Print PDF with special print options of Canon IR printer

Question

Hi,
We have a collection (db driven) of PDF documents that we want to send to our network printers. Some document need a hole punch of some other specific printeroptions of a Canon IR printer.
The ideal solutions is a windows application where i could define virtual printers with their print options (pdf and printer specific).
Eg:
A user creates in a the windows app a virtual printer with name and print options
- FastPunch: Printer IR5570 with hole punch
- Fast: Printer IR5570
- Color: IR C4080
- ColorBooklet: IR C4080 with booklet options
When the app starts its batch it will look at de db and find rows with an PDF and the name of a virtual printer. The documents are printed with specific printer preferences.
Does someone has experience with such an solution? Tips?
Someone wants to make this in vb.net (or c#)? What cost?
gtx, Pierre

Answer 1

I have downloaded the Acrobat SDK but I haven't really waded through the documentation or samples yet. I've only been working on this project for about 3 days now and not full time. This isn't the highest priority at work. I've worked a bit with the adobe reader control and that looks like it has some promise.
I have two significant problems:
1) I don't want the user to see any windows appear other than my console application. That way I have it working right now, Acrobat is required and appears minimized while the file is spooled and then is closed after spooling completes. Not so horrible but I'd like to get away from it if possible. To print the file right now I'm using the startprocess module or something (new version of shell I think). I'm starting the pdf with the verb "Printto" and that tells Acrobat to print to a printer that I specify.
2)Biggest problem. I have no reliable way to change the number of copies or any other print settings. I am not willing to write a program that spools a single copy multiple times just to get multiple copies. Currently my program uses rundll to open a printer preferences dialog, and SendKeys to modify the print settings. This means that the computer cannot be used while automated printing is occurring.
Right now the program's only saving grace is that it allows the user to be ignorant of the job settings so that all the user has to do is indicate an item number and quantity and walk away (hoping nothing changes the focus and derails SendKeys - but we know that kind of thing never happens in XP :P )