CompuServe Messages

Phew! Let's start at the beginning. 1) Soft Fonts: At this moment there are no Amiga specific soft fonts available. If you buy HP's (or anyone else's for that matter) soft font you will have to find an IBM machine and transfer them over (Oh maybe not, you could use the bridgeboard in a 2000 or even Dos 2 Dos -great program- and Commodore's 5.25" disk drive or even transformer) OR You could download two Freeware fonts in the Compuserve HP forum. They are nice 10 point proportional fonts in Times Roman and Helvetica faces. They are Deskjet fonts ONLY. JetSet is a utility that allows users to download fonts to primarily LaserJets but it will work with the Deskjet because DJ uses the same language inside as the Laserjet (PCL) but a slightly different version. Jet set will work with the above Freeware fonts on the DJ. 2) Laserjet fonts: Will not work with the DJ. The file structure is different and they are not compatible. 3) My favorite DTP software is CityDesk but I have to warn you. You cannot print too well with the DJ inside CityDesk using its HP Laserjet driver. You will have to print to preferences for heavy DTP work. Why? Well, the Laserjet is a page printer and CityDesk puts graphics and lines/boxes and words out to the printer in no specific order. It puts each item out separately, but not necessarily in order from left top to bottom right. If you plan on doing columns of text in a downloaded font with graphics on the page as well, FORGET CITYDESK'S HP DRIVER. The Deskjet doesn't have a reverse page feed option so when the program sends a graphic to the bottom of a page it will print (in 300 dpi) but when it then sends another graphic or text to the top left of the page, the DJ just spits out the ink on the page without advancing, either forward or backward, the paper. What results is a blob of ink on the paper. If CityDesk had a driver that would print to the printer an entire page that is raster graphics (including the Downloaded fonts) it would work just fine. But it doesn't. I haven't used Pro Page or Publishing Partner Pro yet so I don't know if they support the HP specifically or just via Preferences. 4) Cartridges: Cartridges will eliminate the need for JetSet but will not give you the necessary flexibility. HP is currently the only maker of font carts. for the DJ and their's are, well, limited. Typically they only have 1 typeface in just a few sizes. They cost around $75 – $125 and you can only have 2 of them in the DJ at once. Memory carts. will allow you to Download soft fonts into the printer in any size, any style, any face, and in any combination. This gives a less limited use of fonts – more, different, etc. They are not cheap however, I paid $95 for mine. You can put in two of these as well and get a total of 256K of fonts available for soft fonts. I have one cart. with 128K of memory and I think that's plenty for proposals and things. Ink carts. do run out without warning. They cost about $14-$17 and last about a month here in the office. I have had my Dj for 5 months and have gone through 4 carts. I always keep a few around just in case. Also, I note that some cartridges seem to last longer than others. I don't know why but it seems that way. 5) HP forum: I too have seen absolutely nothing in the forum about the Amiga. I think that a lot of the DJ stuff is usable for the Amiga though. Soft fonts are available, but the DOwnload programs will obviously not work. Also, the program drivers and stuff like that is not usable. BUT, what can we do inside that Forum? Well, I for one saw the review of Goscript, a Postscript file translator that will print out files on an HP printer. After reading about the program I called the company and requested they do a version for the Amiga. The guy was hesitant because they need capital to replentish what was spent on the IBM program and development takes $. So I suggested he contact Commodore regarding this and maybe they would license his program and make it a part of WB or something. He was VERY interested and I gave him CBM's address and phone number. I don't know if he called or what, but I think if we get on CBM this kind of thing could work. Anyway, that's a long winded answer to your message. I hope it helps. IMPORTANT: I don't know if I can do this, but I will anyway. I have contacted C Ltd. regarding their JetSet utility and the lack of DeskJet soft fonts in the Amiga market. Currently I am working with them on an addition to the JetSet program that will translate any Laserjet font into a DeskJet font. I have been in contact with Ed Lippert who wrote Jetset and he says he is done the initial code and will send it to me for testing. The addition will be a program called MakeDJ and will just translate the LJ fonts file structure into a DJ file structure. Other additions to the Jetset utility include a program to landscape any font, and reverse video any font, even outline a font. This will give Postscript functionality to the HP. I'm excited and I will keep you informed when the product is available!