Re: Printer Drivers for HP 2100TN

[Daniel Say <say@xxxxxxxx>]

" In reference to Digest #802, I found a way to incorporate the
" PostScript initialization string into the PostScript driver itself
" rather than having to copy it to the printer from the command line.
" 
" Originally I'd tried inserting it in the beginning of the existing
" "fb<string", but the driver wouldn't load.  I figured there was no
" logical reason why there couldn't be more than one "fb<string" as
" long as they were sequential (nothing in between them), though
" the XyWrite manual and the books I have don't address this
" particular issue.
" 
" So just before the string beginning "fb<clear ..." I inserted on a
" separate line "fb<string-in-#802" including the carriage return at
" the end.  Works just fine.
" 
" Now on to the width tables (thanks, Daniel Say!).
" 
" -- Bill Shawcross  <wshawcross@xxxxxxxx>
" 
--------------
	Another solution to printer drivers might be this
	below from the contemporareous DOS word processor
	Borland Sprint list
				Daniel Say
------------ quote ----------
Over the last seventeen years, I have accumulated thousands (upon
thousands) of FinalWord/Sprint files, all formatted for Postscript
printers.  My ancient (1988) Jetscript printer (= QMS800) is finally
beginning to show its age and may need to be replaced soon.

I have found three relatively low-priced PostScript printers: the Lexmark
Optra 310; the Lexmark Optra 312; and the NEC 870.  The Lexmark printers
come factory equipped with Postscript; the NEC offers postscript as an
add-odd extra ($117US).

If any of you have firsthand experience with any of these printers I would
be grateful if you would tell me of your experience using them.  (Please
send me email directly [swartz@xxxxxxxx] rather than reply to the entire group.)

If you know of any other Postscript printers in the price range of
$300-500, please let me know.

Prof. Norman Swartz (Ret.)
Dept. of Philosophy Simon Fraser University Burnaby, BC Canada  V5A 1S6
email: swartz@xxxxxxxx

---  --  ---  ---  ---  --- and a reply....

Message 26/1708  From Kevin Goodwin                 Aug 26, 00 03:59:18 PM -0700

Date:         Sat, 26 Aug 2000 15:59:18 -0700
Reply-To: SPRINT-L Borland Sprint Word Processor Discussion              <SPRINT
-L@xxxxxxxx>
Sender: SPRINT-L Borland Sprint Word Processor Discussion             
<SPRINT-L@xxxxxxxx>
Subject:      Re: Advice sought re new Postscript Printer
To: SPRINT-L@xxxxxxxx

An observation: you can translate Postscript files into PDF (Acrobat) format
with no quality loss (that _I_ can discern).  This translation can be done
using Adobe Acrobat Distiller (included in the commercial Adobe Acrobat
product, NOT the free "reader") or a free software pkg called GhostScript.  I
have used Acrobat Distiller for a few years now, having written SPP files for
both Acrobat 3.0 and 4.0 to get the default fonts "lined up".  Besides the
finagling of fonts (I don't use anything except those included in Distiller,
and those font names changed from 3.0 to 4.0, which is what caused me to have
to tweak SPP files), there is no downside that I can see, and you get the
advantages of being able to create output in a nearly universal format that is
equally usable in either electronic format or put onto paper.  Since it appears
that there are fewer and fewer "personal" Postscript printers on the market,
this option seems to be a useful "escape hatch" with unique advantages of its
own.

Note that there are "Distiller web servers" to which you can send a PS file and
receive back a Distilled version (a PDF file).  AFAIR, Adobe closed the
licensing loophole (in ver 3.0 and earlier?) which allowed this, but see
http://www.babinszki.com/distiller/ for an example
(now using GhostScript).
You can see how well your existing files Distill w/o cost or setup hassles.

Here is a link to a utility called ps2pdf which seems to use GhostScript to
create a Distiller-work-alike:
http://www.cs.wisc.edu/~ghost/aladdin/doc/Ps2pdf.htm

Cheers, Kevin

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