Xref: utzoo comp.lang.postscript:1223 comp.sys.mac:23498 Path: utzoo!utgpu!watmath!clyde!att!osu-cis!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!bgsuvax!edwards From: edwards@bgsuvax.UUCP (Ken Jenkins) Newsgroups: comp.lang.postscript,comp.sys.mac Subject: Re: how do you print a postscript file Summary: Downloading PS 'raw' Message-ID: <3166@bgsuvax.UUCP> Date: 2 Dec 88 01:05:45 GMT References: <1097@marlin.NOSC.MIL> <3416@utastro.UUCP> Organization: Bowling Green State University B.G., Oh. Lines: 58 In article <3416@utastro.UUCP>, bill@utastro.UUCP (William H. Jefferys) writes: > In article <1097@marlin.NOSC.MIL> bryan@marlin.NOSC.MIL (Dale Bryan) writes: > #how do you print a postscript file from a mac II to a laserwriter > #where the postscript file has no application associated with it. > # > Oddly, I had to help someone do this very thing today, and I > had never done it. We read the file using Microsoft Word 3.02, > gave the whole thing the "PostScript" style (described in the > manual) and printed it. It worked fine. There are a number of PS file downloaders available. Some are in the public domain, others are commercial. SendPS by ADOBE is rather bare bones but does what you need it to do, which is bypass the print manager eliminating the LaserPrep madness. It also generates a text file containing any errors sent back by the printer (usually some pleasant little %%Offending command /youfigureitout/). You can get along very nicely with a DA text editor (like MockWrite) and SendPS is you just want to play around a little. For more serious development I use a product called LaserTalk which allows you to examine the stack contents on the fly, work in interactive mode (over LocalTalk) and through some clever slight of hand sends you files to the printer for interpretation and then retrieves the image from VM and displays it at 300 dpi on the Mac (of course you're going to do a bit of scrolling around to see it all unless you scale it :-). Working in the mode just described however requires that you have the LW tied up exclusively while you are working in that LT loads its own dictionary to perform its magic. Some other nice features are the ability to examine dictionaries and stacks in single-step mode so you can see how screwed up you've gotten your stack objectives (something, which through much practice I have become extremely skilled at :-). Also ADOBE distributes a DL program with every font package which can be use to DL your own PS programs as well. There is even a DA which will stuff a PS file (no frills) out your node. I like LaserTalk but you may find it "pricy" if you're not doing much PS programming. Whatever you do, as Bill mentioned, try to form a habit of sticking to the conventions ADOBE has published for Encapsulated PostScript. It's not absolutely necessary if you're just DL'ing small files for your own fun and amusement, but if you expect your files to get along in the world, many applications expect "civilized" code :-) > Bill Jefferys Hi Bill, haven't seen you over here before. I would have asked for those N/S charts in PS format ;-) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Disclaimer: My name is Ken Jenkins and I am here as a guest of Bruce Edwards to whom this account belongs. Although he may be interested or even amused by my ramblings, he should not be held accountable for them in any way. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ken Jenkins (as a guest of Bruce Edwards) CSNET: edwards@bgsu.edu ARPANET: edwards@andy.bgsu.edu UUCP: ..!osu-cis!bgsuvax!edwards -------------------------------------------------------------------------------