Automatic PDF Processor - Online Help
Comprehensive documentation of all features and settings

15 Print

Task: Print

15.1 Description

The Print task automatically sends the PDF file to a printer. You can select any installed printer and configure various print settings.

Typical Use Cases

  • Automatic Printing: Print incoming invoices directly
  • Filing: Automatically print documents for paper filing
  • Archiving: Create paper printout in addition to digital archiving
  • Labels: Send PDF labels to a label printer

15.2 General Settings

Enabled

Enable this option so the task is executed for matching PDF files. Disabled tasks are skipped.

15.3 Printer

Print Settings

Printer Selection

Select the target printer from the list of installed printers. All locally installed and network printers are displayed.

Note: Make sure the selected printer is turned on and ready when files are processed.

Use Default Printer Settings

Enable this option to use the default settings of the selected printer. All other print settings are then ignored.

15.4 Copies

Number of Copies

Specify how many copies should be printed (1-999).

Collate

For multiple copies of multi-page documents: - Enabled: Prints complete documents sequentially (1-2-3, 1-2-3, 1-2-3) - Disabled: Prints all copies of one page sequentially (1-1-1, 2-2-2, 3-3-3)

15.5 Page Selection

The Page selection... button determines which pages of a file are printed.

Page selection

All Pages

Prints the entire document.

Certain Pages

Prints only a specific page range: - From: First page to print - To: Last page to print - Minimum number of pages in the document: Files with fewer pages are skipped by this task

Example: From 1 to 1 prints only the first page.

Pages of Certain Formats

Prints only the pages whose page format you have checked (A0 to A5 and "other formats"). The format is detected independently of the orientation, so an A4 page counts as A4 in portrait as well as in landscape. Pages with deviating dimensions count towards the smallest format they fit on; pages smaller than A5 or larger than A0 count as "other formats".

The selected pages are printed as one print job in the order of the document. If a file contains no page of the selected formats, the task is skipped for this file. The processing log then shows it as "No match" with a note of which formats were missing; this is not an error.

This lets you distribute the pages of one file to different printers by format: create a separate print task per format or format group (see the example in section 15.15). In the task list, the print task shows the selected formats, for example "Print file (A0-A2)".

15.6 Duplex (Double-Sided Printing)

Available Options

Option Description
Simplex Single-sided printing
Vertical Double-sided, sheet is flipped on long edge (like a book)
Horizontal Double-sided, sheet is flipped on short edge (like a notepad)

Note: This option is only available if the printer supports duplex printing.

15.7 Color

Color Printing

  • Enabled: Prints in color (if printer supports it)
  • Disabled: Prints in black and white or grayscale

Tip: Black and white printing is often faster and more cost-effective.

15.8 Paper

Paper Size

Select the paper format: - A4 (210 × 297 mm) - Standard in Europe - A3 (297 × 420 mm) - Letter (8.5 × 11 in) - US Standard - Legal (8.5 × 14 in) - Additional printer-specific formats

Paper Source

Select the paper tray: - Automatic - Tray 1, Tray 2, etc. - Manual feed - Additional printer-specific options

15.9 Scaling and Orientation

Size Mode

Option Description
Fit to page Scales PDF to paper size (enlarges or reduces)
Actual size Prints at original size (100%)
Custom scale Scales to a fixed percentage value
Use printer default Uses printer's default setting

Scale in Percent

For "Custom scale": Enter the desired scaling factor (1-999%). - 100% = Original size - 50% = Halved - 200% = Doubled

Auto-Rotate

Option Description
Auto-rotate Automatically rotates page for optimal fit
Do not auto-rotate Keeps original orientation
Use printer default Uses printer's default setting

Auto-Center

Option Description
Auto-center Centers content on page
Do not auto-center Prints from top left corner
Use printer default Uses printer's default setting

15.10 Example: Automatically Print Invoices

Initial Situation

All incoming invoices should be automatically printed on the office printer.

Configuration

  1. Enabled: Yes
  2. Printer: "HP LaserJet Pro" (or your printer name)
  3. Copies: 1
  4. Page selection: All pages
  5. Duplex: Simplex
  6. Color: No (Black and White)
  7. Paper size: A4
  8. Size mode: Fit to page

Result

Each processed PDF file is automatically printed in one copy on the configured printer.

Save Presets

In program options under Print Settings, you can save frequently used print configurations as presets. These are then available for quick selection in all profiles.

