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Specific Printer Notes, PostScript
This document contains notes about using PostScript
printers with New Deal software
If you have comments, corrections, or updates, please
tell us.
Character Spacing
Custom character spacing will appear on screen, but
it may not print out correctly on PostScript printers.
Built-in Fonts and Download Fonts
Certain fonts (Cooperstown, Greenville) come out a little bolder and a
little more scrunched together when printing on a PostScript printer,
compared to other kinds of printers. This is because we use the Adobe Type
1 fonts built into the printer whenever an equivalent is available (e.g.
Times Roman when printing URW Roman). For non-built in fonts (e.g.
Cooperstown), we download Adobe Type 3 fonts. There are two
functional differences between Type 1 and Type 3. Type 1 is hinted whereas
Type 3 is not, so at very small sizes, Type 1 fonts will generally look a
little better than Type 3. Also, Type 1 fonts use a slightly different
fill rule than Type 3. Type 1 fonts only turn a dot on if the majority
of it is within the bounds of the character, whereas Type 3 fonts turn on
a dot if any of it is within the bounds of the character.
Page Numbering
When using certain fonts (e.g., Shattuck Avenue or URW Sans) automatic
page numbering may not print correctly on every page of the document. It
does print correctly if you use URW Roman or URW Cranbrook.
Downloading Fonts
There is a limit to how many fonts you can download to a PostScript
printer. If you overflow the amount of memory in your printer, then it
will just blink at you and not print anything. The exact amount is hard to
quantify, because it depends a lot on how fancy the characters are and how
many characters you use from a font. The software will only download
outlines for the exact characters that you use, so if you have a document
with a single font you can fill the entire page (with normal text). If you
use short (one or two words) from a font, you can probably use 15 on a
page. If you are using URW Roman, URW Sans, URW Mono or Symbol font (in
any style), it should be OK. Our software maps them directly to the
PostScript fonts and there is no downloading. If you use any other font,
then the characters used on the page are downloaded to the printer. You
may have to experiment a bit to find out the limit for your particular
printer.
Printing over a Unix network
Printing to file and then using the pc-nfs 'lpr' command to print the
file over a Unix network may require that you use the DOS2UNIX command to
modify the line-feeds appropriately before printing.
Legal Size
Printing legal size to some PostScript printers, like the IBM 4019 or the
Canon LBP 8, may require setting the printer to legal size via the
printer's control panel or via a software command. The symptom is that
the top three inches of the document will not print, and the bottom of
the document will finish three inches before the end of the sheet. The
problem may not occur when printing in HP (PCL) mode on the same
printer.
Unlisted PostScript Printers
If your PostScript printer does not appear on our list, here are some good
bets for driver selections:
- Monochrome - select the PostScript-Compatible Printer driver.
- Color - select the NEC ColorMate 40 driver.
- The lowest common denominator PostScript driver is the Apple
LaserWriter II NT. This should work (though slower than it needs to with
newer printers) with almost any PostScript printer.
PostScript and America Online
The America Online application (PCAO) will not print directly
to PostScript printers. America Online engineers wrote their own printing
routines into the application, which bypass the drivers in our system
software. One work around is to copy/paste or drag/drop your text from
PCAO into another application like NewWrite or Text File Editor and print
from there. Another approach is to save the text to a file and print the
file later from other software. You can also use the Session Log feature
(in the File menu) to capture part or all of the email and
articles you view in a session online.
Large Pages
The HP PaintJet XL printer supports 11 x 17 paper, but our PostScript
driver does not send the necessary commands for large paper. If you print
to file, you can edit the resulting file by hand by adding, after the
bounding box entry:
currentpagedevice /InputAttributes get 0 get
/Pagesize [842 1190]
/imagingBBox null
setpagedevice
Shading and Text
The PostScript driver ignores halftones applied to text.
Tab Leaders
Tab leaders may not print on PostScript printers when using certain fonts.
URW Roman works fine, but URW Sans may leave blanks where the leaders
should be.
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