1997.05.02 16:45 "Sending TIFF directly to the printer on Win95/NT", by Terry Wells

1997.05.02 20:29 "RE: Sending TIFF directly to the printer on Win95/NT", by Brian McDougle

Terry,

What type of printer is this? I know that QMS can print TIFF files and Xionics Document Technologies makes an add-in card called XipPrint for HP printers that accepts TIFF files. I am not familiar with QMS's product but I am with Xionics. Essentially you have to "copy" the TIFF file through the printer driver so that it doesn't try to interpret the binary data. There are only a few ways to do this. But, in every case you will have to write a program to "copy" the TIFF file.

First, there is a function in the Windows API called Escape. It is a hold over from Windows 2.x/3.0/3.1 and is used to perform some special operations. One of this is called "Passthrough". You use the Escape function with the Passthrough option to copy chunks of the TIFF file through the desired printer driver. In most cases, this should NOT be a Postscript driver. All of HP's drivers support the Passthrough option.

Second, there are some functions designed for developers of printer drivers that allow you to send data directly to a printer. The main one is called SpoolFile.

You can find articles on these two approaches at http://www.microsoft.com/kb/.

Brian McDougle
Product Support Engineer, Imaging Products
ISV Support Group
Canon Information Systems, Inc.
Email: bmcdougle@cissc.canon.com