Conference hydra::amiga_v1

    The LN03R is a postscript processor/printer - that means that it
    is expecting data coming to it, to be in postscript format. I dont
    know what th amiga setup for this is, but I've set up dozens of
    these here in the Auckland DEC site. What DEC does is install the
    printer - then run some special LN03R software to create queues
    Ques can be produced for ANSI,SIXEL,REGIS and POSTSCRIPT - style
    documents, HOWEVER, it is my understanding that ALL output to the
    LN03R are done in POSTSCRIPT, regardless of what queue they were
    sent to.
    
    I think the software converts ANSI,SIXEL or REGIS to POSTSCRIPT
    before ,sending it to the printer...

    This is my understanding of it - Guys (Randy?) - correct me if I am wrong
        
    Back to your question...I think as long as your word processor(s)
    are able to handle Postscript - thats fine - otherwise you may have
    a problem. I would suggestion speaking to someone who REALLY knows
    the LN03R to find out just what it is capable of, then check out
    all alternatives. I believe that there is at least one printer on
    the market (though I cant remember its name) that has switch-on/off
    Postscript compatibility, controlled by inserting/removeing a
    cartridge.
    
    Anyway - shop around .....
    
    Phil
    

The LNO3R will limit you to it's internal PostScript Fonts.  
There are only a few in there.  You can't download fonts as you 
can on other printers.  This limitation is only a problem when 
using desktop publishing packages that use different fonts. (Like 
Professional Page, etc.)  For word processing, this is not a 
problem as the word processor usually accesses the printer fonts 
for it's use.

Other than that, I don't know how you would go about hooking it 
up.  I use one, but it is on a queue on a Vax.  My A2000 is set 
up as a terminal on the VAX.  The printer works fine (although 
REAL SLOW [this might be a problem with the queue, not the 
printer) but I am limited to the internal fonts.  Professional 
Page offers many fonts, but I can only use the ones built into 
the printer.

Randy

    re: -.1
    
    Yes the ANSI, REGIS etc translations are done on the VAX and the
    resulting postscript pushed out to the printer.
    
    There is an add on package for ProWrite (WP) called ProScript which allows
    it to generate postscript output.
    
    As for the downline loading of fonts, well I don't know enough about
    the PS printers to comment on.
    
    Mike
    

    Another thing you have to consider is maintaince.I would hate to
    have to pay these cost on an Ln03r.You would be wise to inquire
    into cost of toner kits,etc.I have talked to people(rainbow owners)
    who have had repair charges that rival the cost of the system.Another
    thing to consider is that now that PPage has the Compugraphic font
    tecnoligy,and you can buy fonts you may not want to be limited to
    the ones the Ln03r offers.It will print most of the fonts in the
    standard PPage library.Also I believe Pagestream uses a priority
    font technoligy similar to PPage,so you may want to verify these
    for use with the Ln03r.If you could post any findings here,because
    I am considering a PostScript printer.
    							bill 

    A COUPLE OF COMMENTS ON THE LN03R.
    
    An LN03R is just the same as a new style LN03 mechanically - the only 
    difference is in the logic board so if you don't have the cash up front
    you might be able to buy a standard LN03 and replace the logic later on
    when you have the cash. The LN03+ is also the same except for the
    logic.
    
    Most (speaking from my experience of working on LN03's) ln03 faults are
    mechanical (98%).  From these faults most can also be fixed without any
    parts so if you know a Field service engineer who works on LN03's as a
    friend then don't worry about maintance costs.
    
    Toner is $$$$$ with laser printers.  You also need a maintance kit
    every 10,000 pages. In Australia you looking at approx. $300+ for the
    maintance kit and $125 for the toner kit. The DEC part no's are
    LN03X-AC for the toner and LN03X-AD for the maintance kit.
    
    Hooking you LN03R to you amiga is no problem.  Several word processors
    will output the printed document in postscript for you (eg. excellance).
    The main problem is that since is expects an postscript input you can't
    just send an ascii documnet to it and expect is to print it. 
    For examples to print the word 'hello' on a postscript printer you need
    too send it a file which looks something like this :
    
    /Times-Roman findfont                     |Which font?
    15 scalefont                              |What size?
    setfont                                   |Make it the currnet font
    72 200 moveto                             |Where do I want to start?
    (hello)show                               |This is the word
    showpage                                  |Print the page
    
    
    From memory the LN03R has appox. 29 built in fonts which can be
    rotated,bolded,underlined just for example.  If this is'nt enough then
    fonts can be downloaded into a postscript printer.
    
