Virtual printer

A virtual printer is a piece of computer software whose user interface and API resemble that of a printer driver, but which is not connected with a physical computer printer.

When a user requests that a document be "printed" by a virtual printer, then instead of having the document printed on paper or other material, the underlying software would process its contents in some other way, often resulting in a file being produced or the information being transmitted.

Typical uses of virtual printers include:
* Producing PDF files.
* Sending documents to a fax server.
* Converting documents to image files like JPEG or multipage TIFF for sharing in universal, platform-independent format, without any issues with missing fonts
* Allowing user to control certain aspects of printing not supported natively, such as printing multiple pages per sheet without border, print letterhead, watermarks etc. This output can either be saved in a file for future printing or passed to another printer.

ee also

*List of virtual printer software