Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!samsung!uunet!tellab5!wiseman
From: wiseman@tellabs.com (Jeff Wiseman)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.misc
Subject: Re: Postscript and the Laserwriter(yet again)
Message-ID: <3495@tellab5.tellabs.com>
Date: 21 Aug 90 17:40:59 GMT
References: <1990Aug17.181113.13169@imax.com> <42.26cfe840@vaxa.strath.ac.uk>
Sender: news@Tellabs.COM
Organization: Tellabs, Inc. Lisle IL
Lines: 51

In article <42.26cfe840@vaxa.strath.ac.uk> cnap73@vaxa.strath.ac.uk writes:
>In article <1990Aug17.181113.13169@imax.com>, hugh@imax.com (Hugh Murray) writes:
>> Just for fun I captured some PostScript output on the Mac (using cmnd-K), and
>> copied the file to a PC disk using Apple File Exchange with text translation.
>> On the PC I just copied this file to the printer, which flashed its green light
>> for about a minute then - nothing.  Does anyone have any idea what could be
>> missing?  It bothers me a little that WordPerfect on a PC generates PostScript
 <<stuff deleted>>
>I suspect that the real reason is that the Postscript file you get is not
>correct.  A Mac generated Postscript file contains a header, the contents of
>which depend on the application.  In this header is a line which says something
>like :
>
>   %IncludeProcSet: "(AppleDict md)" 68 0
>
>The contents of the Laser Prep file are supposed to replace this line.  The
>file you get from cmd-K simply appends a PS version of your document to the
>Laser Prep file.  You will probably need some utility (like MACPS for Unix)
>which puts Laser Prep in the right place.

I hate seeing people thrash over this since I went through so much of it
myself... :-(

Let me give my 2 cents worth.

I THINK that the IncludeProcSet statement refered to is actually the laserprep.
The real problem has to do with the fact that the mac doesn't just "spool" a
file to the printer. It tries to embed parts of the laserprep (if not all) if
the printer has not been inititalized. I have seen the exact same behaviour
uploading a CMD-K file to a UNIX system and trying to lpr it to the
laserwriter.

As was mentioned, the MACPS unix utility is the nicest but if you are using
just PCs, try prepending the following lines to the BEGINNING of your CMD-K
files:

%!
serverdict begin 0 exitserver

It's majik to me but I beleive it overrides this tendancy for the laserprep to
try and install itself on the printer.

One last note, the CMD-K file has some lines in it that are very Loonnng
between CRs. on unix this can create a problem as vi (the editor) blows up with
file lines that long.

hope this helps


--
Jeff Wiseman:	....uunet!tellab5!wiseman OR wiseman@TELLABS.COM