Xref: utzoo comp.text:7046 comp.sources.wanted:12629
Newsgroups: comp.text,comp.sources.wanted
Path: utzoo!telly!eci386!clewis
From: clewis@eci386.uucp (Chris Lewis)
Subject: Re: Ditroff font tables for HP Laserjet III
Message-ID: <1990Jul26.163727.25454@eci386.uucp>
Keywords: ditroff, font tables, hp-laserjet iii
Reply-To: clewis@eci386.UUCP (Chris Lewis)
Organization: Elegant Communications Inc.
References: <1210@wundt.psy.vu.nl> <3028@unocss.unomaha.edu>
Date: Thu, 26 Jul 90 16:37:27 GMT

In article <3028@unocss.unomaha.edu> cs002@unocss.unomaha.edu (cs002) writes:
> In article <1210@wundt.psy.vu.nl>, reneni@psy.vu.nl (Rene Nieuwboer) writes:
 
> > Has anyone converted Ditroff for the HP-Laserjet III printer?
> > Especially the font tables with their character widths are giving
> > me headaches. The postprocessor will not be too difficult.
> > If it has to be paid for, please don't be ashamed to mention it!
 
> As you mention, the postprocessor is not the problem -- anything that
> drives a LaserJet II will work.

Eg: jetroff.  (or psroff if you only have CAT troff instead of ditroff)
 
> By ``font tables'', I presume you mean the problem of actually obtaining
> the font widths for the ``internal'' fonts - CG Times and CG Univers 1
> and their italic, bold, and bold italic counterparts. These can be obtained
> using Type Director 2.0, available from HP for less than $50 US. Actually,
> Type Director produces font support files for a variety of products, including
> Microsoft Word, WordPerfect, and Ventura Publisher. If you know the format of
> the font support files for these products, and how they are interpreted, then
> you can, indeed, ``divine'' the font widths for the internal fonts. Alas, it's
> still a pain.

Having had to hand-tweak CAT Troff width tables in such situations, it
doesn't take that long to make acceptable width tables by hand.  A day
(perhaps) to tune 8 fonts.

BTW: psroff 2.0 (in comp.sources.unix very soon) has a number of utility
programs that might be of use in such situations:

    - generate ditroff-like width tables from TeX PK's and HP SFP's.
    - Merge PK's into useable HP SFP's.
    - Dump PK and SFP characteristics.
    - font displayers.
    - etc.

(Psroff 2.0 is a backend to CAT troff that can translate into Postscript,
HPLJ (with incremental font downloads of SFP's or PK's) or ditroff).

Does the III autoscale downloaded fonts too?  (Haven't seen any LJIII
docs yet)
-- 
Chris Lewis, Elegant Communications Inc, {uunet!attcan,utzoo}!lsuc!eci386!clewis
Ferret mailing list: eci386!ferret-list, psroff mailing list: eci386!psroff-list