[comp.lang.postscript] Benchmarking PS

geller@tfd.UUCP (David Geller) (01/02/90)

I'd like to test the performance of the following devices and would
like to solicit PS code samples, recommendations to perform my task.
The products I'll be benchmarking are:

Linotronic L200 RIP 3
CG 9400 PS
CG 9600 PS
Varityper's high-end PS imagesetter
BirmySetter 300
Hyphen-based device

Thanks for your help. Of particular interest for me are benchmarking
pages, tests that can be exercised at the high resolutions of the
devices tests.

David Geller
Electric Logic, Inc.
Washington, D.C.

gideony@microsoft.UUCP (Gideon YUVAL) (01/02/90)

In article <1755@tfd.UUCP> geller@tfd.UUCP (David Geller) writes:
>I'd like to test the performance of the following devices and would
>like to solicit PS code samples, recommendations to perform my task.
>
>Thanks for your help. Of particular interest for me are benchmarking
>pages, tests that can be exercised at the high resolutions of the
>devices tests.

Me too, please

Thanks

-- 
Gideon Yuval, gideony@microsof.UUCP, 206-882-8080 (fax:206-883-8101;TWX:160520)

ted@mbunix.mitre.org (Ede) (01/03/90)

In article <1755@tfd.UUCP> geller@tfd.UUCP (David Geller) writes:
>I'd like to test the performance of the following devices and would
>like to solicit PS code samples, recommendations to perform my task.
>The products I'll be benchmarking are:

>Linotronic L200 RIP 3
>CG 9400 PS
>CG 9600 PS
>Varityper's high-end PS imagesetter
>BirmySetter 300
>Hyphen-based device
>
>Thanks for your help. Of particular interest for me are benchmarking
>pages, tests that can be exercised at the high resolutions of the
>devices tests.

One thing that you may want to cosider when evaulation these printers
is the media marking mechanism.  Some imagesetters use a diode as a
light source, other use an actual laser.  Having a real laser gives you
more flexibility in the media that you can use, and supposedly gives a
sharper image.

We looked at a CG imagesetter, and while it had a laser based engine,
it used a PostScript clone and could not produce output from our test
files.  CG had a device that used Adobe PostScript, it had a
laser-based engine and was not of interest to us.  At the time, we
decided on a L300.  Since then, I believe CG has introduced an
imagesetter with both Adobe PostScript and a laser based engine.

I would suggest including halftone images with your samples.  Output
from various PS printers/clones seem to have more variation in this
area than other areas of PostScript.

Good luck,
ted

|Ted Ede -- ted@mbunix.mitre.org -- The MITRE Corporation -- Burlington Road|
| linus!mbunix!ted -- Bedford MA, 01730 -- Mail Stop B090 -- (617) 271-7465 |
|                   - this line intentionally left blank -                  |
+---------------------------------------------------------------------------+

larry@csccat.UUCP (Larry Spence) (01/04/90)

In article <10112@microsoft.UUCP> gideony@microsoft.UUCP (Gideon YUVAL) writes:
>In article <1755@tfd.UUCP> geller@tfd.UUCP (David Geller) writes:
>>I'd like to test the performance of the following devices and would
>>like to solicit PS code samples, recommendations to perform my task.
>>
>>Thanks for your help. Of particular interest for me are benchmarking
>>pages, tests that can be exercised at the high resolutions of the
>>devices tests.
>
>Me too, please
>
>Thanks

Here's two references:

1)  Seybold Report on Desktop Publishing, September 11, 1989.  They ran a 
    VERY large number of imagesetters through the wringer, using several
    test files (one with lots of body text, another with halftones, lots
    of graphics, etc.).  I mentioned (several times previously) that you
    could possibly call Seybold and request copies of their test files.
    I don't know whether anyone has gotten hold of the files yet.

2)  The latest issue of MacWorld (Feb. '90) has an article "Going Beyond
    Lino: The Imagesetter Explosion," which references the Seybold article
    and partially summarizes some of their benchmark results.  For example:

For a FreeHand document with gradient fills, clipped areas, rotated type,
etc., which was color-separated, some times were:

Linotronic L200B (1270 dpi / 8 MB RAM)                         22:14
Agfa Compugraphic 9600-PS (1200 dpi / 8 MB RAM)                18:45
Linotronic L300  (1270 dpi / 8 MB RAM)                         17:06
Varityper 4300-P (1200 dpi / 12 MB RAM)                        16:14
Hyphen Pel Box 108S (1016 dpi / 16 MB RAM)                     10:52

The Hyphen hardware RIP blew all the others away on all three tests they
used.  The MacWorld article is pretty much a pre-digested, scaled down
version of the Seybold article, but I don't know if the MacWorld folks 
have the Seybold test files (I suspect not).

If someone gets hold of these benchmarks, please let us know whether they
are public-domain, or what one has to go through to get a copy.  Thanx.

-- 
Larry Spence
larry@csccat
...{texbell,texsun,attctc}!csccat!larry

bradlee@cg-atla.UUCP (Rob Bradlee) (01/04/90)

In article <85386@linus.UUCP> ted@mbunix.mitre.org (Ede) writes:
>decided on a L300.  Since then, I believe CG has introduced an
>imagesetter with both Adobe PostScript and a laser based engine.
>
>|Ted Ede -- ted@mbunix.mitre.org -- The MITRE Corporation -- Burlington Road|
>+---------------------------------------------------------------------------+

Yes, CG (now AGFA Compugraphic) has a true Adobe PostScript RIP that can
drive several writing engines.  We have the 9400 which uses a diode laser
(like in your CD player) and therefore uses infa-red film.  I believe there
were some problems at first with this film producing blurred dots and having
low density,  but I think these have been successfully addressed.  We also
are now driving our 9600 writing engine which uses a helium-argon laser
(I think), holographic imaging, and uses daylight film.   The 9700 is like
at 9600, but with 18" film width (at 2400 dpi!).  We also have a 9800 
which is some improvement on the 9400, but I'm not sure which.  I believe
we compare favorably we the L300 in price and performance (at least I know
we sold over 2000 9400 in 1989).




-- 
Rob Bradlee  w:(508)-658-5600 X5153  h:(617)-944-5595
AGFA Compugraphic Division.    ...!{decvax,samsung}!cg-atla!bradlee
200 Ballardvale St.                        bradlee@cg-atla.agfa.com
Wilmington, Mass. 01887           The Nordic Way: Ski till it hurts!

gideony@microsoft.UUCP (Gideon YUVAL) (01/06/90)

In article <3448@csccat.UUCP> larry@csccat.UUCP (Larry Spence) writes:
>1)  Seybold Report on Desktop Publishing, September 11, 1989.  They ran a 

Nit: it's the Seybold report on publishing  SYSTEMS, not on DESKTOP
publishing.

Imprtant: files are available for $30 or $40, on Mac, PC5.25", and
PC3.5" diskettes. Martha Morrison, 215-565-2480.

-- 
Gideon Yuval, gideony@microsof.UUCP, 206-882-8080 (fax:206-883-8101;TWX:160520)

genec@oakhill.UUCP (Gene Cook) (01/09/90)

Greetings Postscript folks! I am a new user so bear with me.
I am looking for a Postscript viewer (interpreter?) that runs
under SunTools. Since I am poor humble and lovable, it must be
public domain. Any advice? Signed, "A guy who inherited a lot
of Postscript code and has no way of maintaining it other than
printing it to see what happens...."