Using FreeHandTM 7 with a PhaserTM Printer -
MacintoshTM
Question: How do I print from FreeHand 7 to my
TektronixTM Phaser Color
Printer (Macintosh)?
Answer:
You can use either the LaserWriterTM 8.x driver or the Tektronix-provided driver with
FreeHand 7. All Phaser printers have access to full TekColorTM
adjustment features
when using the Tektronix driver or the LaserWriter 8.3.x or later driver.
Installing the 4.x Printer Description File (PPDs)
Current versions of FreeHand require 4.x PPDs that describe the printer's image area,
page sizes, and TekColor features:
- Locate the 4.x PPD folder in the Application Specific folder on the Macintosh Printer
Software diskette or CD-ROM that shipped with the printer.
- Drag the PPD file to the hard disk, and place it in the Printer Descriptions folder,
located in the Extensions folder, in the System folder.
- After installing the PPD, restart FreeHand.
FreeHand 7
To print from FreeHand 7, select Print from the File menu; the print dialog box appears.
In the Print dialog box, click Use PPD. The current PPD information selected appears.
If this information is not for your printer, click the ... button. This allows you to select the
correct PPD for your printer.
For correct colors from FreeHand, select File, then select Output Options. Uncheck
Convert RGB to process. This feature is checked when placing an RGB TIFF
image into PageMaker for separations. Its use is not recommended when printing directly
from FreeHand.
FreeHand 5.x and earlier
In the Print dialog box, locate the Print and Output buttons in the lower left hand corner.
Print
Print Options gives
access to many features, such as paper size, halftone screens, and printer type. Make
sure that the correct PPD is selected in this option.
The PPD provides control over the correct page size options as well as the halftone
screens. If the printer doesn't show in the list, go to the section in this article titled
"Updating PPDs" .
Output
Uncheck Convert RGB TIFFs to CMYK. This feature is checked when placing
an RGB TIFF image into PageMaker for separations. Its use is not recommended
when printing directly from FreeHand.
Updating PPDs
The latest 4.x PPDs for all Tektronix printers are available via the Tektronix on-line
services. These include:
Troubleshooting
Verify the PPD version
The external PPD names (such as, TKPHZR32.PPD) are shared by 3.0, 4.0 and 4.1 PPDs.
In some cases a TKPHZR32.PPD will be more current than a TKPHZR33.PPD. To
determine the PPD version, open the PPD file as a text file and check the Format
Version4.x line at the start of the file. Refer to HAL document
#9412
(24K
PDF  ) for a PPD listing.
Printer is not listed in the select PPD list
If the printer doesn't appear in the PPD list then the correct ppd is not installed on the system.
To install a PPD, download the latest version from one of the on-line services; see the
section in this article titled
"Updating PPDs."
After downloading the PPD, place it in the Printer
Description folder located in the System Extensions folder. Remember to restart FreeHand
after updating any PPDs.
TIFF Files Print with the wrong colors
If printing an RGB TIFF file from FreeHand, make sure that Convert RGB TIFFs to CMYK
is not checked in the Output dialog box. Symptoms are colors that look polarized, that is,
colors look very bright or very dark; for example, reds are magenta, greens look lime, blacks
look brown.
FreeHand 5.5 gives error in parsing file
This Parsing File error occurs when printing from FreeHand 5.5 with a PPD that contains
custom page sizes. Prior versions of FreeHand DO NOT have this problem. You will need a
modified PPD specific for FreeHand 5.5 to resolve this problem. You can download the FreeHand-specific PPDs
from the Tektronix ftp site at:
ftp://ftp.tekcolor.com/ftp_dir
The Tektronix printers that are affected are the Phaser 140, Phaser III PXi, and Phaser 300i/X.
Color Matching support in FreeHand 7
When working with FreeHand's color matching capabilities, the printer's ColorSync
profile is required. The profiles are available at:
Software & Driver Download page.
For more information on working with Color Matching, refer to your FreeHand 7 user
manual. This manual contains important information on working with color matching.
For best results, set the TekColor Correction to none.
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