Conference hydra::amiga_v1

    I belive there is a commercial program available for the Amiga which
    reads PostScript and outputs a raster image, as an IFF file.  As I
    recall the first version didn't support color, but it was promised
    in the second version.
    
    Sorry, I don't recall its name.
        John Sauter

    Unfortunately, that's what I'm trying to get away from.  Iff files that
    have perfectly nice looking Hi-res fonts look like crap when simply
    screen dumped or graphic dumped.  
    
    Mike

    If dumping an IFF file doesn't look good, what makes you think a
    PostScript interpreter can do better?
        John Sauter

    Because bit for bit, an 8 1/2 x 11 piece of paper at 180 dpi makes a 
    
    1530 x 1980 size IFF.  
    
    At high res (640 x 400), this means I would have to make
    at least 10 IFF files checkerboarded, and then find (write) a program
    that would take these 10 and print them as such.
    
    A postscript converter should (if I'm not mistaken) realize through
    preferences that the size of the "screen" (the paper) is 1530x1980 and
    therefore create it's graphic file accordingly.
    
    Unless your program can make variable size IFF files.  But the file
    size on that would be around 378k.
    
    If so, I think ShowPaint (FF #??) would print it out fairly nicely.
    
    Mike
    
    P.S.  Does it?

    
    Converting an IFF to PS doesn't 'create' any extra resolution; you
    just end up with each pixel in the IFF being scaled up by the ratio of
    the printer's resolution to the screen resolution.
    
    I think you may want to consider a structured drawing or CAD program,
    like Professional Draw.  Images created will print at the full
    resolution of the printer.
    
    Ed.

    	No, I meant the other way around.  Converting PS to a 1530 x 1980
    IFF for printing was what I was talking about.  Ed, I ran into the same
    problem (pixels become scaled bigger) when I try to make ShowPrint
    print a 640 x 400 IFF to the entire page size.  What I want is to be
    able to create large IFF's so that the pixel size ratio between file
    and paper is 1:1.  Which implies, a 1530 x 1980 size file.  
    	The reason I don't want to buy Professional draw, or whatever,
    besides cost and learning the software, is that there are a lot of PS
    documents on the Net, and everywhere, that I would like to see at home. 
    I don't have a laser printer at work (have to borrow someone else's
    queue).  Also, it's a standard.
    
    Mike

    What about Pixelscript?
    
    ...Rich

    re: .7
    
    PixelScript is the name I couldn't remember in 4034.1.
        John Sauter

    
    
    Check out GhostScript..
    
    
    		- Pete -
    

     If you get a wordprocessor that can support structured font's then you
    can print your text without jaggies. Many can get around this by using
    the fonts supplied with the printer used. I have pulled bitmaped
    graphics into Pro Page,saved the file as a postscript file,and then 
    printed it on a postscript laser with varying results. The only time
    I ever got great results was when I used Structured Graphics. I cannot
    see any way to work around the Pixelscript,GhostScript solutions. I
    have also printed these structured graphics,and fonts to a paintjet
    with excellent results. This just goes to show that their is more
    involved than the resolution of the printer. A circle dumped to the
    Lj252 from prodraw will look much better than a bitmapped circle dumped
    to a 300 X 300 resolution printer.
    							bill  

    I disagree.  A floating point calculated circle of specific thickness
    is going to look better at 300 dpi than it is at 180 dpi.  That's a
    physical limitation of the printer, and the way we see things.  If a
    converter screws up the translation of a circle, or thinks the printer
    resolution is less than 300, then it will look worse on the 300 dpi
    printer because of software limitations.
    	I guess I'm gonna hafta wait.  Two reasons:  my 500 would be way
    too slow to handle a PS translator, and there isn't one out there!
    
    	So, I guess I'll write one myself, after I learn PostScript.  Any
    suggestions, if one were to "order" software?  Would you want it to
    produce an IFF (can there be IFF's that big?) or simply read
    preferences and be printer-specific, or what?  Comments?  Too big a
    project?
    
    Mike

    It's a pretty big project; PostScript is not a simple language to
    implement.  Whether or not it's "too big" depends on you, of course.
    
