<br><H3><A NAME="8">8 Printing</A></h3><img src="/images/trans.gif" border=0><h3><A NAME="8.1">8.1 What printers (laser or otherwise) may be used with NEXTSTEP?</A></h3><i>printer, NeXT</i>
<br>
<br>Adding supported postscript printers is rather simple:
<br><ul><LI> Get a serial cable (e.g., Macintosh to LaserWriter Plus), but check whether that works with your printer
<br>
<br><LI> Configure using Print Manager
<br>
<br><LI> Configure printer communication according to manufacturer's recommendations. (9600 baud software flow control).
<br></ul>A sample printcap entry needs to be loaded into the netinfo database. You can use either <TT>niload printcap . < myprintcap</TT>, or use NetInfoManager to change the <TT>br</TT> and <TT>lp</TT> properties of your LaserJet. Using the default baud rate and <TT>/dev/ttya</TT> will also work, for most print jobs (if the printer is connected to this port).
<br><tt><div style="background-color:#dddddd; margin:0px; padding:10px; width:650px; overflow:auto; font-size:100%;"> auto cont = off (doesn't matter)
<br>I/O = serial
<br>serial = rs-232 (for LJ III only)
<br>baud rate = 19200 (or whatever baud rate you have in ni database/printcap)
<br>robust xon = on (doesn't matter)
<br>dtr polarity = hi
<br>startpage = off (doesn't matter)
<br>language = english
<br>ret = med (you choose for LJ III only)
<br></div></tt>
<br>Note that if you modify the printcap this way you cannot reconfigure this particular printer entry with PrintManager.
<br>
<br>If you are using NEXTSTEP 2.0 and you use remote non-next printers, there is a bug that can be simply corrected by doing "dwrite system PrinterResolution 1" for each user trying to access non-next printers on the network. This not a problem in later NEXTSTEP versions.
<br>
<br><H3><A NAME="8.2">8.2 What fonts can I use with NEXTSTEP?</A></h3><i>fonts</i>
<br>
<br>Properly packaged Type 1 or 3 PostScript fonts will work with NEXTSTEP, but certain conversions may be necessary to get them to work. Freeware and shareware fonts are available on various ftp archives. There are utilities with NEXTSTEP to download fonts into postscript printers.
<br>
<br>Freeware and shareware Type 1 and 3 fonts in files Fonts-1.0-free.tar.Z and Fonts-2.0-sw.tar.Z. Each file unpacks into it's own directory. Within each directory is a ReadMe.rtf and a Makefile. See the ReadMe.rtf for more font descriptions and installation instructions. (You may also find comments in the Makefile of interest.) These packages were prepared by Doug Brenner <TT>dbrenner@umaxc.weeg.uiowa.edu</TT>.
<br>
<br>The same directory contains fonts Shalom (Hebrew and Yiddish in Old Style, Stick and Script typefaces, by Jonathan Brecher, shareware) and CyrillicGothic (san serif, by Jay Sekora). These were packaged by Jacob Gore <TT>jacob@gore.com</TT> to work with the Installer application.
<br>Some fonts in Type 1 format for NEXTSTEP are also available from Y&Y:
<br>
<br><tt><div style="background-color:#dddddd; margin:0px; padding:10px; width:650px; overflow:auto; font-size:100%;"> Y\&Y, 106 Indian Hill, Carlisle MA 01741 USA
<br>Voice: 800 742 4059
<br>Voice: 508 371 3286
<br>Fax: 508 371 2004
<br>71172,524 on CompuServe
<br>71172.524@compuserve.com from InterNet
<br></div></tt>
<br>There is a font converter available in the <TT>MetroTools</TT> package by MetroSoft (<TT>info@metrosoft.com</TT>).
<br>
<br><H3><A NAME="8.3">8.3 How can I save my printable documents to a postscript file?</A></h3><i>PS to file</i>
<br>
<br>Select PRINT from the main menu, then select SAVE from the resulting print panel.
<br>
<br><H3><A NAME="8.4">8.4 How can I print only the even or odd pages of a document?</A></h3><i>odd and even pages</i>
<br><i>even and odd pages</i>
<br><i>duplex printing</i>
<br><i>double sided print</i>
<br>
<br>I wish print on both sides by feeding the paper through twice.