    As a final note Iff pictures can be easily printed on a postscript
    printer using a program called iffps20 which is on the network for
    downloading.  The result ?  Great!
    
    Shaun .
    
    P.S.
    
    If you like me and you can't afford one of these wonderful devices
    then why not do what I do ? Redirect you Postscript output on your
    Amiga to a file and upload ascii postscipt file onto your host computer
    at work (providing it has a LN03R hooked onto it!). Then just print
    this file onto the laser. 
                               

    Thanks for all the info. I understand some of it! Presumably I could
    create a letter using Professional Page and print it off on a
    Postscript printer? A bit overkill perhaps, but presumably it would
    work OK...?
    
    -Rog
    

That's what I do.  It looks quite professional...especially when 
you can create your own letterhead, logo's etc.

With a pre-designed letterhead layout, you just type in the text 
the way you would with a word processor.

I use Professional Page and Transcript together.  Transcript is 
used for text entry and heavy editing.  PP is used for layout and 
light editing.

I am only using the fonts available on the LN03R for the time 
being, but would really like to have access to some more.  The 
Corporate typeface is Garamond, and of course, it isn't available 
on the LN03R.  At least Helvetica is available.

PPage also allows me to integrate IFF images, HAM images, Aegis 
Draw+ drawings, and Professional Draw drawings.

It may be expensive, but it sure works great for me.

Randy

    
    On one of our local BBS's. I saw a PD program that replaces your
    Printer.device and automatically translates all the output to
    PostScript. It supported IFF bitmaps and most of the printer functions
    (ie. bold,itlalics, etc) by using different postscript fonts. I never
    tryed it (I'm still using a borrowed LA50 :^( ), but it works quite
    well form what I've heard and enhancements are in the works. 
    
    If anyone is interested I'll upload  the next time I connect to that
    BBS.
    
    	regards...  Clint

    Hhmmm. It gets more complicated. It's starting to sound like the
    horrendous expense just might be justified though... do you mean
    to say that you can't, under any circumstances, use any fonts other
    than the 29 (I'm told) resident ones in a Postscript printer? Mind
    you, I'm sure 29 would be adequate for me...
    
    Somebody said on here that the LN03R was very slow, but it might
    be the queue rather than the printer - anybody confirm or deny this?
    
    I'd be interested in the printer driver just mentioned. Trouble
    is, I don't think there's any way I can connect my Amiga to the
    network to pick it up. I don't know how you guys do it, but it's
    not even been thought of (as far as I know) in the UK. Any hope
    for me here?
    
    PS Randy, I was puzzled at what you said about using PP and something
    else... can you prepare files with a conventional WP, import them
    into PP, then print it out on Postscript? I'm still struggling with
    the fundamentals of how all this works, as I haven't bought PP or
    even a WP package yet (still using my Amstrad CPC6128 for all my
    serious (!) work)
    
    Cheers
    Rog
    

    re .7
    Randy, Ppage 1.3 has the ability to download fonts.While I did not
    get my update yet I went to a dealers an made a document using the
    Compugraphic font replacement for Times.Then I printed it to disk as 
    postscript,and used the download fonts option.It printed here at
    work just fine.I think PPage prepends the font info to the file.
    There is supposed to be an offer with the update that will give
    you more compugraphic fonts.but mine is supposed to be in the mail
    so I can't say.
    								bill

    re: -.1
        
�    I'd be interested in the printer driver just mentioned. Trouble
�    is, I don't think there's any way I can connect my Amiga to the
�    network to pick it up. I don't know how you guys do it, but it's
�    not even been thought of (as far as I know) in the UK. Any hope
�    for me here?
           
    Roger,
    	The easiest way to download, here in the UK is via "sneakernet"
    All you need at the office is access to a VAXmate, or a PVax. In
    essence the procedure is.
    1) download VAX -> VAXmate.
    2) "sneak" the disks home. (hence the name)
    3) upload either (begged/borrowed/stolen) PC -> Amiga or
       from a 5 1/4 " drive -> Amiga (if you're lucky enough to have
       a 5 1/4) using Crossdos or PCcopy.
    
