The Java 2D™
printing API is the java.awt.print package that is part of the
Java™ 2 SE, version 1.2 and later. The Java 2D printing API
provides for creating a PrinterJob, displaying a printer dialog to
the user, and printing paginated graphics using the same
java.awt.Graphics and java.awt.Graphics2D classes that are used to
draw to the screen.
Many of the features
that are new in the Java Print Service, such as printer discovery
and specification of printing attributes, are also very important
to users of the Java 2D printing API. To make these features
available to users of Java 2D printing, the java.awt.print package
has been updated for version 1.4 of the Java™ 2 SE to allow
access to the Java™ Print Service from the Java 2D printing
API.
Developers of Java
2D printing applications have four ways of using the Java Print
Service with the Java 2D API:
Print 2D graphics
using PrinterJob.
Stream 2D graphics
using PrinterJob
Print 2D graphics
using DocPrintJob and a service-formatted DocFlavor
Stream 2D graphics
using DocPrintJob and a service-formatted DocFlavor