    I suggest you provide both IFF output and printer output.  IFF output
    should be either 1 bit (for monochrome), 4 bit (16 colors, hi-res, for
    screen display) or 24 bit (for high-quality color separations).
        John Sauter

    re. .10 & .11
    
    I think Bill and Mike are misunderstanding each other.  Bill is
    still talking about converting bitmapped IFF to 180 dpi printer
    output with a Postscript step in between in which case a circle
    is just a bunch of dots so no floating point calculations are ever
    done.  The original paint program performed the calculations, but
    as soon as the mouse key was hit to complete the operation, the
    circle no longer exists, it just becomes a bunch of dots on the
    screen.  Mike is talking about taking a Postscript file (he doesn't
    say how it is created) and converting it to 180 dpi output rather
    than 300 dpi output.  He's assuming that a circle within the Postscript
    file is still defined as a circle.  This may or may not be the case,
    depending on how the postscript file was produced.
    
    For example, if one uses Professional Page and imports a bitmapped
    IFF graphic into it, it will still be just a bitmap.  If however,
    one imports encapsulated postscript graphics from a structured drawing
    program, then the coordinates, etc. are all preserved and Mike can
    write his program to get better output on the LJ250.  The same holds
    true in using outline fonts rather than Amiga bitmapped fonts. 
    
    However, Professional Page already does this.  Output from Pro Page
    can be either Postscript for 300 dpi or to an LJ250/Paintjet.  The
    output for both the outline fonts and the structured graphics are
    excellent on the LJ250, but those items which are bitmapped, still
    look bitmapped on output.  Pagestream does the same kind of thing.
    Both almost do away with jaggies, getting the best possible resolution
    out of the LJ250.  Output from Pro Page on an LJ250 looks absolutely
    impressive.
    
    Mike wants to take the postscript file and convert it to a 1530x1980
    bitmap that can be printed, so he isn't limited to a DTP package
    for creating the documents, any postscript file could be used (eg.
    DECwrite).  Sounds like quite a project.
    
    Relating to the 1530x1980 bitmap, I use Deluxe Photolab to create
    1250x1800 bitmaps and print them out bit for bit to my LJ250.  Photolab
    (and I think Express Paint) allow you to created virtual screens
    using all available memory (including Fastram).  Output to the LJ250
    looks fantastic, but scrolling around the virtual screen and trying
    to create pictures is a little difficult.  In hires 16 colors, the
    files are also quite large, but it works and I have gotten some
    fantanstic results.
    

    RE: .13
    
    Exactly!  I knew what he meant, but I have a hard time writing.  I like
    to talk, rather than type...
    
    You know, RE: .12, if I made full page 300dpi 24 bit color images, it
    would take 25 megs per page.
    
    Pro Page is it then.  That's what I'll get.
    
    Do any of the Amiga CAD systems put out PS format?  If not, where do
    you get your PS structured graphics from, LUKE_TE?
    
    Those two would save me a lot of time and energy (not money, though :^)
    
    Mike

Postscript isn't that big a language - there are a fair number of
re-implementations of varying quality. By far the best that I've found
(for either the Amiga or Unix) is POST, currently at version 1.1. It's
apparently not on a Fish disk, but can be gotten from either BIX or the
Radical Eye BBS (+1 415 32 RADIO).

It's a very complete reimplementation, including the color extensions. It
handles the Adobe fonts sans "hints" (type 3?), but not the fonts with
hints (type 1?), though that's promised in the future. I've moved
postscript development from DECStations/LPS20's to the Amiga/Post, and 
everything worked - except I don't have all the Adobe fonts. After changing
the names of the fonts to match the names of the freeware fonts, everything
worked like a charm. It even includes printer support, and the ability to
do some kind of magic "banding" during printing that conserves memory.

If you're desperate, I can try and download & re-upload a copy, but you'll
have to find your own fonts. If you really need the fonts, you'll have to
find someone else to get them, or wait until I get my system put back
together.

	<mike

    re. .1
    
    ProDraw gives you the structured graphics for Pro Page.  I saw Creative
    Computer's add in the September issue of AmigaWorld where they had
    Pro Page v1.3 and ProDraw (the new faster version) for $159 and
    $129 respectively.  Pro Page also has some rudimentary drawing
    capabilities built-in.

    re: .15  MWM
    
    	So Post will do what I'm drivin' at?  Can you upload it to TAPE and
    leave it there for a while?  I won't have my system back up until two
    weeks from now, in school.  What was this about names?  Could I print,
    for instance, an excellence! PS document without changing font names? 
    Or does Post only recognize Adobe font names?  
    	I'd love to try it, then, if it has a little documentation and some
    info about the font names.  I'd probably only use it for that, anyway.
    
    Thanks in advance,
    
    Mike

	Where can I find PD fonts to use with POST? Are they amiga
specific?

	Is there a way to use the LaTeX/TeX fonts with POST?
'Gards, Verell Boaen