Print a PDF transparently

[Cameron Laird]

In article <45mbasF7eburU1 at uni-berlin.de>,
Diez B. Roggisch <deets at nospam.web.de> wrote:
>> Based on all this, I have been investigating about postscript files. I
>> realize that printers do handle this language, so I think if I have a
>> .ps file and send it directly to the printer, it should do the job,
>> right? (this is certainly a question) If the answer is True, no matter
>> in what platform I am, if I send the same .ps to the printer, it should
>> print the same result.
>
>No. There are PostScript-Printers out there - but your off-the-shelf InkJet
>isn't, and that's the reason why there usually has to be some sort of
>driver in-between. Which is either GS or, in case of PDF, the acrobat-* or
>any other PDF-printer-emulator. 
>
>maybe you can go down the rocky road of automation here, remote-controlling
>acrobat reader. But I doubt that it wouldn't at least flash up with its
>window for as long as the printing lasts.
>
>Diez

Right.  It's possible, barely, to achieve the desired result
with Ghostscript, but it's going to take considerable care in
installation and configuration.  We do this sort of thing, but
only on hosts we control; the thought of full-blown "producti-
zation" (let alone the licensing) intimidates me.