<br>
<br>We must recommend against re-using laser printed paper in your printers. The reason is that the toner which is used is not very robust, in that when heated again (which happens when you print) it can come off the other side of the paper. This causes a mess to accumulate in your printer, and probably some pretty rude things to happen.
<br>
<br><TT>psutils</TT> from <TT>comp.sources.misc</TT> is a much better solution, and includes a lot more capabilities, plus it is being updated constantly.
<br>
<br><H3><A NAME="8.5">8.5 How do I get banner pages on my printer output?</A></h3><i>banner</i>
<br>
<br>There is a sample banner prologue file in <TT>/usr/lib/NextPrinter</TT> that is sent to the printer before or after the print job depending on what printer attributes are set in NetInfo. Sounds gross, but it isn't. Start up NetInfo on your printer machine. Go to the printer directory, and open up your local printer by double clicking it. Select the append property from Directory menu. Replace the name with BannerAfter (or BannerBefore if you want the banner page printed first). The select the New Value option, and put in the name of the banner prologue file.
<br>
<br>If you do not wish to do fancy customization of the file, simply put the path to the NeXT sample banner file:
<br><H3><A NAME="8.6">8.6 How do I get [la]TeX files to print correctly on non-NeXT printers?</A></h3><i>Latex</i>
<br><i>TeX</i>
<br>
<br>If you are printing to a non-NeXT printer from NeXT TeX using <TT>dvips</TT>, make sure you specify the correct resolution (300 dpi, usually), either on the command line with <TT>-D300</TT>, or in the <TT>/usr/lib/tex/config.ps</TT> file with a line that looks like : <TT>D 300</TT>
<br>
<br>If you are printing from within TeXView, you will have to choose CustomResolution and enter the correct number (300, usually) because of the way <TT>DefaultResolution</TT> defaults to 0.
<br>
<br><H3><A NAME="8.7">8.7 What if I have a PostScript font has not been ported to NEXTSTEP?</A></h3><i>PS-Font to NeXT</i>
<br>
<br>Many PostScript fonts port to NEXTSTEP with little effort.
<br>
<br>The easiest case is a font generated by Fontographer version 3.2 or above (a comment near the top of the file should say which program generated the font). This version of Fontographer can generate fonts "for NEXTSTEP". This means that no hacking of the font is needed, but you may need to make some adjustments to make it appear in your font panel.
<br>
<br>Suppose you were porting the font family Shalom, which consists of three faces: Old Style, Stick and Script. Here is the procedure to follow:
<br><ul><LI>In a working folder of yours, create folders called:
<br>Note that the font family name is to the left of the hyphen ("-"), and the typeface name is to the right and with no spaces in it.
<br>
<br><LI> Copy the outline font file for each typeface from wherever it is into its folder, and give it the name of the folder minus the ".font". For example, if you are doing this in a Terminal window:
<br>If you are working in Workspace Manager's File Viewer, double-click on the big fat F icon to open the font directory as a folder, then you'll be able to rename files in it.
<br>
<br><LI> Do the same thing with the font metric files, but make the suffix ".afm":
<br><LI> If there is a "read me" file with the font, or any other documentation, copy it into the .font folder too. For example, each of the Shalom font folders contains files ReadMe, CheatSheet.wn and Sample.wn specific to the typeface.
<br>
<br><LI> Edit the outline and font metric files to make them fit the NeXT AppKit's Font Panel, which is what most NextStep applications use to let you choose your font.
<br>
<br>1) Editing the outline file, e.g., Shalom-OldStyle.font/Shalom-OldStyle:
<br>
<br>The original used "ShalomOldStyle" as the font's name, full name, and family name. We want the name to be "Shalom-OldStyle", the full name "Shalom Old Style", and family name just "Shalom".
<br>Replace all remaining occurrences of the string "ShalomOldStyle" with "Shalom-OldStyle".
<br>
<br>Repeat this procedure for the remaining typefaces.
<br>
<br><LI> You now have a font family ready to be installed. If the font family is to be used by your account only, place it in <TT> /Library/Fonts</TT> (creating it if necessary):
<br>If everybody on your system should have access to this font family, place it (as superuser) in <TT>/LocalLibary/Fonts</TT>:
<br>
<br><tt><div style="background-color:#dddddd; margin:0px; padding:10px; width:650px; overflow:auto; font-size:100%;"> su
<br>mkdirs /LocalLibrary/Fonts
<br>mv Shalom-*.font /LocalLibrary/Fonts
<br>buildafmdir /LocalLibrary/Fonts
<br>exit
<br></div></tt></ul>That's all you need to do for fonts generated by Fontographer version 3.2 or above. This will work with all applications that use AppKit's FontPanel. FrameMaker does not, so other changes may need to be done to keep FrameMaker happy [does anybody have something to add here?].
