CompuServe Thread

#Printer fonts in Win 3.1

6 messages in this thread
#270765From: Dick Minnick [Ford]May 10, 1995 10:45 PM
Cary, >> does that mean that I must have pcl versions of my tt fonts? << Nope. The TrueType "software" in Windows will automatically convert the TT fonts to PCL soft fonts and download them as needed to any PCL printer. With a PostScript printer, it will either (1) substitute the use of the equivalent PostScript font if it is resident in the printer [e.g. Helvetica for Arial], (2) convert them to a Type 1 (PostScript) font or (3) download the native TT font file to newer PS printers that have TT rasterizers built in. In Windows, there really is no need to "mess with" PCL fonts any more. Indeed, you can get from HP the TT equivalents of the PCL fonts resident in LaserJets to use as screen fonts. – Dick Minnick [Ford],74417,51 @ 10-May-1995, 23:38:33 EST [Troy, MI]
#270786From: Cary WhiteMay 10, 1995 11:50 PM
thanks for the info. do you think it's possible that printer sharing device could be causing my problems? we are using the kind that uses wire that looks like phone cord. it seems that certain stations have more frequent occurrences of printing garbage. we may be having some communication problem due to the sharing device. any thoughts?
#271073From: Dick Minnick [Ford]May 11, 1995 10:39 PM
Cary, >> thanks for the info. do you think it's possible that printer sharing device could be causing my problems? << Yes, very definitely. I've never heard of one that works entirely with Windows graphics. – Dick Minnick [Ford],74417,51 @ 11-May-1995, 22:47:23 EST [Troy, MI]
#271475From: Cary WhiteMay 12, 1995 11:05 PM
Dick, thanks very much for the info. you confirmed a suspicion I have had for some time now. Unfortunately, I am still left with my problem. I manage a small office and we have several PCs. Three of them share a laserjet 4si using this device. All of us have problems printing. We do not have a network, but we're working on getting a server soon, so we can. But we are all connected to a remote AS400 system via twinax cards and an Idea controller w/codex digital modem and 56k line. We use proprietary software to emulate their terminals, it's called Rhumba. Anyway, the main function of our printer is to print insurance declaration papers using the company's custom page designs stored in the HP's RAM. It performs this function perfectly, but it only uses those page designs in ram and standard ASCII text code in the courier font using the generic/text driver. But, whenever we try to print from a windows app (such as Corel Ventura) there is a good chance that it will come out garbage. We've wasted lots of toner like this. I use ventura to design our broker manuals, applications and forms and it's a real drag not being able to print beautiful postscript work on our wonderful (and very expensive) printer. One other thing I would mention is that I had to set my primary machine up to run off of LPT2 (for which I had to install a card) because it would not work from LPT1 with the sharing device (for reasons unknown.) The printer sits at my station and I only print from those apps every so often, so my only real solution for now is to use a separate regular parallel cable when I need to. Any insight you can offer would be greatly appreciated by my collegues and I. thanks, Cary White Allied General Agency, Inc Miami, FL
#271675From: Dick Minnick [Ford]May 13, 1995 10:14 PM
Cary, If you can tolerate manual switching, I could recommend the electronic matrix switch boxes from Black Box. I use five of the 4×8 boxes (ganged) to switch between 8 PCs and 32 printers in my lab. They pass all 25 pins through in both directions without effecting the signals; being electronic they don't pose the same risks that manual switch boxes have (damaging the printers). These are a little pricey, however. They have a 4×4 model (about $500 list, I think) that can switch between any four sources and and any four devices. The 4×8 model lists for about $800. – Dick Minnick [Ford],74417,51 @ 13-May-1995, 23:08:40 EST [Troy, MI]
#271820From: Cary WhiteMay 14, 1995 6:19 PM
thanks again, I'm going to look into that.