A method and apparatus for direct printing of multiple views of 3-D
objects in a PDF file is described. When a PDF file containing 3-D object
data is sent to a printer, without using an application or print driver,
the controller of a printer generates and prints a plurality of views of
the 3-D object based on pre-defined viewing angle settings. The printer
controller opens the PDF file, converts the 3-D PDF data to PS data based
on the viewing angle, performs raster image processing, prints the bitmap
images corresponding to the viewing angle, and repeats the process for
all viewing angles. The plurality of views may be printed on separate
pages, or on one page in an N-in-1 format. More generally, the method
applies to direct printing of files containing objects that are capable
of providing multiple appearances, where multiple or desired appearances
of the objects are automatically printed.