<br>
<br>Fonts generated by Fontographer version 3.1 or below don't work in Display PostScript as they are, because they use a memory management trick that screws everything up in a multitasking environment like DPS. However, there is a simple, though kludgy, way to make them work.
<br>
<br>The problematic trick uses a dictionary with a name like "Fog3.1" ("Casa1" in Casady & Green's fonts) in which most of the font resides. The problem is that Fontographer puts that whole dictionary into dictionary 'userdict' and expects it to stay there. DPS, however, clears out 'userdict' between tasks, including the task that loads the font and the task that uses it. This makes the font useless on the screen, and printable only by prepending the outline font file to the file you want to print and sending the result to print in one task.
<br>
<br>The fix is to move the troublesome dictionary from 'userdict' into the font dictionary itself (unlike 'userdict', the font dictionary does stick around between tasks).
<br>
<br>Perform the following changes in the outline font file (the font CyrillicGothic is used as the example):
<br><ul><LI> Find the line "%%EndProlog". It will be followed by the line like this:
<br>Write down the number before 'dict' (in this case, 23). You will need it in the following step. Delete the dict definition, making the line look like this:
<br>
<br><tt><div style="background-color:#dddddd; margin:0px; padding:10px; width:650px; overflow:auto; font-size:100%;"> \$CyrillicGothic begin
<br></div></tt>
<br><LI> Go back to the beginning of the file. near the top of the font program, find the following lines:
<br>\$CyrillicGothic begin/Fog3.1 45 dict def Fog3.1 begin
<br></div></tt>
<br>The number before 'dict' (in this case, 24) is one greater than the number you wrote down in the previous step.
<br>
<br><LI> Find the line that defines procedure BuildChar:
<br>
<br><tt><div style="background-color:#dddddd; margin:0px; padding:10px; width:650px; overflow:auto; font-size:100%;"> /BuildChar{Fog3.1/BuildChar get exec}def
<br></div></tt>
<br>and change it as follows:
<br>
<br><tt><div style="background-color:#dddddd; margin:0px; padding:10px; width:650px; overflow:auto; font-size:100%;"> /BuildChar{1 index begin Fog3.1/BuildChar get exec end}def
<br></div></tt>
<br><LI> Go to the end of the file. The last line looks like this:
<br>
<br><tt><div style="background-color:#dddddd; margin:0px; padding:10px; width:650px; overflow:auto; font-size:100%;"> /CyrillicGothic findfont/EFN get Fog3.1 begin\{RF\}forall end
<br></div></tt>
<br>Delete it (or comment it out by placing one or more " beginning of it).
<br>
<br>The AFM file requires one adjustment. Change the line
<br></div></tt></ul>This concludes conversion of a font generated by Fontographer version 3.1 or lower to work with NEXTSTEP. You may still need to make the changes described for version 3.2 and above, to make the font fit the NEXTSTEP font panel.
<br>
<br>Short note: under NEXTSTEP 3.3 there is no need to call <TT>buildafmdir</TT> by hand. It's triggered automatically by the Font panel.
<br>
<br><H3><A NAME="8.8">8.8 What color printers (laser or otherwise) may be used with NEXTSTEP?</A></h3><i>printer, color</i>
<br>
<br>The (no longer sold) NeXT/Canon SCSI color printer, of course!
<br>
<br>With Dots Color, the HP DeskJet 500C can print in color <I>today</I>, under NEXTSTEP 2.1, and it costs significantly less than $1000 (in Germany at least).
<br><H3><A NAME="8.9">8.9 How can I make the Page Layout default to A4 in all applications?</A></h3><i>A4 default size</i>
<br>
<br>Add "NXPaperType A4" in the "GLOBAL" preferences.
