

prn files existed, some in HPs PCL language and some in PostScript, largely depending on which printer drivers were installed in the computer, but eventually a generic version was used that was more or less device independent. The catch was that the same printer driver had to be used on both computers, because otherwise it would not work properly. This function was useful when there was no physical printer connected to the computer and you needed to print your document on another computer that was connected to a printer.

Before virtual PDF printer was common function in Windows and Windows applications, the only way to produce a "print" file was by using a special "Print to file" option (usually a check box) available in every decent program that exported the file, typically document, as a.
