Re: "Kerning?"

["R Tennenbaum" rtenn@xxxxxxxx]

>Jeez, you know, when you were fiddling with that PS AT> and AT< command, I
>was thinking to myself, shouldn't it be AT# a la PCL? But I figured Annie
>knows her PS stuff

I figured the same thing. I was a little surprised that her first
printer file string didn't work but when I mentioned it she said she
was just guessing.

>But I thought Annie said to me, in response to my question, that you *can*
>have a dynamic intercharacter space command under PS? I specifically asked
>her about that!

Can't say.

>Rafe, can you parse the PS command for me, please, just to give some insight
>into how PS drivers work? I.e., what are ) and (, what are s, 2, 0, and r?

I wish I could, Robert. Absent a big, thick, expensive manual I went
into the printer file and copied the syntax from the CP table. I
guess that's all I'll ever be good for. 

>Lastly, dynamic intercharacter spacing is very easy in PCL+XPL. Divide the
>point size by a space constant. For example, suppose you like 1/50th of an
>inch -- 6 dots -- at 12 points. [...]
>Did you try the HPDJ560C.PRN file? Which DeskJet do you have?

Many thanks for this, I shall take a whack at it in the next few
days.

I have a DeskJet 540 -- I've been using the HPDJ500.PRN file, and I
think I tried the HPDJ560C.PRN last week, without joy. I'm not sure
whether I'm pointing to the wrong bin, or what the matter is; I also
cannot "customize" the SZ command for the Courier font manually using
the DJ500 file, although it works when I print to FaxWorks with the
PCL printer driver loaded. This was another reason pointing me
towards PS driver-Ghostscript; also being able to genuinely preview
the document (saves paper!) was another. The printed output is
pretty darned good for a low-end unit like this, and of course there
is the further advantage that PS is ecumenic-- uh, cross-platform.

Rafe