[comp.lang.postscript] Sharing an Apple Printer

henry@hutto.UUCP (Henry Melton) (07/07/89)

I have a Appletalk printer connected to a MicroVaxII via Alisaprint
and a kinetics box.  This gives good service both as a spooler for the
Mac users and as a postscript printer for the VMS users.  I now would
like to add this printing service for a Sun 3 that is connected via
TCP/IP.  Has anyone done this before?  I have been toying with the idea
of a unix print task that bundles the file up, ftp's it over to the vax
where another automatic task is looking to print anything that shows up
on its doorstep.  This would work, but it seems like there ought to be
an easier way.  Any suggestions?


-- 
Henry Melton ...!cs.utexas.edu!ut-emx!hutto!henry
1-512-8463241 Rt.1 Box 274E Hutto,TX 78634

rad@mbunix.mitre.org (Richard A. Dramstad) (07/08/89)

In article <741@hutto.UUCP> henry@hutto.UUCP (Henry Melton) writes:
>I have a Appletalk printer connected to a MicroVaxII via Alisaprint
>and a kinetics box.  This gives good service both as a spooler for the
>Mac users and as a postscript printer for the VMS users.  I now would
>like to add this printing service for a Sun 3 that is connected via
>TCP/IP.  Has anyone done this before?  I have been toying with the idea
>of a unix print task that bundles the file up, ftp's it over to the vax
>where another automatic task is looking to print anything that shows up
>on its doorstep.  This would work, but it seems like there ought to be
>an easier way.  Any suggestions?

	Yes, you could install TOPS on the Sun.  In addition to giving
you TOPS file services for your Macs on the Sun, it allows you to
create line printer (sic) queues that point to your AppleTalk-connected
LaserWriters.  I think you're probably talking about less than $1K to
do this,too.  

	Also, because of the Berkeley/Sun remote line printer
capabilities, other Suns or BSD-derivative Unix boxes on your net can
also get to the Mac's laser printers.  I bounce my Ultrix printouts off
a Sun to a laser printer just outside my door -- the same one I use for
my Mac printouts.  I like it a lot.

>Henry Melton ...!cs.utexas.edu!ut-emx!hutto!henry
>1-512-8463241 Rt.1 Box 274E Hutto,TX 78634

Dick Dramstad

edmoy@violet.berkeley.edu (07/16/89)

In article <58710@linus.UUCP> rad@mbunix (Dramstad) writes:
>In article <741@hutto.UUCP> henry@hutto.UUCP (Henry Melton) writes:
>>I have a Appletalk printer connected to a MicroVaxII via Alisaprint
>>and a kinetics box.  This gives good service both as a spooler for the
>>Mac users and as a postscript printer for the VMS users.  I now would
>>like to add this printing service for a Sun 3 that is connected via
>>TCP/IP.
>
>	Yes, you could install TOPS on the Sun.  In addition to giving
>you TOPS file services for your Macs on the Sun, it allows you to
>create line printer (sic) queues that point to your AppleTalk-connected
>LaserWriters.  I think you're probably talking about less than $1K to
>do this,too.  
>
>	Also, because of the Berkeley/Sun remote line printer
>capabilities, other Suns or BSD-derivative Unix boxes on your net can
>also get to the Mac's laser printers.  I bounce my Ultrix printouts off
>a Sun to a laser printer just outside my door -- the same one I use for
>my Mac printouts.  I like it a lot.

You can also get the Columbia AppleTalk Package (CAP), version 5.0, FREE,
from anonumous ftp from sumex-aim.stanford.edu (in the info-mac/unix)
directory or from cunixc.cc.columbia.edu.  Here at UC Berkeley, we have
quite a few sites, that use CAP, bith for print spooling and file
serving.  It is even a support service that we in the Computer Center
provide for Unix machines that have nearby AppleTalk networks.

CAP also uses the standard lpr facilities of BSD Unix, so you can make
one machine the "direct connection" to the AppleTalk-connected LaserWriter
and indirectly spool from other UNIX hosts.

