Many PDF files contain pages of different sizes in a single document. A technical package may include standard A4 text pages, A3 diagrams, and large-format A1 drawings. Printing such files on one printer is slow, inconvenient, and often impossible because different page sizes usually require different devices.
In many offices this process is still handled manually. Users print one part of the document on an office printer, then reopen the file and try to send large pages to a wide-format printer or plotter. This wastes time, increases the chance of mistakes, and slows down document workflows.
O&K Print Router solves this problem by automatically routing printed pages to the right printer. It can send A4 pages to one device, A3 pages to another, and large-format pages such as A1 to a plotter. The same software can also redirect print jobs, balance the load between several printers, speed up printing, and save a PDF copy of each printed document.
Why mixed-size PDF printing is difficult
Standard Windows printing works well when a document is simple and all pages use the same paper size. But real business documents are often more complicated. Engineering drawings, construction plans, technical manuals, packaging layouts, and production documents frequently combine multiple page sizes in one PDF.
In such cases, a user usually has to:
- identify which pages use which paper size;
- select page ranges manually;
- switch between several printers;
- repeat the process if something was missed or printed incorrectly.
This approach is not only slow. It also creates unnecessary printer queues, produces wasted paper, and depends too much on user attention. In busy offices, design departments, and reprographics environments, this becomes a constant source of delays.
What is print routing software
Print routing software is software that intercepts a print job and decides where it should be printed. Instead of sending a document directly to a specific physical printer, the user prints to a virtual routing printer. The software then applies rules and forwards the job to one or more suitable devices.
Depending on the configuration, print routing software can:
- redirect print jobs automatically;
- send documents to the least busy printer;
- print one document on multiple printers;
- route pages by paper size or color mode;
- save printed documents as PDF archives.
This makes it especially useful in offices with multiple printers, print rooms, architecture firms, engineering companies, and any environment where documents must be printed quickly and accurately.
How O&K Print Router works
O&K Print Router installs a virtual printer in Windows. Users print documents to this virtual printer just as they would print to any normal device. After that, O&K Print Router applies routing rules and sends the document to the appropriate physical printer or printers.
The software supports several useful scenarios:
- Print redirection — automatically forward a document to another printer;
- Printer load balancing — send the job to the most available printer at the moment;
- Parallel printing — print the same document on multiple printers;
- Page routing by paper size — send different pages of one PDF to different devices;
- PDF archiving — save a copy of each printed document as a PDF file;
- Custom print rules — create advanced routing logic with scripts.
This allows companies to automate printing workflows that would otherwise require constant manual work.
Example: print A4, A3 and A1 pages on different printers
Imagine that you need to print a PDF file containing:
- A4 text pages for office staff;
- A3 diagrams for review;
- A1 drawings that must be printed on a plotter.
Without print routing, someone has to separate these pages manually. With O&K Print Router, the process can be automated.
You can create print rules so that:
- all A4 pages go to the office laser printer;
- all A3 pages go to a departmental printer that supports larger paper;
- all A1 pages go directly to a plotter.
As a result, a single mixed-size PDF is printed correctly with almost no manual intervention.
If your documents use non-standard page sizes, you can also configure custom paper sizes for printing and include them in your routing rules.
How to print PDF pages of different sizes on different printers
The typical workflow is simple.
Step 1. Install O&K Print Router
Install the software on the workstation or server where the print routing rules should be applied. After installation, the O&K Print Router virtual printer becomes available in the system.
Step 2. Open the O&K Print Router settings
Launch the O&K Print Router user interface and configure the printers that will participate in routing. This can include office printers, MFPs, large-format printers, and plotters.
Step 3. Add a custom routing script
If you want to route pages by paper size, use the Custom Script feature. This allows you to define exactly how documents and pages should be redirected. You can also review more custom print routing script examples for advanced scenarios.
Step 4. Use a page-size routing script
The following example sends A4, A3, and A1 pages to different printers automatically:
var printersA4 = VectorOfString();
printersA4.push_back("Office_A4_Printer");
PrintPages(printersA4, "A4", 0, 1, 0);
var printersA3 = VectorOfString();
printersA3.push_back("Engineering_A3_Printer");
PrintPages(printersA3, "A3", 0, 1, 0);
var printersA1 = VectorOfString();
printersA1.push_back("Plotter_A1");
PrintPages(printersA1, "A1", 0, 1, 0);
In this example:
- all A4 pages are printed on Office_A4_Printer;
- all A3 pages are printed on Engineering_A3_Printer;
- all A1 pages are printed on Plotter_A1.
Step 5. Print the PDF to O&K Print Router
Open the PDF in your PDF viewer, for example Adobe Acrobat Reader, and select O&K Print Router as the printer.
Step 6. Enable paper source selection by PDF page size
When printing from Adobe Acrobat Reader, enable the option that lets the application choose the paper source according to the PDF page size. This helps preserve the original page dimensions during the print process.
Once the print job is sent, O&K Print Router analyzes the pages and forwards each one to the correct device automatically.
Other useful print routing scenarios
1. Route print jobs to the least busy printer
If several printers can handle the same type of document, O&K Print Router can send the job to the most available printer. This is useful for offices where multiple identical printers are installed on the same floor or in the same department.
This type of printer load balancing reduces waiting time and helps distribute wear more evenly across devices. If you want to optimize busy office printing, see how printer load balancing works in practice.
2. Print one document on multiple printers
For large print runs, O&K Print Router can send the same document to several printers at once. This can significantly reduce the total print time. You can also learn more about how to print one document on multiple printers.
Instead of waiting for one busy printer to finish a long job, you can split the workload across multiple available devices.
3. Separate color and black-and-white pages
In some environments, color pages should be printed on a color printer while black-and-white pages should go to a cheaper monochrome device. O&K Print Router can support such scenarios through custom print rules.
4. Save every printed document as PDF
O&K Print Router can also save a PDF copy of each printed document. This is useful for archiving, auditing, document recovery, and internal record keeping.
5. Create different routing workflows with multiple virtual printers
Companies often need more than one printing workflow. For example, one virtual printer can be configured for load balancing, another for plotter routing, and a third for PDF archiving. This helps simplify printing for users while keeping complex rules in the background. If needed, you can install additional O&K Print Router virtual printers for separate workflows.
Who can benefit from automatic print routing
O&K Print Router is especially useful for:
- architecture firms that print both office documents and large drawings;
- engineering departments working with mixed-size technical documentation;
- construction companies that regularly print plans and project files;
- manufacturing businesses with document-heavy internal workflows;
- print rooms and reprographics teams handling high-volume printing;
- general offices with several printers and recurring queues.
Any organization that prints a large number of documents can benefit from faster output, fewer manual actions, and more efficient use of its printers.
Benefits of using O&K Print Router
- Automates print routing and reduces manual work;
- Prints mixed-size PDF files on the correct devices automatically;
- Improves print speed by distributing jobs across multiple printers;
- Reduces printer bottlenecks in busy offices;
- Supports advanced workflows with custom scripts;
- Creates PDF copies of printed documents for archive purposes.
Conclusion
If your office prints PDF files with different page sizes, manual printing quickly becomes inefficient. Sending A4 pages to one printer, A3 pages to another, and A1 drawings to a plotter should not require repeated manual work.
O&K Print Router makes this process automatic. It helps route print jobs, balance printer loads, speed up document output, and save printed files as PDF. For companies that rely on fast and accurate printing, it provides a practical way to simplify complex print workflows.
Download O&K Print Router and automate printing across multiple printers.