conversion Service which offers free trials.

Alternatively, Amir Herzberg pointed out the existence of shareware tools such as the PDF995 program, which (like Adobe's PDFWriter) installs itself as a printer, so that you can select it from any application as the destination printer, and obtain a PDF file.

A final option is to create a postscript file as described above, and then use ps2pdf or some other utility to convert this file to a PDF file. Note that if you transfer the file to a Unix system to use ps2pdf, you may (depending on the method of transfer) have to correct line endings before using ps2pdf.