[comp.sys.apollo] No PostScript support for non-Apple LW's

BEC.SHAPIN@ECLA.USC.EDU (Ted Shapin) (02/12/88)

Of all the stupid things to do:
Apollo's postscript support queries the printer
to see if the product name is (LaserWriter) !

What about all the other vendors that make postscript
printers?

In particular, I have a TurboLaser/PS that I'd like to use.

As a temporary workaround I can redefine the product (in the
statusdict) but it only lasts as long as power is on.

How about a fix, Apollo?
-------

krowitz@mit-richter.UUCP (David Krowitz) (02/12/88)

Funny, we're running an NEC postscript printer here at MIT.
We simply told the PRSVR that the device name was 'apple', and
set the printer to Postscript mode (it also does HP laserjet
and diablo emulations) and it runs just dandy.

Maybe the NEC printer returns a name of 'apple' when it's
queried, but that would be carrying the Postscript mode a
little far.


 -- David Krowitz

krowitz@richter.mit.edu   (18.83.0.109)
krowitz%richter@eddie.mit.edu
mit-erl!mit-richter!krowitz@eddie.mit.edu
mit-erl!mit-richter!krowitz@mit-eddie.arpa
krowitz@mit-mc.arpa
(in order of decreasing preference)

BEC.SHAPIN@ECLA.USC.EDU (Ted Shapin) (02/13/88)

Do me a favor and try this test:
Connect an ASCII terminal to your laser printer at 9600 baud (you
will have to switch pins 2 and 3; null modem).
type:
executive
statusdict begin product =

An Apple Laserwriter will return "LaserWriter"
An AST will return "TurboLaser/PS"

Apollo code checks for the former!

Adobe says, "The *rare* program that needs to know what type
of printer it is running on should check this string."
-------

oj@apollo.uucp (Ellis Oliver Jones) (02/16/88)

In article <12373971183.60.BEC.SHAPIN@ECLA.USC.EDU> BEC.SHAPIN@ECLA.USC.EDU (Ted Shapin) writes:
>Apollo's postscript support queries the printer to see if the product name is (LaserWriter) !
>How about a fix, Apollo?

Fixed in SR9.6.

conliffe@caen.engin.umich.edu (Darryl C. Conliffe) (02/17/88)

In article <12373971183.60.BEC.SHAPIN@ECLA.USC.EDU>, BEC.SHAPIN@ECLA.USC.EDU (Ted Shapin) writes:
> Of all the stupid things to do:
> Apollo's postscript support queries the printer
> to see if the product name is (LaserWriter) !
> 
> What about all the other vendors that make postscript
> printers?
> 
> In particular, I have a TurboLaser/PS that I'd like to use.
> 
> As a temporary workaround I can redefine the product (in the
> statusdict) but it only lasts as long as power is on.
> 
> How about a fix, Apollo?
> -------


I had this problem with a Dataproducts LZR-2665.  Discovered
that the Postscript answer-back was being used.  I think this was
a left over from the days when Apollo would check your device type
to ensure you were using the right config file.  With SR9.6,
which Cus Services sent out pronto, I was in operation w/
no problem.

(Answered before - this may be a repeat, but did not see the posting.
'xcuse if is so.)
-- 
___________________

 Darryl C. Conliffe  conliffe@caen.engin.umich.edu  (313) 721-6069
-------------------

lau@dsl.cis.upenn.edu (Yan Lau) (02/17/88)

In article <3a51a852.d5b2@apollo.uucp> oj@apollo.UUCP (Ellis Oliver Jones) writes:
>In article <12373971183.60.BEC.SHAPIN@ECLA.USC.EDU> BEC.SHAPIN@ECLA.USC.EDU (Ted Shapin) writes:
>>Apollo's postscript support queries the printer to see if the product name is (LaserWriter) !
>>How about a fix, Apollo?
>
>Fixed in SR9.6.


I have a similar problem with a DEC LN03R Postscript printer we have hooked
up.  Seems that the server is unable to download the error handler.  We're
running version 9.6 of the operating system.  I suspect this is because a
password is required to do that and the LN03 has a string for a password
while the Laserwriter has an integer. I could be wrong though.  This makes
it difficult to debug raw postscript code.  The workaround I found was to
kill the server and start it in a window so the printer messages come back.
Since the LN03R is not a "supported" printer and since the problem didn't
warrant more costs, I didn't get a solution from Apollo.
Any solution to this problem?

Yan.

lau@wharton.upenn.edu
lau@dsl.cis.upenn.edu