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From: umh@vax5.cit.cornell.edu
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.system
Subject: Re: Generating Postscript with TrueType
Message-ID: <1991Mar22.033251.3536@vax5.cit.cornell.edu>
Date: 22 Mar 91 07:32:51 GMT
References: <48316@nigel.ee.udel.edu>
Followup-To: comp.sys.mac.system
Distribution: comp
Organization: CIT, Cornell University
Lines: 41

In article <48316@nigel.ee.udel.edu>,
smedley@udel.edu (Trevor Smedley) writes:
>
> The LaserWriter driver that comes with the new TrueType stuff has a radio but
>
> First, it seems to include the LaserPrep file.  Up until now I have been
> generating Postscript without the LaserPrep and then adding a modified versio
> with macps.  The file produced by the new driver _does_ print when I send it
> our Personal LaserWriter (NT?).  Does anyone know if this is because the
> LaserWriter is adding a modified version of LaserPrep, or am I just getting
> lucky because it is an Apple printer I am sending things to?
>
> Second, the files generated are huge!  I had a file which contained the strin
> "This is a TrueType test..." repeated 5 times.  Always in Times, with the poi
> sizes 12, 14, 18, 20 and 24.  The resulting Postscript file was over 393716
> bytes.  This looks like it is the LaserPrep file (around 30k), followed by
> roughly 300k of what looks like a hex encoding of something (font
> definitions?), followed by the couple of lines specifying the actual postscri
> for the file.  Is there any way to get rid of all this hex stuff?  I only use
> fonts that the printer already knows about, so if this is font definition
> information it isn't necessary.
>
> In case you are curious, using the old LaserWriter driver, the file generated
>
> Looks like I won't be using TrueType for now...  Perhaps on my Plus at home w
>
> Thanks,  Trevor Smedley
> smedley@udel.edu

This info is from "Inside the Apple Macintosh" It claims that in System 7 the
LaserPrep file will no longer exist and the printer driver will "initialize the
printer on the fly, sending only those portions of the dictionary necessary to
print the current job" They suggest this might be to remove the problems that
currently exist when different users on the network use different versions of
the laser prinetr drivers. One might hope that this will also generate
self-contained STANDARD postscript that can be printed on UNIX machines,
incorporated into TeX etc, unlike the rigamarole that is currently produced- ie
only 7bits usage, no weird machine language instructions etc.

Maynard Handley
maynard@helios.tn.cornell.edu