Microsoft KB Archive/198400

= Pre-Separated Page Prints as 16 Plates to Scitex =

Article ID: 198400

Article Last Modified on 11/29/1999

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APPLIES TO


 * Microsoft Publisher 2000 Standard Edition

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This article was previously published under Q198400



SYMPTOMS
If you download a pre-separated Publisher-created PostScript file to a Scitex RIP (Raster Image Processor), the RIP may try to separate each plate. This means a single pre-separated page may print as sixteen plates.



CAUSE
This problem occurs if you are running Publisher on Windows 95 or Windows 98. It also occurs if you are running Publisher on Windows NT 4.0, unless you are using version 5.1.1 (or later) of the Adobe PostScript printer driver for Windows NT.

This problem is not unique to Publisher; it may occur in any program that uses the Windows PostScript printer driver to generate PostScript.



Method 1: Update to the Newer Driver for NT 4.0
Print your publication from a computer running Windows NT 4.0 with version 5.1.1 of the Adobe PostScript printer driver installed. This printer driver is available from the Adobe Systems, Inc. internet site on the World-Wide Web (www.adobe.com.)

Method 2: Print Your Publication as a Composite PostScript file.

 * 1) On the File menu, click Print.
 * 2) In the Print dialog box, click Composite.
 * 3) Change any other settings you like and then click OK.

Method 3: Configure Your Scitex RIP
Print the file as "pre-separated black and white" instead of "automatic".

NOTE: If you do this you will have to manually set the halftone screen frequency and angle for each plate in the RIP software.



STATUS
Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in the Microsoft products listed at the beginning of this article.



MORE INFORMATION
When you download a PostScript file to the Scitex RIP software, the RIP uses certain PostScript and OPI (Open Press Interface) comments in that PostScript file to figure out how to separate it. Specifically, it looks for these comments:

  %%PageOrder: Special %%PlateColor: %%Page: # #

The PostScript printer driver writes these comments to the PostScript files it creates, but it writes them in a way that is inappropriate for color separations. Publisher tries to override the printer driver and write the correct comments, but it can't (unless you are running version 5.0 (or later) of the Adobe PostScript Driver for Windows NT.)

For example, if you print a two-page publication to CMYK color separations, the %%Page comments should look like this:

  %%Page: 1 1 %(Code for the cyan plate of page 1 goes here) %%Page: 1 2 %(Code for the magenta plate of page 1 goes here) %%Page: 1 3 %(Code for the yellow plate of page 1 goes here) %%Page: 1 4 %(Code for the black plate of page 1 goes here) %%Page: 2 5 %(Code for the cyan plate of page 2 goes here) %%Page: 2 6 %(Code for the magenta plate of page 2 goes here) %%Page: 2 7 %(Code for the yellow plate of page 2 goes here) %%Page: 2 8 %(Code for the black plate of page 1 goes here)

However, unless Publisher can override it, the Windows PostScript driver makes the %%Page: comments look like this:

  %%Page: 1 1 %(Code for the cyan plate of page 1 goes here) %%Page: 2 2 %(Code for the magenta plate of page 1 goes here) %%Page: 3 3 %(Code for the yellow plate of page 1 goes here) %%Page: 4 4 %(Code for the black plate of page 1 goes here) %%Page: 5 5 %(Code for the cyan plate of page 2 goes here) %%Page: 6 6 %(Code for the magenta plate of page 2 goes here) %%Page: 7 7 %(Code for the yellow plate of page 2 goes here) %%Page: 8 8 %(Code for the black plate of page 1 goes here)

The Scitex RIP therefore interprets this as an eight-page file that needs to be separated instead of a two-page file that is already separated.

The third-party products discussed here are manufactured by vendors independent of Microsoft; we make no warranty, implied or otherwise, regarding these products' performance or reliability.

Additional query words: prepress kbprepress PSM PS/M Brisque Front-end re-separate CMYK process too many extra waste multiple 4x four timex pub9 pub2k kbpress pre-press imagesetter service bureau

Keywords: kbprb KB198400

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