When a file doesn’t print, you need to first figure out if the problem is with the PostScript file itself.
First of all, if only part of the file prints, then something is probably wrong with the file itself or the application that created it. You can check by sending the file to the printer a second time; if it stops at the same point, then the file is the problem.
Look for error messages. For example, one of the following error messages:
lpr: standard input: empty input file
or
lp: ERROR: No (or empty) input files.
tells you that the application failed to send PostScript output to lpr or lp. The problem is with your application or the source file itself.
Failing error messages, the next thing is to try saving the file as PostScript . The way you save the file as PostScript depends on the application.
Once you have the PostScript file, you can make sure it’s legitimate PostScript by looking for a line like this at the top of the file:
%!PS-Adobe-2.0 EPSF-1.2
If you don’t see a line like this, then your application did not generate PostScript. (The “%!” string is the only necessary part of that line; the remainder of the line, starting with “PS-Adobe,” is just a comment.)
Even if the file is genuine PostScript, there may still be something wrong with it. For example, it might be a PostScript file that doesn’t actually have any pages. This might happen if you try printing a range of pages that doesn’t exist in a document (for example, pages 10–12 in an 8-page report). The resulting PostScript file will have a legitimate PostScript header, but no actual body text.
If you don’t see anything wrong yourself, you might try asking if other people are having trouble printing to that printer. Or try sending a short PostScript file that you have printed successfully in the past to that printer. This will tell you whether something is wrong with the printer. If other jobs print fine, then something is wrong with your file.
Be aware that sometimes a bad file can “hang” a printer, requiring it to be rebooted before it can print again. So even if other print jobs are also failing to print at that printer, something may still be wrong with your file. Reboot the printer and then send a PostScript file that has worked in the past. If it doesn’t print, then something is seriously wrong with the printer, with your printer daemon, or with your network, and your system administrator should be informed. If it does print, then send your “corrupted” file and cross your fingers that it works this time. If it doesn’t, something’s wrong with your application or source file.
Another possibility is that not all PostScript interpreters are equal, and your PostScript file may not be compatible with that printer’s interpreter. If you have another PostScript printer manufactured by a different vendor, you might try that printer instead.