Batch Print PDF and Select Printing Quality

Printing hundreds of PDFs at high quality drains ink cartridges in hours. Printing everything in draft mode saves toner but produces unreadable charts and images. When you batch-print mixed documents — invoices, reports, contracts — you need control over quality per job, not a one-size-fits-all default. Total PDF Printer lets you set printing quality to high, medium, or draft before each batch run, so every job uses exactly the ink it needs.

Quick answer: To set printing quality, open Total PDF Printer, check the PDF files or a whole folder, click Print, go to the Quality tab and choose High, Medium, or Draft, then pick your printer and click Start. The level applies to every file in the batch, so you control ink use and speed in one setting instead of adjusting each file.

Why Printing Quality Settings Matter

• Ink and toner costs — draft mode uses up to 50% less toner than high quality. For internal memos and reference copies, draft is enough.
• Print speed — lower quality means faster output. A 200-page batch in draft mode finishes noticeably sooner than the same batch at high quality.
• Output purpose — client-facing proposals need sharp text and clean images (high). Day-to-day office copies do not (medium or draft).
• Printer wear — consistently printing at maximum quality increases maintenance frequency. Reserving high quality for final documents extends printer life.

How to Print PDFs with Custom Quality

1. Download and install — get the free 30-day trial (15 MB, Windows 7/8/10/11). No email or credit card required.
2. Select files — browse to a folder in the left panel. Check the PDFs you want to print, or click Check All to select every file in the folder.
3. Click Print — this opens the settings wizard.
4. Go to the Quality tab — choose High, Medium, or Draft. The setting applies to all files in the current batch.
5. Set other options — choose your printer, paper size, auto-rotate, fit-to-page, and duplex mode.
6. Click Start — the batch runs silently. A progress bar shows each file being sent to the printer.

Quality Settings via Command Line

Total PDF Printer includes a command-line interface for scripted and scheduled printing. To set quality from a script:

PDFPrinter.exe "C:\Invoices\*.pdf" -p "HP LaserJet" -quality Draft -log "C:\Logs\print.log"

Change -quality Draft to -quality High or -quality Medium as needed. Put this in a .bat file and schedule it with Windows Task Scheduler to auto-print a folder of PDFs every morning at the quality level you choose.

When to Use Each Quality Level

• High — client proposals, signed contracts, documents with color charts or photos. Every detail matters and will be noticed.
• Medium — internal reports, meeting handouts, reference copies for filing. Readable and clean without the ink cost of high quality.
• Draft — proofreading copies, internal memos, temporary printouts you will discard after a meeting. Maximum speed, minimum ink.
• Mixed workflows — run two batches: select client-facing files first and print at high quality, then select internal files and print at draft. Two clicks instead of adjusting settings per file.

High vs Medium vs Draft

Works Together with Other Features

Quality settings combine with the rest of Total PDF Printer's options:

• Auto-rotate — detect portrait and landscape pages automatically, then print at the quality level you set.
• Fit-to-page — scale oversized or undersized PDFs to match your paper before printing.
• Duplex printing — print on both sides. Combined with draft mode, this halves both ink and paper usage.
• Tray selection — route jobs to a specific tray. Useful when different trays hold different paper types.
• Separator pages — insert blank or custom divider pages between documents in the printed stack.

Server Edition

For unattended server-side printing, Total PDF Printer X runs as a Windows service with ActiveX support. It processes print jobs silently without displaying any UI — ideal for web servers, ERP integrations, and automated document workflows. Quality settings work the same way in the server edition.

Total PDF Printer licenses start at $49.90. Download the free 30-day trial — no email or credit card — and test quality settings with your own files.