| Printing and Exporting Figures with MATLAB | |
The choice of printer driver depends upon several considerations.
The flowchart below gives an overview of how to choose a driver based on the platform you are using and the type of printer you have.
Figure 1-2: Deciding What Type of Printer Driver to Use
Windows. On Windows, you can use any of the driver types shown in the figure above. If you use the Windows driver, you can use the Windows Print Manager.
UNIX. On UNIX, you can use either PostScript or Ghostscript drivers.
All Platforms. On all platforms, if you have a PostScript-compatible printer, it is better to use a PostScript driver than a Ghostscript driver. PostScript is less prone to printing errors than Ghostscript.
Platform Restrictions for Ghostscript. Some of the Ghostscript drivers are not available on all platforms. Check the first column of the Drivers table in the print reference pages for any platform restrictions.
Printer support is different among the Windows, PostScript, and Ghostscript drivers.
Windows Drivers. The Windows drivers support most printer models, but sometimes the printer's native driver is incompatible with the MATLAB Windows driver. If you are getting printing errors, see Trouble with Native Drivers. If lines and text in your figure are not printing with the desired color scheme, see Correcting Color Results with Windows Drivers.
PostScript Drivers. Use PostScript drivers if your printer is PostScript compatible.
Ghostscript Drivers. See the Drivers table in the print reference pages for a list of supported printer models.
For some printers there are model-number-specific drivers, such as HP DeskJet III and HP DeskJet IIP, and a generic driver, such as HP DeskJet. When this is the case, try the specific driver first. If that doesn't work, try the generic driver.
By default, MATLAB uses a black-and-white driver. The built-in MATLAB and Ghostscript drivers come in both color and black and white. The first column of the Drivers table in the print reference page indicates which drivers are color.
How Driver Color Affects Printed Output. Colored surfaces and images print in grayscale when you use a black-and-white driver. Colored lines and text can be printed in color, grayscale, or black and white, depending on the color of the driver and color capability of your printer. See Default Settings for Colored Lines and Text for more information.
Settings that are Driver Specific
Some print settings are only supported by specific drivers. This table summarizes the settings and which driver supports them.
| | Types of Printer Drivers | Font Support for the Various Drivers | |
