PostScript error: undefined

“Undefined” errors indicate a name or definition in the PostScript code is not known to the RIP.

The error can be caused by missing dictionaries, imported graphics, data corruption, communication problems or missing PostScript header information.

Solutions

• Some offending commands indicate a possible problem with the driver settings or printer support files. Updating drivers or switching to an alternative driver might solve the problem.
• You can also try to copy and paste all elements to a new file. If the document was converted from a previous version of an application, try printing again from that version.
• A strange word as an offending command: Sometimes a RIP generates an ‘undefined’ PostScript error, with an offending command ‘bspt’ or another randomly chosen kind of technical term like ‘fob’ of ‘xtrfx’. Such errors indicate that the RIP tries to execute a command that has not been defined in the PostScript file.
• In a lot of cases, PostScript error “undefined” issues are caused by incorrect drivers:
  • PostScript drivers that are corrupted or that are vendor-specific (eg you try printing to a Tectronix printer using an HP driver)
  • PPDs that are too old or too new.
  • PPDs that should be used for another device.

• Some applications that put themselves in-between your application and the RIP can also cause this kind of a problem: try printing without passing through a spooler or OPI-system. Use another imposition software or try to avoid using your trapping software.
• Sometimes the name of the offending command indicates which application is causing the problem. I remember a customer who by accident had deleted a number of PostScript files from his Preps folder. Subsequently Preps kept generating ‘undefined’ errors because its printfiles lacked the necessary code. We found this rather quick because the offending command started with ‘SS’ or so, something that we linked to ScenicSoft, the makers of Preps.

Numbers as an offending command
One of the visitors of this site reported the following error printing from Corel Draw to a Xitron RIP: %%[ Error: undefined; OffendingCommand: -0,00709 ]%%. The number in the offending command uses a comma instead of a decimal point. Since PostScript requires the use of decimal points, it fails to recognize that this is a number.

Random characters as an offending command
If the offending command contains random characters, too much data have been supplied for an image. Scan, edit or import the image again. The same error may also indicate problems transferring the file (network incorrectly terminated, bad cables, buggy drivers,…) or corrupted data.

CTRL-D troubles
If the offending command is a single unprintable character or apparently nothing at all (e.g. %%[ ERROR:undefined; OFFENDING COMMAND: ]%% ), you may have a Control-D character in the file that is being printed in a context where it is not required (e.g. from a Mac or Unix system). You could try to remove the Control-D in the PostScript printfile – it will usually be the very first or last character (or both). Some printer drivers have an option to either include or omit CTRL-Ds. Make sure the driver isn’t configured to send control-Ds either before or after the job.

PageMaker files containing PhotoStyler images
When you print a PageMaker 5.0x or later document that contains TIFF images saved in PhotoStyler 2.0, a PostScript error “undefined” can occur. Open those TIFF images in PhotoShop, save them again and update the links in PageMaker to get around this problem.

Files from a Barco system
I have also encountered ‘Undefined’ PostScript errors when ripping files created by a Barco system. Apparently the Barco system started all of its PostScript files by 128 characters containing Barco-specific information. As long as such a file was send to a Barco RIP, there was no problem but other RIPs choked on the Barco data. Our customer got around the error by adding the following PostScript code at the beginning of each file:

%! /dummy 128 string def currentfile dummy readstring

This code made the RIP ignore the next 128 characters in the file. The most recent version of the Barco system solved this problem.

Also check
There are several commands that can cause “undefined” PostScript errors. Click on a specific offending command to get a more detailed error description: @PJL, AGMCORE_gstack, aldusdict2, bdef, ct_cffdict, CT_T3HdrDICT , fhiscomposite , fontsave , get, INF, ISOLatin1Encoding, mmxpr3, Is2016andT32?, md, pdfmark, pkng, pR, savelevel1, set, setcolorspace, TM

If the offending command is one of the following: colorimage, currentcmykcolor, currentcolorscreen, currentcolortransfer, currentglobal, currenthalftone, currentpagedevice, setcmykcolor, setcolorscreen, setcolorspace, setcolortransfer, setglobal, sethalftone or setpagedevice you are probably trying to either print a color file to a black and white device or you are trying to print a PostScript level 2 file to a PostScript level 1 printer or RIP. Most printerdrivers allow you to define whether a printfile is color or black-and-white and whether the code is level 1 or level 2. Correct your settings and print again.