Mac OS X 10.3 or later: Printing in Classic using a Mac OS X inkjet printer driver

If you're using a Classic application, you can print from it using a Mac OS X printer driver. This applies only to inkjet (raster) printers that use a single driver to print from either Mac OS X or Classic applications. Here's how to do this in Mac OS X 10.3 or later.

Note: Mac OS X 10.4 or later automatically sends Classic print job to the Mac OS X print queue, but the steps in this article can be used if you are unable to print normally from Classic.

  1. From the Finder Go menu, choose Go to Folder.
  2. In the resulting dialog, type /Applications (Mac OS 9)/Utilities and then click Go (or press Return).

    Note: This command only works if your Mac OS 9-related folders are on the same volume as Mac OS X. If they are on a different volume (or partition), navigate to the Utilities folder in the Applications (Mac OS 9) folder on that volume.

  3. Double-click Desktop Printer Utility to open it.
  4. In the New Desktop Printer dialog, select "Translator (PostScript)" and click OK.
  5. In the resulting dialog, click Create.
  6. Type a name for your new desktop printer, such as "PostScript Translation," then click OK.
  7. Quit Desktop Printer Utility.
  8. Open the Classic application from which you wish to print. When you're ready to print, choose Print from the File menu.
  9. In the resulting Print dialog, choose your new desktop printer ("PostScript Translator," or whatever you named it) from the pop-up menu, and click Save.
  10. In the resulting dialog, give your file a name (or use the name that is provided automatically), select a location where the file will be easy to find later (such as your desktop), and click Save. (The file may take a moment to appear on the desktop or in a Finder window.)
  11. To print the PostScript file, drop it on a desktop printer icon, or on the name of a printer in Printer Setup Utility. If you drop the file on the Printer Setup Utility icon in the Dock, it will be printed to the default printer.

Tip: You can view and print your new file from the Preview application, where advanced printing options, such as print quality and duplex settings, can be used.

Published Date: Oct 10, 2016