PostScript to PDF conversion/slow print issue [GhostScript]
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I have several large PDF reports (>500 pages) with grid lines and background shading overlay that I converted from postscript using GhostScript's ps2pdf in a batch process.  The PDFs that get created look perfect in the Adobe Reader.  

However, when I go to print the PDF from Adobe Reader I get about 4-5 ppm from our Dell laser printer with long, 10+ second pauses between each page.  The same report PDF generated from another proprietary process (not GhostScript) yeilds a fast 25+ ppm on the same printer. 

The PDF file sizes on both are nearly the same at around 1.5 MB each, but when I print both versions of the PDF to file (i.e. postscript), the GhostScript generated PDF postscript output is about 5 times larger than that of the other (2.7 mil lines vs 675K) or 48 MB vs 9 MB.  Looking at the GhostScript output, I see that the background pattern for the grid lines/shading (referenced by "/PatternType1" tag) is defined many thousands of times throughout the file, where it is only defined once in the other PDF output.  I believe this constant re-defining of the background pattern is what is bogging down the printer.

Is there a switch/setting to force GhostScript to only define a pattern/image only once?  I've tried using the -r and -dPdfsettings=/print switches with no relief.