Duplex Postscript on an HP9000

[eric.berryman]

I'm trying to output a black and white document to PostScipt to print duplexed on HP9050 printers. We would normally use a different software program to set up and print this job, but we wanted to try to see if we could use FusionPro instead. There was a thread on the old listserv that touched on this, and it doesn't seem like it should be that complicated to just get it to duplex, but I can't get it to work. But I also know very little about the PostScript language.

I created a short text file containing the following text:

<</Duplex true>> setpagedevice

% 11X17
<</PageSize [792 1224] /MediaWeight 75 /MediaColor (white) /MediaType
(plain) >> setpagedevice

I set my output to PostScript, and then in Advanced-->Page Media, I insert that text file at the beginning of the page. When I print, the printer asks for 11x17 paper and then happily prints away single sided. I haven't had any luck to get it to print duplexed. Am I missing anything obvious or is there something else I can try?

I'm using version 5.1P1D on Windows XP if that should make any difference.

Thanks!

[DSweet]

I created a short text file containing the following text:

<</Duplex true>> setpagedevice

% 11X17
<</PageSize [792 1224] /MediaWeight 75 /MediaColor (white) /MediaType
(plain) >> setpagedevice


Eric,

I don't know a whole lot about postscript programming and syntax either, but I have tried similar commands that work on other machines when using postscript. The only difference is that I put everything into one command.

% 11X17
<</PageSize [792 1224] /MediaWeight 75 /MediaColor (white) /MediaType
(plain) /Duplex true>> setpagedevice

I think (again, not quite sure) that the second setpagedevice call may be overwritting the first and since no parameter was set for duplex it may be defaulting to simplex.

Good Luck,

[eric.berryman]

Thanks for the hint about combining it all into one line. That's helped, but something's still not quite right. When it prints now, it's physically running the paper through the duplexer, but it's not printing anything on the back side. Everything still prints out one sided. (It just takes twice as long now!) Has anyone run into something like this before?

I thought maybe it was a quirk of the printer, but looking at some help on the HP website there doesn't appear to be anything needed to duplex other than the /duplex command. Or am I still missing a command or putting something in the wrong place?