Print to PDF? Configure fonts used when printing?

[David Reitter <david.reitter@gmail.com>]

I'd like to make printing comfortable on my OS without having to  
require Ghostscript (because it's large and it would be installed on  
many machines).

My problem is that the Postscript generated references a lot of fonts  
which aren't installed -- even though they are supposedly standard on  
PS printers.
Is there a way to centrally configure the set of fonts that can be  
used for PS output?
(I mean: centrally - not specifically for each mode defining its own  
faces.)

Alternatively, is there a package that would allow me to print to PDF  
directly? If I could print PDF, I could make printing perfectly  
comfortable through the OS's standard print dialogs. If I could print  
compatible PS, I could use on-board tools to convert to PDF and then  
display and print.

As it stands now, I can only print directly to the default PS printer  
without a chance to control / check the progress or preview the output.

Thanks for all suggestions!