Printing forms and labels in Python

[Joel Goldstick]

Monte Milanuk wrote:
> Hello,
> 
> I'm still a relative newbie to python, so I apologize if this is covered 
> in detail somewhere and I missed it.
> 
> I have a program or two that I want to work on once I get more 
> proficient with python and sqlite and tkinter/wxpython.  One of the big 
> 'features' of those programs I want to make is going to be printing out 
> match results (scores) from a competition along with competitor names 
> and other pertinent information.  Currently most people are doing this 
> in Excel, though there is one (old) DOS program written in BASIC that 
> not only prints the match results and the reports for the sanctioning 
> body, but also prints labels via a Dymo Label maker.
> 
> I realized today that one thing I have never seen covered in any Python 
> tutorial is how to format and print things to a physical printer.  I did 
> a little bit of searching and didn't come up with much... either I'm 
> really not using the right search terms, or physical printing is a black 
> hole/art...?
> 
> TIA,
> 
> Monte
> 
I agree with you that it seems surprising that there isn't a simple way 
to print with python.  Another idea, which you may well think of as 
overkill:

Use django or another web framework, and make your application a web 
app.  With this approach you can display output to a web page, and 
create a print stylesheet that can be finely tuned to print.

This ups your work to get involved with a web framework, but it lets you 
provide your application to users without the need to install.  It also 
makes it totally platform agnostic


Joel Goldstick