[comp.sys.ibm.pc.misc] Solution to WordPerfect&Postscript Printing

mikep@leo.unm.edu (Mike Prine CIRT) (05/16/91)

	On the question of if you can print a WordPerfect postscript
file that was generated on a PC with a mainframe printer.  I replied
to the original requestor of this information but as the topic seems to have 
generated the usual mix of correct but incompleat and I have no problems 
type answers, I thought I would post a more compleat answer.

	1st yes it can be done. Most common problem is that for most systems
you must do a binary upload of the postscript file. This is because 
WordPerfect 5.1 puts many control characters in the file that are stripped
in an ASCII or Text upload. This was the problem for the user with the
original question. Another area that can cause problem is that the PC copy
of WordPerfect has selected a PostScript printer different that that attached
to the mainframe. While in many cases this will work just fine since,
PostScript is PostScript right?, in a few cases it will fail. This is 
can be because the target printer doesn't have the same fonts or in my case
it was because I was using an Apple Laserwriter II for formatting and
trying to print on a DEC Printserver 20. It turned out that WordPerfect was
inserting a macro "letter" to request portrait orentation which the 
Printserver 20 choked on. For a short term solution I wrote a script to
strip this macro from the file. Long term fix was Wordperfect now supports
the Printserver 20 as an output device so I use it now.

	As a bonus I'll add a tip about moving WordPerfect PostScript file
to a MAC for printing. You still need to do a binary transfer but be sure
it is not in MACBinary format. Not sure what the diff is but both FTP and
kermit which I use to move the files have it as an option. If MAC/Binary
is used SendPS will not recognize the file but works fine if this option
is deselected.

	Hopefully this information will prove useful to someone. I have more
than once benefited from info provided by other users of the net so I try
to return the favor when possible.  Remember to give details when replying
to a user having problems doing something. While a response of "Yes it can
be done" may be comforting it doesn't get the job done and one person's
OBVIOUSLY is another persons MAGIC. Long live the net.


Michael Lee Prine	 IRC (Information Resource Center) consultant
Internet: mikep@hydra.unm.edu, Bitnet: MIKEP@UNMB, Phone: 1-505-277-8148
--
Never use a hammer if a handgrenade is handy!
--
Michael Lee Prine	 IRC (Information Resource Center) consultant
Internet: mikep@hydra.unm.edu, Bitnet: MIKEP@UNMB, Phone: 1-505-277-8148
--
Never use a hammer if a handgrenade is handy!