#### Inconsistencies due to printer drivers

When printing, inconsistencies may occur if different printer drivers are used to create and print your reports. These inconsistencies are a result of the various methods that individual printer drivers use to measure text metrics such as font size. When printed, text-based objects may be misaligned, truncated, or overprint each other. Examples of text-based objects include string or character fields, text objects, memo fields, numeric fields, and formula fields.

Problems such as these may arise when you have:

- two identical printers, but each one is using a different printer driver
- two different printers using the same printer driver
- two different printers using different printer drivers
- one printer driver that uses the TrueType font and a second printer driver that maps TrueType fonts to PostScript fonts
- two identical printers using the same printer driver, but each one is printing from a different version of Microsoft Windows
- two identical printers using the same printer driver, but the printer drivers are different versions
- two identical printers, two identical printer drivers, and two identical operating systems, but the resolution of the video drivers is different.

Therefore, while a document using one printer driver may require six full lines to display a block of text:

- using a second printer driver that measures fonts narrower could result in the same block of text requiring less than six full lines
- using a third printer driver that measures fonts wider could require more than six full lines.

For the most part, this situation cannot be avoided. The goal of the report distributor is to design reports that accommodate printer driver dependency and still print consistently using different printer drivers. To do this, Seagate Crystal Reports provides several design solutions. If taken into account when creating your report, these solutions can ensure proper printing and distribution for your report in almost any environment.

Seagate Software, Inc. http://www.seagatesoftware.com Please send comments to: techpubs@seagatesoftware.com