9&X


Plotter Drivers 101

Some of this info might be redundant from the GimpPrint pages, but it is too hard to pass up. The BullPen info-hoovers can't resist. Let us know of any corrections, supplemental information, or really good pizza places you know about...please.

Honorary Bullpen Professor David Ross says

Here's the print path in general for a few cases. Lower case is a file format. UPPER CASE is a program or driver or system piece.



9

X

OS 9 Plotting using a hardware postscript
(800PS, 1055CM, etc...)

PowerCADD file
POWERCADD
quickdraw commands
LASERWRITER or ADOBE DRIVER
postscript
NETWORK or Serial Cable (PRINT MONITOR)
postscript
POSTSCRIPT RIP (PLOTTER FIRMWARE)
dots on the page

 OS X Plotting using a hardware postscript
(800PS, 1055CM, etc...)

PowerCADD file
POWERCADD
quartz & postscript commands
LASERWRITER or ADOBE DRIVER
postscript
NETWORK or Serial Cable (OS X PRINT MONITOR)
postscript
POSTSCRIPT RIP (PLOTTER FIRMWARE)
dots on the page


 OS 9 Plotting using PowerPlot
(RTL or GL2)  (Microspot Raster would be similar.)

PowerCADD file
POWERCADD
quickdraw commands
POWERPLOT (or the RASTER thing)
rtl or gl2
NETWORK or SERIAL CABLE (QUEUE MONITOR)
rtl or gl2
PLOTTER FIRMWARE RIP (rtl or gl2)
dots on the page

   

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well, actually it's not blank, after all...


hmmmm...


nevermind..




OS 9 Plotting using a software postscript
(500PS, 488CA, etc...)

PowerCADD file
POWERCADD
quickdraw commands
LASERWRITER or ADOBE DRIVER
postscript
SOFTWARE RIP (on a computer)
plotter commands (likely RTL or GL2)
NETWORK or SERIAL CABLE (BACKGROUND PROGRAM from RIP)
plotter commands (likely RTL or GL2)
PLOTTER FIRMWARE RIP (rtl or gl2)
dots on the page

  




 OS X Plotting using a software postscript
(GIMP Print)

PowerCADD file
POWERCADD
quartz & postscript commands (Alfred is this right?)
LASERWRITER or ADOBE DRIVER
postscript
SOFTWARE RIP (GIMP PRINT)
plotter commands (likely RTL or GL2)
NETWORK or Serial Cable (OS X PRINT MONITOR)
plotter commands (likely RTL or GL2)
PLOTTER FIRMWARE RIP (rtl or gl2)
dots on the page

A few notes. I'm still not fully up on the OS X issues so someone correct me if I'm wrong.

The term RIP means Raster Image Processor. It has come to be used for the software (on a computer or in a printer) that takes commands and converts them to dots.

Software RIPs (on the computer) in general are not as easy (HA!) or as foolproof to use as firmware RIPs (in the printer). And HP's are some of the worst. They are obvious Windows ports or at least developed with Windows tools as half the files are named .dll. And HP goes completely wierd with page setup and boundaries in odd ways. When I asked I was told this was because Mac Graphics folks didn't want it done in a standard way. They needed it "simplefied." Be prepared to have fun with page margins and such.

To boil down some of what you've heard from others.

Hardware Postscript in the printer makes life easy on OS 9 and OS X.

Gimp Print will bring a lot of that to OS X for plotters and printers without Postscript in the firmware. But you'll have to get your hands a bit dirty compared to printers / plotters with postscript built in. There's an extra set of software to download, install, and configure. Not terrible but for some it may be too much. (Just to note, I plan to be a big installer of this but I know some folks who'd never make it work except by blind luck.)

Software Postscript units like the HP 455, 488, and 500PS are a major pain (in my opinion) and may never be supported in OS X except via GIMP print. Which means you may be paying $1000 for a software RIP that you throw away in a year or maybe less.

PS: Why do printers with firmware Postscript cost so much? You get what you pay for. Adobe and other put out a quality product and get paid nice royalties.
PPS: What am I doing with my clients?

1. Regretting the 1 500PS we bought. But life's too short. We've moved on. We're using it as a 500 and I'm looking at ways to make GIMP on OS X server the office that still on OS 9.

2. Buying 2 used 1055CMs this week. $4500 plus shipping with a years maintenance from HP. (No I don't know of any more.)
PPPS: PowerPlot is no longer sold, supported, and evidence that it ever existed is scant. I'd bet that if you need it to support a non-portscript int he printer unit a copy would show up in your mail box. But that might be breaking a license agreement so this is not a commitment.

Thanks David...your official BullPen Certificate is in the mail

..and next time, please don't be so gentle with HP...

 

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