<br>
<br><H3><A NAME="8.10">8.10 /usr/lib/NextPrinter/Server/pstf: syntax error at line 31: `end of file' unexpected?</A></h3>Using <TT>lpr -t</TT>, or <TT>lpr -d</TT> causes this problem. eg:
<br><H3><A NAME="8.11">8.11 How to get TeX with NEXTSTEP to make proper fonts for a 600 dpi laserwriter?</A></h3><i>600dpi TeX fonts</i>
<br><i>TeX, 600dpi</i>
<br>
<br>If you upgrade to a 600 dpi laserwriter then the version of TeX that ships with NEXTSTEP (either 2.X or 3.0) does not know about 600 dpi fonts, i.e. does not know how to make them and will instead use scaled 400 dpi ones (which look significantly worse at 600 dpi than they do at 400 dpi). Some simple modifications to a few Metafont files and rebuilding the metafont bases are all that is needed. What to do to get the 600 dpi stuff working is as follows:
<br><ul><LI> Edit /usr/lib/mf/inputs/next.mf and add a laserjetIV mode. Simply copy the entire imagen mode, change the name to laserjetIV, and change the <TT>pixels_per_inch</TT> to 600. Save the changed file.
<br>
<br><LI> Build a new mf.base file by executing the following commands:
<br><LI> Edit /usr/lib/tex/ps/config.ps and change the `D 400' line to `D 600' (you may have `D 300' or something else if you've set up a different printer.)
<br>
<br><LI> Edit /usr/bin/MakeTeXPK (as superuser), adding the lines
<br></ul>That should do it! You might have to (depending on how you configure NEXTSTEP for the LaserJet IV) select `custom resolution' and set the gadget to 600 in the TeXview print panel, and save Preferences. These instructions are written for an HP Laserjet IV, but they should also work for a QMS printer just fine.
<br>
<br>Finally, if you have one of these printers and work in a "mixed" environment with perhaps 400 dpi and/or 300 dpi printers that you also print to on a regular basis then you might want to consider getting Type 1 PS version of the Computer Modern fonts instead. They obviate the need for the instructions above, and the savings in disc space will be considerable since having printer fonts for several printers takes lots of room, and the file sizes for 600 dpi are quite large (the files grow roughly as D logD, where D is the resolution). These fonts are made by Blue Sky Research, and work beautifully. Y&Y software is a reseller for BSR and sells a "NEXTSTEP specific" version of them which comes with appropriate instructions and installation scripts.
<br>
<br><H3><A NAME="8.12">8.12 How to get printer description files (PPD)?</A></h3><i>PPD, where?</i>
<br><i>printer description files, PPD</i>
<br>
<br>Adobe has a mail server and ftp site where you can get .PPD files. They are:
<br>
<br><tt><div style="background-color:#dddddd; margin:0px; padding:10px; width:650px; overflow:auto; font-size:100%;"> ps-file-server@adobe.com (put "send help" in the mail body)
<br>ftp.mv.us.adobe.com
<br></div></tt>
<br><H3><A NAME="8.13">8.13 What are the Canon part numbers for ink cartridges equivalent to those NeXT's Color Printer uses?</A></h3><i>ink cartridge, Canon</i>
<br><i>Canon, ink cartridge</i>
<br>
<br>Part Numbers are:
<br>
<br><tt><div style="background-color:#dddddd; margin:0px; padding:10px; width:650px; overflow:auto; font-size:100%;"> Red: BJI-643 M
<br>Yellow: BJI-643 Y
<br>Blue: BJI-643 C
<br>Black: BJI-643 Bk
<br></div></tt>
<br><H3><A NAME="8.14">8.14 JetPilot does not work with my JetDirect box, why?</A></h3><i>JetPilot, JetDirect</i>
<br><i>JetDirect, JetPilot</i>
<br><i>eXTRAPRINT</i>
<br>
<br>It seems, that there is a bug in the /etc/rc-script. The bootpd is given with to arguments -a -f, which are not available for the bootpd under 3.3.
<br>There is an additional FAQ available at: <tt> <a href=ftp://ftp.gscorp.com/pub/support/HP_JetDirect_Configuration.tar.gz target=_blank><u>ftp://ftp.gscorp.com/pub/support/HP_JetDirect_Configuration.tar.gz</u></a></TT>
<br>
<br><H3><A NAME="8.15">8.15 powering down NeXTprinter during bootup, printer still works</A></h3><i>power down, printer</i>
<br><i>printer, printer down</i>
<br>
<br>Type the following to your rc.local.