Edward Moy				Principal Programmer - Macintosh & Unix
Workstation Support Services		Workstation Software Support Group
University of California
Berkeley, CA  94720

edmoy@violet.Berkeley.EDU
ucbvax!violet!edmoy

jsin@island.SEAS.UCLA.EDU (07/16/89)

In article <26361@agate.BERKELEY.EDU> edmoy@violet.berkeley.edu writes:
>
>You can also get the Columbia AppleTalk Package (CAP), version 5.0, FREE,
>from anonumous ftp from sumex-aim.stanford.edu (in the info-mac/unix)
>directory or from cunixc.cc.columbia.edu.  Here at UC Berkeley, we have
>quite a few sites, that use CAP, bith for print spooling and file
>serving.  It is even a support service that we in the Computer Center
>provide for Unix machines that have nearby AppleTalk networks.
>

I have a related question that someone can answer.  I'm not at least 
bit familiar with postscript language, so I'm stumped...  If this is not 
the proper group to post this, I apologize.

We have a Mac II connected via FastPath box (III, I think it is) and the
KIP software to our Unix hosts.  I would like to be able to print from
this macintosh to the LaserWriters hooked on to the network as if the 
printer is connected to the Mac itself, from within an application.

To this end, I obtained the CAP package and compiled it on one of our
4.3 BSD Vax.  Only program so far that I'm interested in is "lwsrv",
which spools files from the Mac to the LW.

I have been successful in getting the files to spool correctly to the
printer.  I can see the file sitting in the queue, and the yellow light on
the printer blinks as if it would print.  However, after a while, the blinking
stops and nothing comes out of the printer.

I suspect the problem is in getting the correct Dictionary file which lwsrv 
prepends to the file.  There is a README file for lwsrv which says that it 
will capture the AppleDict the first time, and that I have to modify it to
eliminate codes for "stretch" and "smooth".  I did all that and still nothing.

The Mac runs MacOS 6.0.3 (or whatever the latest is - I forget) and the 
captured Dictionry file has the header "AppleDict 68" (Does this mean it's
LaserPrep version 5.2?)  The LW is a plain LW+, not the new breed of LW II's".
(Would it make a difference?  I could get LW II NTX, but I can't see why
that would make any difference)

I'd appreciate any help at this point.  Perhaps someone can send me
their version of the Dictionary file on Unix?   Moving the LW to mac
and make it the server for Unix hosts is not an option at this time,
for various reasons.
John (Jonghoon) Sin       (Above opinions are my own and etc, etc, etc...)
UCLA SEASnet Facilities   InterNet: jsin@seas.ucla.edu
2567 Boelter Hall         UUCP:  ...!(uunet,ucbvax,rutgers)!seas.ucla.edu!jsin
Los Angeles, CA. 90024    Voice: (213) 206-6864   */Real Men Don't Use Icons/*

edmoy@violet.berkeley.edu (07/17/89)

In article <25779@shemp.CS.UCLA.EDU> jsin@island.SEAS.UCLA.EDU (John Sin) writes:
>We have a Mac II connected via FastPath box (III, I think it is) and the
>KIP software to our Unix hosts.  I would like to be able to print from
>this macintosh to the LaserWriters hooked on to the network as if the 
>printer is connected to the Mac itself, from within an application.
>
>To this end, I obtained the CAP package and compiled it on one of our
>4.3 BSD Vax.  Only program so far that I'm interested in is "lwsrv",
>which spools files from the Mac to the LW.
>
>I have been successful in getting the files to spool correctly to the
>printer.  I can see the file sitting in the queue, and the yellow light on
>the printer blinks as if it would print.  However, after a while, the blinking
>stops and nothing comes out of the printer.
>
>I suspect the problem is in getting the correct Dictionary file which lwsrv 
>prepends to the file.  There is a README file for lwsrv which says that it 
>will capture the AppleDict the first time, and that I have to modify it to
>eliminate codes for "stretch" and "smooth".  I did all that and still nothing.

There is a set of programs I wrote, call macps and prepfix, that will solve
your problem.  Prepfix takes a Command-K PostScript file and munges it to
works with macps (and also lwsrv).  Macps takes a Command-F PostScript file
and prepends the appropriate modified LaserPrep file and sends the result
to the standard output (much like what lwsrv does), which would typically
be a pipe to an lpr command.  Macps are for those who have Macs not connected
directly to a network (like mine at home) and who would like to print to a
PostScript printer that is available from a Unix machine.

Anyways, enough commercial.  Prepfix can be used to generate the appropriate
LaserPrep files for use with lwsrv.  It (along with macps) is available via
anonymous ftp from sumex-aim.stanford.edu in the info-mac/unix directory.
It was also posted to comp.sources.unix and comp.sources.mac recently.

Edward Moy				Principal Programmer - Macintosh & Unix
Workstation Support Services		Workstation Software Support Group
University of California
Berkeley, CA  94720

edmoy@violet.Berkeley.EDU
ucbvax!violet!edmoy