From chemistry-request@ccl.net Mon Mar 16 15:01:46 1992
Date: Mon, 16 Mar 92 13:55:00 EST
From: shenkin@avogadro.barnard.columbia.EDU (Peter S. Shenkin)
Subject: Color PostScript Printers
To: chemistry@ccl.net
Status: R


jkl suggested that I post the following summary to the list.  The original 
just went to jkl, who was the original poster of Mark Murcko's query.

I did a personal survey of this subject through comp.sys.sgi about six
months ago.  Answer:  for native color PostScript printers, people like the
Tektronix offerings, which are also supported by SGI (obviously not
relevant unless you use SGI! )

A path that is cheaper by a factor of ten is to buy an HP PaintJet (not a
color DeskJet!) and attach it to a serial port.  Then by putting up
GhostScript (GNU PostScript) you can print a PostScript file to it.  Or
you can buy a commercial package that does the same thing, called Freedom
of the Press.  FOP is available for micros and for UNIX platforms.

Then there are a variety of routes for turning other formats into PostScript;
public domain routes include (1) pbmplus, (2) a graphics suite from the San 
Diego Supercomputer Center, (3) for SGI, a variety of conversion programs
that can be obtained by anonymous ftp from sgi.com, and (4) I hear there's
a new suite of conversion routines from the Princeton Univ. Interactive
Computer Graphics Lab. (5) Finally, xpr -- if you use x-windows -- supports the 
PaintJet directly.

The HP Paintjet does not give output quite as nice as the ~$10,000 (list) 
Tektronics machines, but it lists for about $900, and I got mine for
under $600.  The Tektronics output is certainly not ten times nicer.  Mack
Price at NASA, who has both printers, was kind enough to send me sample output
from both, and there are even specific cases where the PaintJet output looks
better to me.

I have a student working on setting our PaintJet up right now, so
I can't say I've gotten everything to work.  But others have, and I've 
seen the output, so I'm reasonably confident we'll succeed, too.
It's just that my student hasn't been able to devote the necessary time
to the task so far.

	-P.

************************f*u*cn*rd*ths*u*cn*gt*a*gd*jb*************************
Peter S. Shenkin, Department of Chemistry, Barnard College, New York, NY 10027
(212)854-1418    shenkin@avogadro.barnard.columbia.edu   shenkin@cunixf.BITNET
********** "I've got algorithm -- who could ask for anything more?" **********