    				Alan T. (in Ayr, where they also don't
    					 seem to like you connecting
    					 Ami directly.)

    re: -2 You can import text files into PPage from just about any
    source.There is a menu that allows you to select any specific 
    editor that PPage supports,or a generic text file.At that point
    you can output the PPage file to disk as a PostScript file.You
    can then move the file via modem,sneakernet,etc to the Vax where
    you print it on the Ln03r.Optionally you can use Mac2Dos,and an
    apple drive to move your files.If you know anybody with a Mac on
    the net this is the approach I'd take.You would benefit by adding
    the software,and another floppy,and still be far.far below the cost
    of a laser printer.Since PPage now supports ComuGraphic font technoligy
    you can proof your documents directly off the amiga to dotmatrix
    with very good results.Also Mac2dos,and a mac floppy allows you
    to use printer services to print your PS files.This is my intent
    right now.
    								bill

How to hook your Amiga to the network:

Breifly...Do you have a terminal on your desk at work?  If you 
do, just disconnect the comm line from the terminal's comm port.  
Plug it into the serial port of your A500 or A2000 (I don't know 
about the A1000, there might be a plug compatibility problem.)

Run a VT terminal emulator on the Amiga (I use Smokey, a VT200 
emulator, there are others, many are free).  Use the emulator to 
transfer your PostScript files from the Amiga to the VAX that 
your terminal used to talk to.  If there is a PostScript printer 
on your VAX, or accessible through the network, send the file to 
the printer.

Do you have a terminal at home?  If you do, disconnect the 
terminal from your modem.  Plug the modem into the serial port of 
your system.  Use a terminal emulator and call in to your VAX as 
you normally would.  Use the emulator to up or download files.
(there are several other notes about how to do this)

Who cares what kind of system you have hooked up to the network?  
As long as you are emulating a DEC terminal, what's the 
difference?  Digital PROMOTES this type of network use to it's 
customers...we should be doing the same thing ourselves.

Randy

I forgot to add that PostScript files are MASSIVE.  They will 
take a long time to transfer at 9600 baud.  They can take an 
eternity at 1200 or 2400 baud.

If there is any way that you can connect your printer to the 
Amiga or use sneaker net, your productivity will be vastly 
improved...and your phone bills will be substantially lower.

This is one reason why I got a system at work.  Uploading files 
from home became too much of a burden.  ( I just created a file 
yesterday that was only one page but had serveral IFF files...it 
was over 1 meg large!  That would take all night to upload at 
1200 baud.  It is even too big to fit on a floppy.


Transcript is a word processor from Gold Disk and is designed to 
be used with PPage.  It has a lot of editing features but 
virtually no formatting features (one global margin setting, 
clunky tab settings, etc.)  It's forte is rapid text editing and 
spell checking.  PPage does the rest.  Version 1.3 of PPage is 
supposed to have a menu option that lets you jump back an forth 
between the two products easily.

I hope this is clarifying things.  Why don't you just hop on a 
plane and drop into my cube for a demo?  Keep in mind that the 
products that I am using are quite expensive...especially if you 
only need a word processor and simple text output of letters and 
documents.  If you are looking for true 'desktop publishing' on 
an Amiga, I recommend the leap to PPage and Transcript.

Randy

    Yes, it's clarifying things all right - but there's an awful lot
    to BE clarified in my case! If PS files are so big, how do they
    fit in the Amiga's memory... I do want to be able to produce DTP
    documents, but quite often I'll just be using the Amiga/printer
    to write my letters on, which is why I wondered if that was possible.
    
    I'm definitely interested in connecting my Amiga to our network
    (locally, in the office), but this would be to download all these
    files you guys keep talking about, rather than to use the LN03R
    here. I'll probably try that first though, before robbing a bank
    to buy one. After I rob a bank to buy PP that is.
    
    Why don't you come over here instead, the beer's better, and bring
    your gear with you? There's a small airstrip at Badminton you could
    use, but don't come in anything bigger than a two-seater or you
    could encounter ongoing arboreal termination difficulties.
    
    OK, so if I get a VT emulator, I can plug my Amiga straight in here,
    and simply download files onto its internal disk drive, which I
    can then take home and use?
    
    Thanks
    Rog
     

If anyone wants to see some Professional Page V1.3 output, they can
copy this file down:
    
DICKNS::USER:[MACDONALD.PUBLIC]PPAGE.ARC

It is a PostScript file created with V1.3. You find the output much
better, particular the graphics, than with V1.2. The graphics take a
little longer to print because of the high res output of V1.3.

>    Yes, it's clarifying things all right - but there's an awful lot
>    to BE clarified in my case! If PS files are so big, how do they
>    fit in the Amiga's memory... I do want to be able to produce DTP
>    documents, but quite often I'll just be using the Amiga/printer
>    to write my letters on, which is why I wondered if that was possible.

