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1994-01-22
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#10 Envelopes
on the
Hewlett Packard LaserJet 4 MP
by Richard Brown
Having recently acquired this fine printer, I immediately noticed
difficulty in adjusting GEMvelope to make a decent envelope on the HP
4. So, why not figure it out in Works?
HOW TO DO IMAGESETTER PERFECT #10 ENVELOPES ON THE HP 4 MP:
A. Buy an HP 4 MP. It costs the same as the HP 4 M at CompUSA, ($1,399)
but the 4M requires $$$$ to add 4 more megs-o-RAM to "enable"
PostScript printing. Odd. Although you don't need PostScript currently
for Atari Works, it opens up unlimited possibilities even if you don't
have a DTP or other program supporting PostScrtipt.
The reason many manufacturers tend to offer physically identical but
functionally different models of a single product often is the fault of
government contracts. In my area, a government bid was seen a couple of
years ago for Hayes 1200 baud modems. Hayes. Not Supra or any other
brand. Not surprisingly, Hayes, originators of THE "Command Set" shared
by most modems, still makes 1200 baud units priced around $500 (!).
It all boils down to specifications. When government or institutional
buying criteria bases itself upon minimum specifications, this creates
tunnel vision, and often leads to strange things like HP 4M's and MP's
at the same price.
4 MP comes with 6 megs of RAM, and an Appletalk port is added to go
with the Serial and Parallel ones. So for the same money, I can have a
4M, 2 megs of RAM, no Appletalk, and no PostScript, or a 4 MP with
everything including PostScript.
Don't allow the salesman to tell you the 4 MP is a Macintosh product.
That's what I heard at CompUSA, which separates the $1,399 4M from the
$1,399 4 MP by placing the 4 MP in with the Macs, a good hundred feet
from the 4M. I picture a lot of DOS drones going and getting themselves
a snow job on the 4M, which can have PostScript added by buying more
RAM. We Atarians have a built-in need for "Power Without the Price."
So, to sum it all up: buy a Hewlett Packard LaserJet 4 MP. Don't be
fooled by the 4M.
While the 4 MP is also a PostScript device, in Atari Works, we're
concerned with PCL language. The HP 4 MP autoselects the correct
protocol based on the headers it receives, so you can print whatever at
whim.
B. Boot up with Speedo and the Speedo Printer Drivers accessory. Change
the Speedo printer driver to HP LaserJet.
C. Load the file HP4LETTR.STW. Edit the address areas without changing
their locations.
D. Consult page 5-11 of the HP4 manual. It shows how to load envelopes.
E. Make sure the "straight-through" mode is enabled by the mechanical
switch at the back. This feature is extremely well implemented in
the HP 4 MP.
F. Make a cursory check that the page format hasn't changed. It should
be:
Page Size: A4 Letter Left Margin: 0
Right Margin: 1.5
Top Margin: 0
Landscape Mode Bottom Margin: 1
E. Print Away: the quality is phenomenal.
F. Bit of a Warning: Do not attempt printing on envelopes with
clasps, snaps, plastic or cellophane windows, etc. Use only "laser
safe" envelopes made of paper. In humid clients and sometimes even
dry ones, envelopes may be sealed by the printing, generally, they
can be reopened without incident and used normally.
ABOUT THOSE UNLIMITED POSSIBILITIES:
PostScript is a page description language. Simple ASCII text is sent to
the printer to describe what to do on the page. You can create a text
file with commands to create effects on the PostScript printer. The
effects can be very impressive.
For example (taken from page 110 of PostScript by Example):
/inch { 72 mul } def
/Palatino-BoldItalic findfont
2.5 inch scalefont setfont
/gray 0.9 def
1.0 setgray
1.125 inch 0.875 inch moveto
52 rotate
{ pop pop
gray setgray
/gray gray 0.1 sub def
} (fading in!) kshow
showpage
This short program makes the phrase "fading in!" appear running uphill
on the page, with each character fading in a little mor than the last
starting from white.
Much can be done with PostScript, and the Atari is an ideal platform on
which to play with PostScript on the HP4.
RECOMMENDED READING:
PostScript by Example. Henry McGilton and Mary Campion
1992. Addison Wesley Publishing Corporation $29.95.
PostScript Language Tutorial and Cookbook
(the blue book, as in this is a three part, color coded set)
PostScript Language Program Design
(the green book)
PostScript Language Reference Manual
(the red book)
all from Adobe Systems Incorporated and published by
Addison Wesley Publishing Corporation.
Understanding PostScript Programming, Second Ed.
David A. Holzgang. 1988. Sybex, Inc. (publisher)
A PostScript Cookbook. Barry Thomas. 1988
Van Nostrand Reinhold, New York.
Real World PostScript. Stephen F. Roth, editor. 1988
Addison Wesley Publishing Corporation
PostScript Language Reference Manual, Second Ed.
from Adobe Systems Incorporated and published by
Addison Wesley Publishing Corporation. 1990.
Learning PostScript: A Visual Approach. Ross Smith
Peachpit Press, Berkely, California. 1990.