To start out with, you need to determine you are using the correct driver. The easiest way i know to do it is to select "print to file" in the print dialog, when asked what file to write, enter "c:\trash.txt" (without the quotes).
Once the file is written, right click and select "open with", then under that, "notepad". If you are using a postscript driver, you should see something similar to what is below. In postscript "%%" is a comment line. If the file is HP/PCL, it will look nothing like this.
%!PS-Adobe-3.0
%%Title: T-Shirt Forums - Reply to T...
%%Creator: PScript5.dll Version 5.2.2
%%CreationDate: 10/9/2008 17:54:11
Once you are sure you are printing in postscript, go though the driver and look for something that says print b&w. Often without the B&W option selected, printers prefer to print a pseudo grayscale. While it looks nice, it is not a halftone.
Check the printer and drivers setting that toner saving is OFF and edge smoothing is OFF.
fred
Ok. I did what you suggested and came up with this:
"%%CreationDate: 10/14/2008 15:44:36
%%For: Dan
%%BoundingBox: (atend)
%%Pages: (atend)
%%PageOrder: (atend)
%%DocumentNeededResources: (atend)
%%DocumentSuppliedResources: (atend)
%%DocumentData: Clean7Bit
%%TargetDevice: (HP LaserJet P2015 Series) (3011.001) 1
%%LanguageLevel: 3
%%HiResBoundingBox: -27.6135 105.0074 980.3865 717.0074
%%CropBox: -27.6135 105.0074 980.3865 717.0074
%ADO_BeginApplicationHeaderComments
%%Creator: Adobe Illustrator(R) 13.0
%%For: Dan
%%LanguageLevel: 3
%ADO_EndApplicationHeaderComments
%%DocumentProcessColors: (atend)
%%DocumentCustomColors: (atend)
%ADOBeginClientInjection: DocumentHeader "AI11"
%ADO_BuildNumber: Adobe Illustrator(R) 13.0.2 x434 R agm 4.4379 ct 5.1039
%ADOEndClientInjection: DocumentHeader "AI11"
%%EndComments
%%BeginDefaults
%ADO_BeginApplicationDefaultsComments
%%ViewingOrientation: 0 1 -1 0
%ADO_EndApplicationDefaultsComments
%%ViewingOrientation: 0 1 -1 0
%%EndDefaults"
So, it appears I am using the correct driver, the toner saver is OFF, but I cannot find a B&W option or an edge smoothing option. Still no luck.
Is it really this hard to set a printer up to print halftones? I was pretty naive. Thought you just bought the printer, installed the driver and messed around with the dots until you found a medium that made the screenprinter happy!
Thanks for all the help. I hope I can get this resolved. I feel like an idiot, not being able to produce the separations for the owner...