When you create a document in PPage, it is not in PostScript 
until you tell PPage to print it.  PPage then starts creating the 
PostScript file.  As it is created, it is sent directly out the 
serial port (or the parallel port or directly to disk).  So the 
PostScript file never exists in full in memory.  It is sent to 
the printer (or disk) as it is created.  It's the printer (or 
disk) that has to carry the burden of the massive file it is 
being sent.  If you SAVE a PPage file, it is not stored in 
PostScript, instead it is kept in a description file that is far 
more compressed.  So theoretically you could create a document 
so complex that it would create a postscript file so huge that 
your disk could never hold it.  But because it is being sent to 
the printer as it is being created, you are only limited by the 
speed of the printer or the size of it's buffer.
    
>    Why don't you come over here instead, the beer's better, and bring
>    your gear with you? There's a small airstrip at Badminton you could
>    use, but don't come in anything bigger than a two-seater or you
>    could encounter ongoing arboreal termination difficulties.
    
I've been to Reading but don't have any trips planned for quite a 
while.

>    OK, so if I get a VT emulator, I can plug my Amiga straight in here,
>    and simply download files onto its internal disk drive, which I
>    can then take home and use?

That's right.  If you can buy one or have someone give you one, 
then you can start downloading the things you want from the 
network.  Its very hard to download a terminal emulator when you 
don't have one to start with.

BTW:  I thought that SneakerNet came from the reference to shoes, 
not 'sneaking around.'

Randy


     

    Re. .10
    
    >Somebody said on here that the LN03R was very slow, but it might
    >be the queue rather than the printer - anybody confirm or deny this?
    
    Well, postscript printers actually have a (single purpose) computer
    build into them.  Postscript files are nothing more than a program
    to be interpreted by this computer to draw pictures on a bit-map.
    So imagine a 1 meg BASIC program being executed and you can
    understand why they take a long time.  They are not slow, mind you.
    Do you know that before the Macintosh II came out, the Laserwriter
    was Apple's most powerful computer?  I believe it has a 68000 in it
    and, that's right, it is faster than the Macintosh.
    
    Chong.

    
    I just uploaded PS.ARC to TAPE and NORSE. 
    

Just to make sure you all don't think I've gotten lazy on copying this
stuff over to WJG::, well, I have gotten a bit lazy - in downloading
the plethora of PD stuff that shows up!

If you don't find it in the usual place (WJG::AMIGA) try one of:

	WJG::AMNEW:	(new stuff I haven't dl'd/looked at yet)
	WJG::AMIGA:
	WJG::AMFISH:    (not the full collection!)
	WJG::AMUSE:	(usenet raw stuff - shar and uue)
	WJG::AMUSEN:	(new usenet stuff I haven't dl'd/looke at yet)


John

Re: .11

>    	The easiest way to download, here in the UK is via "sneakernet"
>	...
>    2) "sneak" the disks home. (hence the name)

Sneakernet is not about being sneaky: The name originated when it
was recognized (due to early slow and unreliable networks) that
the best way to trade data was to have a kid "in sneakers"
deliver a magtape.

Sneakers, for you UK types, is American slang for inexpensive shoes
made out of canvas with rubber soles.  Usually, these shoes are
associated with athletics of some type: tennis, basketball, aerobics,
running.  They are favored by the young, or by the casual dresser.

Actually, sneakers aren't inexpensive anymore since they became a
"designer" item.

I had a friend that once took read a data communications book that
asked the problem "What is the best way to ship lots of data once
between two sites located with a few miles of each other?"  The
answer given in the book contain the observation "There's a lot
of bandwidth in a station wagon full of mag tapes."

    *Twin Disks*
    
    Yes we've heard of sneakers, they have even been called that here
    at some stage in the distant past I reckon.
    
    *A hard drive for only 90p*
    
    Nowadays mostly known as "trainers" here I reckon, and with ever
    more colourful and complex (and useless) semi-orthopaedic devices
    built into them, guaranteed to increase the wearer's virility at
    a stroke.
    
    *EGA Graphics Compatibility Shock*
    
    In my day, on the streets of Belfast, they were known as "Gutties",
    this being derivative from "gutta-percha", the type of rubber from
    which the soles were made, although I'm sure that none of the urchins
    in Belfast knew that...
    
    -I thought I'd better put in some Amiga bits, or this "Bomb" character
    might censor me.
    
    -Rog
    

    And now the predictable response (you all knew what was coming didn't
    you...) - is there anybody out there (UK only) who would be prepared
    to let me have a copy of their VT220 emulator? I will of course
    buy ENORMOUS QUANTITIES OF BEER for the kind donor.
    
    -Rog
    

    Of course, (and it won't even cost you a beer - I don't drink).
    
    Give me a call on 823-4187 and we'll arrange something.
    
    				Alan Thomson