This page includes printing helpers (there are no print drivers here). Many of these tools were intended for use with a specific printer class or model(s) — please read the docs.

Much thanks to Howard Schwartz for extended comments and suggestions.

These programs save paper either by printing two logical pages to each physical page, but using a smaller font than the default font – or by allowing you to print on 2 sides of each page.

The second type of program is a bit dangerous because the strategy is to print the odd pages of your file first, have you turn over the stack of pages in the printer, and then print the even pages. If anything goes wrong (e.g., the printer feeds 2 pages in as one, a page prints bad or blank), the page sequence gets messed up. A safer though slower alternative is a program that stops printing after each page, and allows you to turn over the page before resuming.

DJLP — Print 2 pages of ASCII text onto one page (Desk/LaserJet).

Author: Jeff Miller (1993).

An example of the first type of program.

Download djlp_114.zip (16K).

PrintDOC — Print text files on both sides of sheets of paper.

Author: Phillip Garding (1988).

An example of the second type of program.

Download printdoc.zip (16K)

Ya2sider — Yet another 2 sider printing program.

Author: Ted Medin (1994).

Another example of the second type of program.

Download ya2side8.zip (27K).

These programs try to minimally prepare DOS files for decent page printing by letting you: set the page margins, adjust the number of lines on each page, put a header on each page with a page number, at least and perhaps a user defined header and footer.

pr — Print two or more files as parallel columns on one page, and more.

This classic Unix-based utility is available in real mode and protected mode versions,

        pr [OPTION]... [FILE]...

  +PAGE             begin printing with page PAGE
  -COLUMN           produce COLUMN-column output and print columns down
  -F, -f            simulate formfeed with newlines on output
  -a                print columns across rather than down
  -b                balance columns on the last page
  -c                use hat notation (^G) and octal backslash notation
  -d                double space the output
  -e[CHAR[WIDTH]]   expand input CHARs (TABs) to tab WIDTH (8)
  -h HEADER         use HEADER instead of filename in page headers
  -i[CHAR[WIDTH]]   replace spaces with CHARs (TABs) to tab WIDTH (8)
  -l PAGE_LENGTH    set the page length to PAGE_LENGTH (66) lines
  -m                print all files in parallel, one in each column
  -n[SEP[DIGITS]]   number lines, use DIGITS (5) digits, then SEP (TAB)
  -o MARGIN         offset each line with MARGIN spaces (do not affect -w)
  -r                inhibit warning when a file cannot be opened
  -s[SEP]           separate columns by character SEP (TAB)
  -t                inhibit 5-line page headers and trailers
  -v                use octal backslash notation
  -w PAGE_WIDTH     set page width to PAGE_WIDTH (72) columns
      --help        display this help and exit
      --version     output version information and exit

-t implied by -l N when N < 10.  Without -s, columns are separated by
spaces.  With no FILE, or when FILE is -, read standard input.

Get it as part of a GNU Text Utilities package.

GO-LJ-PRINT — Print ASCII text files on HP Laserjet compatible printers.

Easy selection of font, symbol set, two-sided printing etc., automatically using multi column printing. Free for non-commercial use.

Author: Gunther Olesch (1997).

Download gop11.zip (97K).

Some programs try to give you some control over the print process or print queue, similar to the windows print manager. They for instance, let you pause the printer after a page, examine, suspend, stop and start jobs in a DOS print queue, etc. Another limitation of the DOS print command is that you cannot pipe text to it, for instance cat file | print.

LPR and LPQ

LPR pipes standard input into a spool file and display. LPQ manipulates the print queue.

Author: Richard Brittain (1989).

Download lpr-lpq3.zip (43K).

These programs redirect data sent to the the parallel port for printing, to a file instead.

LPT2DSK — Capture printer output to disk file.

Author: George G. Bouche (1986).

Download lpt2dsk.zip (6K)

PRN2FILE — TSR redirects print jobs to a disk file.

* * * *

[updated 2005-05-21]

A few programs on these pages support printing – but have no "save to file" option. PRN2FILE is a TSR that provides a means of redirecting print jobs to file(s). By default, successive print operations are appended to a single file, but the program may be invoked repeatedly to change the filename. Option to uninstall from memory.

Usage (v1.0): PRN2FILE [path][filename][/Pn][/Bnn][/F][/A][/U]
Run PRN2FILE with the desired filename to activate it.
Run it with a different filename to change destination file.
/P to designate the printer number (defaults to 1)
/B to enter buffer size in K bytes (defaults to 4)
/F to print just to file and not to printer (default is both) [in v1.1 only]
/A to append to file (default is to create new file) [in v1.1 only]
/U to uninstall the program

Versions: This util has gone through 3-4 revisions by different authors. PC Magazine's original v1.0 (1987), by Tom Kihlken, is still around. The latest v1.1 (1992), by John Durso, adds reminder beeps to indicate that prn2file is working (note that the docs omit discussion of some switches – see the included source code). V1.1 is derived from two prior independent revisions, by Mel Brown (1989) and Russell Cummings (1991).

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©1994-2004, Richard L. Green.
This Edition ©2004-2005, Richard L. Green and Short.Stop.