Print Processors

A print processor works in conjunction with a printer driver to despool the spooled print jobs during print spool file playback.

Print processors are the components that make necessary alterations to print jobs, based on the data type of the print job. A print processor might recognize only one data type, or it might recognize several data types. Windows NT supplies the following print processors:

• Windows print processor (Winprint.dll)
• Macintosh print processor (Sfmpsprt.dll)

A print device vendor might develop a custom print processors if:

• The vendor develops its own printer driver.
• Microsoft print processor.

Additional print processors can be supplied by third-party software vendors to support custom data types.

Windows Print Processor (Winprint.dll)

This print processor supports five data types: EMF, RAW, RAW [FF Auto], RAW [FF Appended], and TEXT. For a detailed description of each data type, see "Data Types" earlier in this chapter.

Services for Macintosh Print Processor (Sfmpsprt.dll)

This print processor is available only with Windows NT Advanced Server version 3.1 or Windows NT Server version 3.5, 3.51, and 4.0. By default, this print processor (SFMPSPRT) is installed only when Services For Macintosh is installed on the Windows NT Server computer.

SFMPSPRT supports the PSCRIPT1 data type. This data type indicates that the job is Level 1 PostScript code from a Macintosh client, but the target printer is not a PostScript printer. The spooler sends the PostScript code through a Microsoft TrueImage® raster image processor (RIP), supplied with Services for Macintosh. The raster image processor creates a series of one-page, monochrome bitmaps at a maximum of 300 DPI. The Windows NT print spooler sends the rasterized images, or bitmaps, to the print driver for the target printer. The print driver returns a job that prints the bitmaps on the page.

Because the RIP bitmaps are monochrome (black and white) and not more than 300 DPI, the target printer driver produces final output that is monochrome and not more than 300 DPI, even if the target printer driver supports color or higher resolutions. The restrictions are in the RIP software itself, not in the Windows NT printer drivers.

Several third-party Win32® RIP packages are commercially available for Windows NT version 3.1 and above for those who need a higher-end RIP.