RE: xyWrite & PostScript

[OkAnnie@xxxxxxxx]

Douglas Beeson  writes:

:   You have convinced me to take :  the plunge into the world of PS.

Hi, Doug. Thanks for *all* the kind words!

:   I just downloaded Ghostscript v. 3.12 : for Windows. What do I do now? I use XyWin.

*Uh*oh. I'm already in trouble. I don't have xyWin and have never tried
Ghostscript. When I said I had info on Windows Ghostscript 
I meant ftp addresses since I posted only DOS addresses. So I'm
groping in the dark, except to say this, and *please* don't take
it as discouragement; I write it only to fill in the picture:
Since you use xyWin, you should be able to use
Adobe Type Manager. If your primary needs are top-quality
typography and typographic control, that's what ATM and Type 1
fonts are for. If you want to fool around with graphics and learn
how to get the most out of PS, use an interpreter. ...

:  Is there any chance of getting them
:  to work together, do you think?

No reason I know of why not. Ghostscript may present headaches
you wouldn't get from commercial PS interpreters, which are more
refined. Ghostscript seems to be a bit of a kludge--those "not
for the faint of heart" caveats, etc., I mentioned. People say
the same thing about xyW. Plunge in! Have you installed it yet?
If anything in the WinGhostscript documentation stumps you,
I'll be happy to try to help. (I may have to refer you to
comp.lang.postscript, but I'll sure try first.)

:   I have a HP Deskjet 540 printer for which :  I have been
using the Windows print driver.

If WinGhostscript works the way DOS GoScript does, you'll use whatever xyWin
PS driver WinGhostscript recommends, print to disk, and run
WinGhostscript with its HP Deskjet 540 driver. (The utilities may
work differently. Some software interpreters have you print from
the app via a special driver. The documentation should make the
procedure clear.)

You may have to configure some routine mechanical things for the
WinGhostscript printer driver--page size, resolution, etc.--but
the xyWin PS driver negotiates between what you write and the interpreter. I assume
WinGhostscript includes some Type 1 fonts upfront; the xyWin PS
driver probably has width tables for them. More fonts are online.
I don't know what width tables TTG has available besides the
basic fonts. Since I use xyDos3, I just fake that for the most
part, using what seems closest. If I'm doing anything fancy
graphically or typographically I prep text with xyW and import it
into dtp or a graphical word processor for "prettifying" (as the
programming crowd puts it).

I'd hope the xyWin PS driver's FB< and substitution table are set
up for any diacritical marks and typographic punctuation you use.
If not, TTG should do that for you, but you also can do it
yourself (unlike the width tables) if you don't mind getting your
hands dirty.

If you're going to do anything with PS, above all, buy or borrow Ross Smith's
"Learning PostScript: A Visual Approach" (Peachpit Press). With a
software PS interpreter in particular, it's invaluable and the appendices are priceless.
I'm not alone in treasuring it. It's the PS mini-bible, next to
the Adobe red book. Moreover, it's charming visually, kind of a
PS how-to as graphical haiku.

:   This may be sufficient, but Postscript : sounds more
flexible and more fun.

Almost infinitely flexible, but to get that out of it you have to
invest time. You got WinGhostview, I hope? *That's* where the
fun--and the addiction--start, when you print to disk and start
playing with code before you print. Because it's all ascii, xyW
makes that *so* easy.

Don't hesitate to ask about anything that confounds you. Enjoy!  -
-annie

========================== annie fisher | nyc | okAnnie@xxxxxxxx