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Postprint.readme
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POSTSCRIPT PRINTER DEVICE
The postscript printer device included in this archive is Copyrighted
by Integrated Systems Inc., 1987. All rights are reserved. It is put
in the public domain for use by anyone for non-commercial use only.
When I receive my Apple Laser Writer, it worked great with the
PageSetter but to print a simple text file I had to keep switching into
emulation mode. There are public domain IFF to POSTSCRIPT converters
but they do not provide much control of the output. This driver is
intended to replace the "sys:devs/printer.device" device driver. To
install it, copy "postprint" to "sys:devs/printer.device". This device
driver will only work with POSTSCRIPT printers. Make sure that you
save the real "printer.device". Once installed, the POSTSCRIPT printer
can be used from programs like CLImate, Word Perfect, Deluxe Paint.
Both the WRITE and RAWWRITE commands behave the same. The driver
assumes that the POSTSCRIPT printer is a serial printer. The
preferences should be used to select the baud rate. Packages like
PAGESETTER that support POSTSCRIPT can still use the printer through
the serial port.
Text Support
The current AMIGA printer commands and ESCAPE sequences supported
include line spacing, pitch, normal, bold, underlining, italics, the
left margin, page length (in lines), and NLQ mode. NLQ mode switches
between the Courier and Times Roman fonts (so does DRAFT/LETTER mode).
Raster Dumps
Currently 16 shades of gray form most pictures. The only exceptions are
HAMs which use 256 shades, and "Black and White" mode which uses 2 shades.
White is represented as the lightest color of gray except in the "Black
and White" mode. The margins and page size in lines define the maximum
print area. I think all of the different special modes are supported
but I don't think they all have been tested. SPECIAL_ASPECT is supported
but I was surprised that it does not seem to be used very much. I have
tried printing from PAGESETTER (treating the LASERWRITER as a normal
printer), GRABBIT (you have to use SIDEWAYS print), and DELUXE PAINT.
General
Raster dumps are treated like text when it comes to page boundaries.
In other words, if a raster dump will not fit on the current page
it is moved to the next page. When the printer device is closed the
last page is ejected if there is text on it. The CMD_FLUSH used by
DELUXE PAINT to abort raster dumps does not loose memory like the real
printer device. The EXPUNGE call does not do any thing right now.
Future:
I plan on adding the following features in the near future:
- Using my own shading table
- Download raster fonts
- Have a program with a control requester that allows
different parameters to be changed (like font, rotation
etc.). Maybe some kind of a status gauge also.
- Make the device look more like the normal printer device.
The device structure does not look like the normal printer
device right now. I have not found this to be a problem
but it seems like it might be.
- Support more of the AMIGA TEXT commands like vertical motion,
tab definitions, etc.
I hope this is useful!!! If anyone has any other ideas or questions,
I can be reached at:
Chris Nicotra
Integrated Systems Inc.
1456 Greenmont CT.
Reston, VA 22090
(703) 471-7453
bix: nicotra
Compuserve: 72466,765