What ever happened to Postscript printing?

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What ever happened to Postscript printing?

Is there any way to get decent results from a printer with OSX? I've been wrestling with this problem since switching from OS9 to OSX several years ago. I'm beyond frustrated by now; I'm completely beaten down. I had a G4, now have an Intel-based iMac. With OS9 running on my G4, I used Adobe PressReady to print to my HP Deskjet 12220C. I got good color, had all the options available in QuarkXPress, and life was good. I could produce decent comps for my clients, test separations, etc. Under OSX, however, nothing works. And it just gets worse every time I try to figure it out. Colors now look like mud (yellow prints green, red prints brown, etc.). Most options in Quark are grayed out, there is no way to predict what size anything will print, or where on the sheet of paper the image will end up. I've wasted soooooo much time trying to set up GimpPrint, Gutenprint and all that crap. Every time I try again, it just gets worse. I'm supposed to know how to write/understand code in order to print, according to the advice on these web sites. WHAT HAPPENED TO THE USER-FRIENDLY MAC I USED TO KNOW AND LOVE BEFORE OSX??????????

iMac, Mac OS X (10.4.9)

Posted on Jul 21, 2007 11:10 AM

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Answer 1

nfarlow Author

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Jul 25, 2007 8:13 PM in response to nfarlow

So, nobody knows anything about postscript printing? It just dropped off the face of the earth and nobody noticed?

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Answer 2

greg sahli

Level 7

25,508 points

Jul 25, 2007 8:21 PM in response to nfarlow

Well, I know that 100% of the printing from OS X starts life as postscript. All printing to a non-postscript printer (like yours) has to be translated by a driver or RIP (which equals a more-expensive driver). I think your problem is caused by the HP driver, but I don't have your printer to experiment with.

Does that help? I don't think so, and that's why I didn't answer before...

Good luck.

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Answer 3

nfarlow Author

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Jul 25, 2007 8:26 PM in response to nfarlow

Forgot to mention that I decided to give it one more try this week. I "Reset the Printing System" and reinstalled the printer driver from a fresh download of the latest version of Gutenprint. As with each previous attempt, it got even worse. Forget color, or printing an EPS graphic that is not bitmapped. Now I can't print an envelope to mail a client's invoice. I can choose #10 envelope in the printer setup options (in QuarkXPress), but the address prints in the middle of a what would be a letter-sized sheet, not on the envelope. I tried several times and wasted several envelopes and several sheets of paper, not to mention wasting almost a half-hour trying to print just one envelope.

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Answer 4

nfarlow Author

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Jul 25, 2007 8:29 PM in response to greg sahli

No, Greg, it doesn't help. I would gladly buy a new printer if it would solve the problem, but I have no idea what to buy.

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Answer 5

bdkjones

Level 4

1,335 points

Jul 25, 2007 8:38 PM in response to nfarlow

Nancy:

What greg is alluding to is the difference between true PS3 support and PS3 emulation. If you're looking for top quality printing capabilities, you need a printer that has true Adobe PostScript 3 support - not emulated support.

Of course, in most cases that involves expensive printers. Ricoh color lasers are fantastic. Check out the Ricoh SPC411DN. It has true PS3 support and excellent print quality for graphics. And, if you look online, you can find it for roughly $1,100.

As for your question, nothing happened to PostScript support in OS X. It's there and alive. You just need the hardware to match it.

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Answer 6

nfarlow Author

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Jul 25, 2007 8:42 PM in response to greg sahli

Sorry, Greg, I should have at least thanked you for answering. Adobe PressReady functioned as a RIP, and it worked great with this printer. PressReady doesn't work with OSX and Adobe has abandoned it, as you probably know. There doesn't seem to be anything to take it's place???

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Answer 7

nfarlow Author

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Jul 25, 2007 8:51 PM in response to bdkjones

So there is no longer postscript support for inkjet printers? The HP 1220c prints up to 13" x 19", which is great for comps. I would imagine a laser printer that could handle that format would cost a small fortune, if one even exists.

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Answer 8

bdkjones

Level 4

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Jul 25, 2007 8:56 PM in response to nfarlow

Nancy:

They do, in fact, exist. They're called "Tabloid Laser Printers" and you can find a bunch of them at this website:

http://www.printershowcase.com/

There are several available for under $3,000. As for PS3 support on modern inkjets - I know that there are inkjets out there that do support PS3 (not just in emulation). However, I switched to color lasers a long time ago and have not kept up with the pace of inkjets.

Also: I used an HP 1220C for a long time. Have you ever replaced the printheads in the unit? After a time, they can clog up and cause some of the symptoms you described, such as murky colors. It might be worth investigating that. (I'm not sure if they're even replaceable on that printer - I know they are for other HP inkjets, however.)

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Answer 9

Jul 25, 2007 10:46 PM in response to nfarlow

If your printer is a true PostScript printer, then you do not need a Gutenprint driver. The PostScript driver that comes with OS X will work, although you may not get all the options if you use the generic PPD. I believe the OS 9 PPD may work if you put it in the Library with the English language PPDs, but I cannot be certain.