<br>
<br><tt><div style="background-color:#dddddd; margin:0px; padding:10px; width:650px; overflow:auto; font-size:100%;"> \#turn off NeXT laser printer.
<br>fbshow -B -I "Powering off NeXTprinter" -z 95
<br>if [ -f /usr/etc/nppower ]; then
<br> sleep 3
<br> /usr/etc/nppower off
<br> (echo 'powering off NeXTprinter') >/dev/console
<br>fi
<br></div></tt>
<br>This works fine... the printer powers down immediately, and is available for any app which wants it.
<br>
<br><H3><A NAME="8.16">8.16 How to set up the HP LaserJet 4M?</A></h3><i>HP Laserjet 4M</i>
<br>
<br>I solved the problem by building a serial cable based upon the pinouts supplied by HP in their manual. Please note that the LJIII cable <I>does not work</I>. In particular, pin 1 from the DIN plug must be connected to pin 6 of the DB25. I used 38500 bps on both sides, and the 600 dpi ppd.
<br>
<br>Emulex offers the NETJet network interface which speaks lpd protocol, unlike the HP unit.
<br><tt><div style="background-color:#dddddd; margin:0px; padding:10px; width:650px; overflow:auto; font-size:100%;"> Eight-pin mini DIN-8 RS-422 Port
<br>Pin Signal Description
<br>
<br>1,3 SG Signal Ground
<br>4 TxD+ Transmit Data +
<br>5 TxD- Transmit Data -
<br>8 RxD+ Receive Data +
<br>9 RxD- Receive Data -
<br>
<br>IBM-compatible DB-25 LaserWriter DB-25
<br>Signal Pin Pin Signal
<br>
<br>Shield 1 ............ 1 Shield
<br>TxD 2 ............ 3 RxD
<br>RxD 3 ............ 2 TxD
<br>RTS 4 ............ 4 RTS
<br>CTS 5 ............ 5 CTS
<br>DSR 6 ............ 8 DCD
<br>GND 7 ............ 7 GND
<br> ............ 20 DTR
<br></div></tt>
<br>The other aspect is to set the DIP switch on the printer. Here are the DIP switch settings:
<br>
<br><tt><div style="background-color:#dddddd; margin:0px; padding:10px; width:650px; overflow:auto; font-size:100%;"> Switch1 Switch2 Meaning
<br>
<br>UP UP LocalTalk---RS-232 disabled
<br>DOWN UP Serial ports at 1200 Baud
<br>UP DOWN Serial ports at 9600 Baud
<br>DOWN DOWN RS-232 at 9600 Baud; RS-422 at 0 Baud
<br></div></tt>
<br>Switches 3 and 4 can probably be ignored---they're for strange stuff like Diablo 630 and HP LaserJet emulation modes.
<br>
<br><tt><div style="background-color:#dddddd; margin:0px; padding:10px; width:650px; overflow:auto; font-size:100%;"> Switch5 Switch6 Meaning
<br>
<br>DOWN DOWN XON/XOFF
<br>UP UP XON/XOFF
<br>DOWN UP ETX/ACK
<br>UP DOWN DSR
<br></div></tt>
<br><H3><A NAME="8.18">8.18 Problems with gray levels in printout</A></h3><i>gray levels</i>
<br><i>color space</i>
<br><i>PS Level2</i>
<br>
<br>If you have problems with your shades of gray (e.g. light gray is indistinguishable from white) this might be well a problem in the Level2 Color Space calibration of your printer.
<br>
<br>To ensure, it's a problem of your printer (and not a problem of the printer driver or PPD file) try the following:
<br><ul><LI>Save a printout to a file
<br>
<br><LI>Edit the following line in your printout file:
<br><LI>Send the modified file directly to the printer using the commandline command <TT>lpr</TT>.
<br></ul>If you still have problem with the shades of gray, the printer driver/PPD file is probably broken, otherwise your printer is broken, which means he has problems with the Level2 color space calibration (The given correction turns PS Level2 off).
<br>
<br><H3><A NAME="8.19">8.19 Can't print using additional fonts</A></h3><i>printer, fonts</i>
<br>
<br>In rare circumstances some printers refuse to print, if they don't recognize a font. In these cases add the <TT>_nxfinal</TT> form property to the printer's property list with NetInfo.