Once a landscape design application such as gCADPlus has been installed on the Mac and your first design created, you will need to print it. The Mac will not handle high-resolution printing directly from gCADPlus. In order to print, it is necessary to install a ‘phantom’ printer called PDFWriter and print to it. The finished print can be sent directly to the client or a service bureau for hard copy printing.
This movie follows the steps required to download and install PDFWriter (v 1.2.1) on a Mac. We take a complex landscape design file and run a PDF print from an A3 sheet on a Mac under CrossOver.
Tip: Here is a link to an excellent step-by-step set of notes on installing PDFWriter. Of particular note is a ‘fix’ that enables the resolution to be set to 2400 dpi and get access to a wide range of paper sizes.
When adding the printer, recent Mac OS versions may not automatically include
“Lisanet PDFwriter” in the “Use:” list. It will be set to “Generic Postscript Printer”. To
specify PDFWriter, you must choose “Other…” from the list, navigate to
“/Library/Printers/Lisanet/PDFWriter” and select “PDFwriter.ppd”.
Select “PDFwriter” as the printer in any print window to create PDF files instead of hard copy printouts. The created PDF file will be in the “/Users/Shared/PDFwriter/[user].”
Folder (where [user] is the short name for your login account).
After installing a new virtual printer on a Mac, we use PDFWriter to create a high-resolution (2400 dpi) A2 print. It can be a little tricky to locate the print, so we use the Mac Finder to guide us to its location.
Troubleshooting
Where are the PDF files?
Use Finder, navigate to your iMac, then to MacOs > Users > YourName > Shared > PDF
I cannot print all page sizes & resolutions.
Several users have reported that although the PDFWriter works well, the full range of paper sizes (A0, A1, etc.) is unavailable, and the print resolution is limited to 300 dpi, not the 2400 dpi shown in the movie. If this is the case, the wrong PDF driver (possibly version 1.1) is likely installed instead of version 1.2.1. To remedy this, you must remove the current driver(s) and install the later version.
Here are the steps to take to remove the old driver:
Open the Applications folder in the Mac Finder (if it doesn’t appear in the sidebar, go to the Menu Bar, open the “Go” menu, and select Applications in the list), search for the PDFwriter application by typing its name in the search field, and then drag it to the Trash container (in the dock) to begin the uninstall process.
*** Important warning ***
Once that has been done, switch the Finder focus to iCloud Drive and search for PDFWriter again. If you find another copy, drag it to the trash container to remove it.
Once all traces of PDFWriter have been removed, try installing the printer driver again, making sure you download and use the PDFWriter install file called. PDFWriter_for_Mac_1.2.1.dmg
Tip from Apple support: Mac copy protection may prevent file opening. If so.
On your Mac, choose Apple menu > System Preferences, click Security & Privacy, then click Privacy. Select Files and Folders. Select the tick box below an app to allow it to access files and folders in that location. Unselect the tick box to turn off access for that app.