Advantages of Presets

  • Quick configuration of new profiles
  • Consistent print settings across multiple profiles
  • Changes to a preset affect all profiles that use it

15.12 Batch Printing for Large Documents

Problem

When printing very large PDF files (1000+ pages), the following problems may occur: - Very long spooling times - Extremely large spool files (several GB) - Possible system instability due to memory usage - Printer not responding for long periods

Solution: Automatic Batch Splitting

The batch printing feature automatically splits large print jobs into smaller batches to relieve the printer spooler.

Settings

Option Description Default
Automatically split into batches Enables batch printing Disabled
From page count Minimum pages for activation (50-10000) 200
Pages per batch Number of pages per print job (10-1000) 100

How It Works

  1. The program checks the total page count of the print range
  2. If page count >= "From page count", printing is split into batches
  3. Each batch is sent separately to the printer
  4. A short pause (500ms) is inserted between batches
  5. All pages are printed completely without gaps

Example

Document: 850 pages Settings: Activated from 200 pages, 100 pages per batch

Result: 9 print jobs - Batch 1: Pages 1-100 - Batch 2: Pages 101-200 - Batch 3: Pages 201-300 - ... - Batch 9: Pages 801-850

When to Use?

Enable batch printing when: - You regularly print PDFs with more than 500 pages - The printer takes long or doesn't respond with large documents - The printer spooler shows error messages - You observe memory problems when printing

Not necessary when: - You mostly print smaller documents (< 100 pages) - Your printer handles large jobs without problems

Overview

When you select a PDF printer (e.g., "Microsoft Print to PDF", "Adobe PDF", "Foxit PDF Printer", "doPDF", "CutePDF Writer", "Bullzip PDF Printer", or "PDFCreator"), an additional configuration section for the output path automatically appears.

Note: The program automatically detects PDF printers by name - all printers with "PDF" in their name are treated as PDF printers.

Output Path Configuration

When selecting a PDF printer, you can configure the following settings:

Setting Description
Target directory The folder where the PDF file will be saved
Filename The name of the output file (supports placeholders)
If file exists Action when file already exists

Placeholders in Filename

You can use placeholders to create dynamic filenames:

Placeholder Description
<FileName> Filename of source file (without extension)
<ParentDirectory> Parent folder path
<TodaysYear4> Current year (4 digits)
<TodaysMonth> Current month (2 digits)
<TodaysDay> Current day (2 digits)

Example: <FileName>_printed.pdf → Invoice_printed.pdf

If File Exists

Option Description
Add numbering Adds a number (e.g., File (1).pdf)
Overwrite Replaces the existing file
Cancel Cancels the operation

Example: Create PDF and Archive

Initial situation: Incoming documents should be saved as PDF in an archive folder.

Configuration: 1. Printer: "Microsoft Print to PDF" 2. Target directory: C:\Archive\PDFs\<TodaysYear4> 3. Filename: <FileName>.pdf 4. If file exists: Add numbering

Result: The file Invoice.pdf is printed as PDF and saved to C:\Archive\PDFs\2026\Invoice.pdf. If the file already exists, it will be saved as Invoice (1).pdf.

15.14 Tips and Notes

Check Print Queue

When many files are processed simultaneously, print jobs may queue up. Check the Windows print queue if problems occur.

Network Printers

For network printers, ensure that: - The printer is reachable on the network - The Windows user running the program has print permissions - No print dialogs (e.g., PIN entry) are required

Multiple Printers

You can add multiple "Print" tasks to the same profile to send a file to different printers: 1. Task 1: Print on main printer 2. Task 2: Print on archive printer 3. Task 3: Print on label printer

With the page selection by format, the pages of a single file can also be distributed to several printers (section 15.15).

Print quality (DPI) can be set via printer resolution. Higher resolutions lead to better quality but longer print times.

15.15 Example: Distribute Pages to Different Printers by Format

Initial Situation

A CAD system generates PDF files that contain drawings in different formats: A0 to A2 together with A3 and A4 pages in one file. The large formats should be output on the plotter, the small ones on the laser printer.

Configuration

Create two print tasks in the profile:

  1. Task "Print file (A0-A2)": Printer plotter, page selection "Pages of certain formats" with A0, A1 and A2, auto-rotate pages.
  2. Task "Print file (A3, A4)": Printer laser printer, page selection with A3 and A4.

If all pages are to be output on one printer but large formats reduced, create three tasks on the same printer instead: A0 to A2 with paper size A3 and "Size: Fit page", A3 with paper size A3 and A4 with paper size A4.

Result

Each file is sent to the matching printer as a separate print job per format group; the order of the pages within a group is preserved. If a file contains no format of a task, that task is skipped for the file and noted in the log as "No match".

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