Re: Any cheap postscript laser printers for linux ?

Bob Tennent <BobT@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> writes:

On Sat, 22 Sep 2007 18:04:14 GMT, B'ichela wrote:
(snip)
> One of the features of Postscript (in any form) is to allow the
> printer to do the final processing instead of the computer telling
> the printer to do all the steps. Granted most people don't use
> postscript to its maximum potential but it can do more than just
> print pages. Its a computer in a printer using a high level language
> (its similar to Forth btw). that can even do mathamatics! Thats
> right, give it the forumulas and the details on how to display the
> results and the printer will do the math, print the results as you
> wanted them printed! How cool is that? REALLY COOL!

Why do you think these properties of Postscript are lost if Postscript
is interpreted in the computer rather than the printer? Even assuming
the CPUs are of comparable speed, the only advantage I can see is that
less data might have to be sent down the wire.

It may partly be a matter of things like font embedding. For instance,
when I write self-formatting PostScript, to keep it small, and to keep
things at the best the printer can do, I use the printer's built-in
fonts, and I probe the characters' metrics at 'run-time' to micro-format
my layout accordingly. Printers vary in their capabilities and built-in
stuff, and having as much as possible happen on the printer's end lets
me keep the print job small until it gets there and, more crucially,
lets me write code in the print job that can query things about the
printing environment and adjust the job accordingly.

Having said that, PostScript printers are way too expensive! Last time I
bought a printer for home use, I settled for decent PCL5 emulation.

And, admittedly, you might need a microscope to see the difference I get
from delaying some formatting until the job gets to the printer.

(For jobs I really care about, I'll also try to bypass CUPS' 'helpful'
preprocessing of some print jobs and just nc the job to the printer. I
don't really get on too well with CUPS.)

Mark
.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: My misunderstanding of Postscript printing
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    (microsoft.public.dotnet.framework.drawing)