Java 1.1 implements printing through the java.awt.PrintGraphics interface and the abstract
java.awt.PrintJob class.
To begin a print job you call the static method
Toolkit.getPrintJob(). This returns a platform specific
instance of the abstract PrintJob class. (Platform
specific details are hidden inside the sun classes.)
The PrintJob object gives you information about the
page size and the printer resolution. It also has a
getGraphics() method that returns a Graphics
object that implements the PrintGraphics interface.
Often you'll draw the page by passing this object to your
paint() method. Other times you'll want to specialize for
printing. For example, you might want to draw in black and white
instead of color. (Regrettably Java does not provide a method to
determine the available colors on the printer.)
A page is sent to the printer when you invoke its
Graphics's object's dispose() method. You can
print multiple pages by repeatedly calling
getGraphics() and the disposing each Graphics
object.