However, I suspect that you are using a legacy non-PostScript HP printer, and HP and Quark no longer support it. The Gutenprint folks do their best, but they are not getting paid to do it, and they may not have had access to a HP Deskjet 12220C to test it on. A new printer is probably your best bet. There are PostScript inkjet printers, as well as laser printers, but I am not familiar with them.

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Answer 10

nfarlow Author

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Jul 26, 2007 5:22 AM in response to Bruce De Benedictis

Bruce - You're correct, the HP 1220c is not a Postscript printer, which is why I used Adobe PressReady, as I mentioned, which was a true Postscript interpreter. It worked beautifully with OS9, but does not work with OSX. Adobe no longer supports it. Therein lies the problem.

I have not been able to find a PostScript inkjet printer. I have looked. I even phoned HP (when I first had this problem a couple years ago) and they had no idea what I was talking about. The rep made me feel like I was asking if dinosaurs still existed.

Can anyone recommend a large format Postscript inkjet printer (13" x 19", or at least 11" x 17")?

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Answer 11

greg sahli

Level 7

25,508 points

Jul 26, 2007 6:43 AM in response to nfarlow

Nancy, for your situation, I think you should try the free trial of the printfab driver/RIP. Full color control in it.
http://www.printfab.net

I hope you see that there is some blurring of the term postscript RIP with driver - they are the same thing. Every driver on OS X is a RIP.

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Answer 12

nfarlow Author

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Jul 26, 2007 7:53 AM in response to greg sahli

I tried the printfab thing about a year ago and had no luck with it. My printer is old, I would really like to find a replacement for it, with Postscript. I can't afford $3,000 for a tabloid laser printer, but if there is in fact a true Postscript inkjet printer available, I would love to know about it.

But, please help me understand this: If OSX drivers are actually Raster Image Processors; i.e., if the file gets RIPped by OSX, then why would one even need a Postscript printer? I believe that what a RIP does is to take the vector information in the file and create a bitmap which is then put on paper by the printer. The RIP can reside in the computer or in the printer, but ripping doesn't need to happen in both places. Right?

In fact, I have always wondered about this with OSX, since Postscript type does print sharp and clear, at any size. But this is not so for an EPS graphic; the image is bitmapped at a very low resolution - whatever application I print from.

I can get nice prints from Photoshop (hi-rez bitmapped files) - or at least I could before I started messing with GIMPprint and Gutenprint. That's what ruined my colors. I used to be able (with OSX) to print a file from Photoshop and see colors very close to what I see on my screen. I tried uninstalling Gutenprint, but I could never get back to good color reproduction. I don't remember what problems I had with Printfab; maybe I'll give it another try.

But, once again, does anyone know of a large format Postscript inkjet printer? Two of you have said they do exist, but I have not been able to find one. Any specific info would be appreciated.

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Answer 13

Jul 26, 2007 12:30 PM in response to nfarlow

As I look into it, various manufacturers offer inkjets with software RIP packages. Epson is one. There is also third-party RIP software available, which may work for your printer. Canon has charts of which software works with their printers. I am not sufficiently versed on various printers, nor do I know your exact needs, so I cannot advise you on that.

I note that there are OS X drivers for an HP Deskjet 1220C available from the HP site, which I guess is your printer—you seem to have had a typo originally. There seems to be a 1220C PS as well, which I suppose is a Postscript version of that printer. If none of the drivers that you have tried are working now (particularly if they worked properly at some time) there may be something wrong with your printing files. The shareware Printer Setup Repair may help you, as well as resetting the printing system through Printer Setup, as well as deleting all the drivers and reinstalling.

If you are serious about color matching, you might have to go through and calibrate everything, and learn to use the ColorSync Utility. Come to think of it, your problems may come from various profiles that do not match properly in the ColorSync Utility.

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Answer 14

nfarlow Author

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Jul 26, 2007 7:49 PM in response to Bruce De Benedictis

Bruce - If you look more closely, you will see that none of the Postcript options you mentioned support OSX. Not HP, not Epson, not Canon. The HP Deskjet 1220c PS used (note past tense) the same PressReady software that was available from Adobe as a stand-alone product. As I mentioned previously, Adobe no longer supports this product; it does not work with OSX.

My needs are very simple: A POSTSCRIPT INKJET PRINTER THAT PRINTS UP TO 13" X 19" PAPER AND WORKS WITH OSX. EMPHASIS ON POSTSCRIPT. THAT'S ALL, PERIOD. I challenge any of you to name JUST ONE SPECIFIC PRINTER that fits the above...

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Answer 15

greg sahli

Level 7

25,508 points

Jul 26, 2007 8:18 PM in response to nfarlow

Please excuse me if you find this inflamatory. I think you still don't understand what I've said! Your inkjet printer wasn't a postscript printer and you won't find any newer inkjet to be a postscript printer either. It's the driver! Every driver on OS X is a postscript RIP - Every Single One of Them! Is there something I can say that will make that clearer? Since your HP is older, HP has no motivation to make the driver a good RIP.

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