printing with a cover sheet (Mac)
 

(I originally posted this in comp.sys.mac.misc and got zero response.)

Here's the goal:

Print a PDF from Preview on up-to-date hardware (Macbook Pro) and softwa
a) with the first page out output coming from the "manual" paper tray
b) and all the additional pages coming from the standard paper tray
On a Brother HL-L5200DW printer (*).

Bonus: part (a) does not duplex, but part (b) does (otherwise I can just
force a blank page in the PDF).

Additional details that might be relevant:
* The PDF was created on a Mac in LibreOffice, and can be modified if
required.
* Typically I'd want to print 25 copies of a document at once:
- Cover sheet in one color paper (front side only)
- Three to four additional sheets (duplexed) per document on
stardard white paper
* Preview could be replaced with purchased software to help, if
reasonably priced.

The current method has them printed separately and hand collated.

How is this done on a Mac? Pointers to web pages with instructions okay.
I couldn't figure out the search terms to use, getting results like cover
sheets which show job owner instead. I also found some Windows software
that looks like it might do it ("Total PDF Printer" from coolutils.com),
but Windows is not in use here.

(*) Current top of the line Brother in the "black and white laser, no
additional features (like scanning)" category. Using standard
(and up to date) Brother driver.

Elijah
------
seems like this sort of thing should be important for office printing

printing with a cover sheet (Mac)
 

In article ,
Eli the Bearded wrote:

(I originally posted this in comp.sys.mac.misc and got zero response.)

Here's the goal:

Print a PDF from Preview on up-to-date hardware (Macbook Pro) and softwa
a) with the first page out output coming from the "manual" paper tray
b) and all the additional pages coming from the standard paper tray
On a Brother HL-L5200DW printer (*).

Bonus: part (a) does not duplex, but part (b) does (otherwise I can just
force a blank page in the PDF).

Additional details that might be relevant:
* The PDF was created on a Mac in LibreOffice, and can be modified if
required.
* Typically I'd want to print 25 copies of a document at once:
- Cover sheet in one color paper (front side only)
- Three to four additional sheets (duplexed) per document on
stardard white paper
* Preview could be replaced with purchased software to help, if
reasonably priced.

The current method has them printed separately and hand collated.

How is this done on a Mac? Pointers to web pages with instructions okay.
I couldn't figure out the search terms to use, getting results like cover
sheets which show job owner instead. I also found some Windows software
that looks like it might do it ("Total PDF Printer" from coolutils.com),
but Windows is not in use here.

(*) Current top of the line Brother in the "black and white laser, no
additional features (like scanning)" category. Using standard
(and up to date) Brother driver.

Elijah-

Both my Brother and HP Laser printers will always print to the hand-feed
if paper is inserted there. I am not familiar with your particular
printer.

The way I would do this, is to just print 25 copies of the first page
via hand-feed. Then print 25 copies of pages 2 through N using full
duplex with nothing in the hand-feed.

If I had exactly 25 sheets in the hand-feed, I could complete the
printing instructions without waiting for the first page to finish.
However there is always a chance I miscounted!

Fred

printing with a cover sheet (Mac)
 

In comp.periphs.printers, Fred McKenzie wrote:
Eli the Bearded wrote:
The current method has them printed separately and hand collated.
....
Both my Brother and HP Laser printers will always print to the hand-feed
if paper is inserted there. I am not familiar with your particular
printer.

I have known printers that can be programmed to switch trays in a print
job, and the HP page description syntax (PCL, which Brother claims to
emulate) can specify this. Postscript also has some support for this
sort of thing, but is a bit more device agnostic.

The way I would do this, is to just print 25 copies of the first page
via hand-feed. Then print 25 copies of pages 2 through N using full
duplex with nothing in the hand-feed.

That describes exactly the current process I have. Print ten batches of
25 in a week, though, and you have a lot of hand collating to ponder,
"Why can't the printer do this for me?"

If I had exactly 25 sheets in the hand-feed, I could complete the
printing instructions without waiting for the first page to finish.

Runs the very real risk of the output tray overflowing. The specified
capacity is 150 sheets, but that assumes very good paper stacking, which
doesn't happen always.When duplexing the pages come out and are sucked
back in, but that can sometimes push something out of the output tray if
it is very full. When that happens, collating becomes even more work.

No, the output tray needs to be cleared between the print runs. If I had
the two-tray system working, I'd do smaller batches, like 10 + 15 to
compensate.

Elijah
------
so much paper