#PostScript >> IBM
8 messages in this thread
I bought PageStream a week ago, and find it very useful.
I would like to know how to have my Compaq '386 with HP laser printer at
work print out the pages made with PageStream on the Amiga.
I made a page and printed it to disk using the postscript printer driver.
Then I transferred the file from the Amiga disk to the 5 1/4 " floppy drive
using PCCopy. Then I tried to "copy file LPT1:" on the PC. What printed out
on the laser printer was the postscript code. Other than that, I don't know
what to try next.
The only major programs I have on the Compaq are, Lotus 1-2-3 with Always,
Harvard Graphics, and Word.
Can anybody tell me the way to do it?
Thanks….
From what I was just reading somewhere, you need to say "copy file LPT1:
/b" to tell DOS to send it as binary rather than as text. This may not
work–look to see what other switches copy might have. Hope it is not a
read herring.
Jim, I've sent files which really were binary with just a standard copy,
so I don't think that's it.
— Ethan s
LB> The problem you're having (I think) is that you are trying to print a
postscript file (which is an ascii text file) on a NON POSTSCRIPT printer.
Your printer needs to have postscript available to it either via printer
ROM or a postscript interpreter program running on your compaq.
According to your message, all you did was tell the compaq to send the
ascii text file of postscript code to your HP: and the HP printed that ou
just as it was told.
I hope that helps.
Is that HP laser printer postscript compatible? Most of the time you
need to do something to put it into postscript mode, and for that you need
the manual of whatever cartridge is doing the emulation. If its just a
LaserJet, select HP LaserJet and do like you did. The problem has nothing
to do with your method of going Amiga->IBM, just with handling the printer.
— Ethan
Luciano:
As others have told you, if you have a postscript file, you need a
postscript printer. However, there MAY be an alternative. I don't have
PageStream, but I belive that, like Professional Page, it has a way to
print "almost" postscript quality to a non-postscript printer. So, try
this:
In your Workbench, you have a utility called CMD. What it does is permit
you to capture the raw data sent to the parallel or serial ports into a
file. Assuming you have AmigaDOS 1.3, of course. If you do, look in your
AmigaDOS 1.3 manual, pages 1-12 and 1-13 for information on this.
So, first make sure that your Preferences are set to handle the model of PH
laser printer you have at work, and that they are outputting to the
parallel port. Next, use CMD, and set it up according to the manual so it
captures the output of the parallel port to a file (probably on a floppy).
Next, set up your document in PageStream, and then print the file, but NOT
to postscript, instead do whatever is required to print it to a "normal"
printer (like the HP laser printer). When this is over, turn CMD off.
Then, copy that file to an MSDOS compatible disk. BTW — try it two ways,
a) converted, and b) as binary.
One, or the other, of those two files just might work when "copied" to
lpt1:
BTW — this DOES work with the HP LaserJet II at work using Professional
Page on the Amiga. I don't do it much any more, since we have have a real
postscript printer at work. But before we had that, I was able to use CMD
to make it happen with the HP command set.
?|^] Ray Lewis
Ray, thanks for your reply on how to get a PageStream document to the HP
laser II through the PC. You're almost dead on, on how I accomplished the
transfer.
I changed the PageStream printer driver to HPLaser.driver (driver
included in PageStream package). Then I set the printer requester in
PageStream so that the printer info will be sent to disk, as you have the
option of setting the path to either SER:, PAR: or Disk. Then I used
PCCopy, PCFormat, and PCPatch(for using the 720K 3 1/2" disks on the Amiga)
to transfer to the MS-DOS format. Then at work I just used the command
"copy filename LPT1: /b", and it worked beautifully!! I thought originally
that the HP laser II had the postscript feature, but I was wrong.
Thanks to everyone who replied here on how to do it. I just had to piece
everyone's info together.
P.S. Some of my documents that were sent to disk range from 500K to 1Meg in
size! I couldn't fit the ones over 720K to the disk. So what I tried today
was to ZIP the file, then unzip on the MS-DOS side. I can't believe the
size reduction. A 920K file ZIP'ed to 26K in size!! I'll find out tommorrow
when I UNZIP on the MS-DOS side to see if this will work. I hope so!!
Luciano 73246,1744