<s>
In	O
computing	O
a	O
virtual	B-Application
printer	I-Application
is	O
a	O
simulated	O
device	O
whose	O
user	B-Application
interface	I-Application
and	O
API	B-Application
resemble	O
that	O
of	O
a	O
printer	B-Application
driver	I-Application
,	O
but	O
which	O
is	O
not	O
connected	O
with	O
a	O
physical	O
computer	O
printer	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
When	O
a	O
document	O
is	O
"	O
printed	O
"	O
by	O
a	O
virtual	B-Application
printer	I-Application
,	O
instead	O
of	O
physically	O
printing	O
it	O
on	O
paper	O
or	O
other	O
material	O
the	O
underlying	O
software	O
processes	O
the	O
images	O
of	O
its	O
pages	O
in	O
some	O
other	O
way	O
,	O
often	O
resulting	O
in	O
a	O
file	B-Operating_System
being	O
produced	O
or	O
the	O
images	O
being	O
transmitted	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
the	O
early	O
1960s	O
the	O
B5500	B-Device
Master	B-Application
Control	I-Application
Program	I-Application
(	O
MCP	B-Application
)	O
operating	O
system	O
included	O
virtual	B-Application
printers	I-Application
,	O
called	O
"	O
Printer	O
Backups	O
"	O
in	O
the	O
form	O
of	O
Printer	O
Backup	O
Tapes	O
(	O
PBT	O
)	O
and	O
Printer	O
Backup	O
Disks	O
(	O
PBD	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
IBM	O
's	O
VM/370	B-Application
operating	O
system	O
allows	O
users	O
to	O
spool	B-Device
a	O
virtual	B-Application
printer	I-Application
(	O
or	O
punch	O
)	O
file	B-Operating_System
to	O
another	O
user	O
,	O
who	O
can	O
read	O
it	O
as	O
input	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
provides	O
a	O
basic	O
means	O
of	O
file	B-Protocol
transfer	I-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
Typical	O
uses	O
of	O
virtual	B-Application
printers	I-Application
include	O
:	O
</s>
<s>
Saving	O
a	O
document	O
to	O
another	O
format	O
such	O
as	O
a	O
PDF	B-Application
or	O
multi-page	O
TIFF	O
file	B-Operating_System
.	O
</s>
<s>
Sending	O
documents	O
to	O
a	O
fax	B-Application
server	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
output	O
can	O
either	O
be	O
saved	O
in	O
a	O
file	B-Operating_System
for	O
future	O
printing	O
or	O
passed	O
to	O
another	O
printer	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
At	O
least	O
one	O
example	O
of	O
this	O
technology	O
creates	O
a	O
virtual	B-Application
printer	I-Application
on	O
one	O
computer	O
which	O
actually	O
converts	O
the	O
document	O
and	O
sends	O
it	O
to	O
a	O
remote	O
server	O
,	O
from	O
which	O
the	O
file	B-Operating_System
can	O
be	O
printed	O
to	O
a	O
printer	O
attached	O
to	O
a	O
PC	O
in	O
a	O
remote	O
location	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Similar	O
technology	O
is	O
also	O
being	O
used	O
to	O
allow	O
printing	O
from	O
devices	O
such	O
as	O
smart	B-Application
phones	I-Application
.	O
</s>
