From: barrett@iastate.edu (Marc N. Barrett)
Subject: Amiga and Macintosh Printing
Organization: Iowa State University, Ames, IA
Date: Fri, 8 Jan 1993 07:43:21 GMT

In article <C0Ipwn.2tv@starnine.com> mikeh@starnine.com (Mike Haas) writes:
>Because the Amiga's printing system is flexible, and the can optimize
>things as they see fit.

   HA!  The Amiga's print system has to be the most INflexible printing systems
around.  If it is so flexible, why hasn't something like Adobe Type Manager
ever been written for the Amiga?  I really don't think something like Adobe
Type Manager would  even be possible on the Amiga, because there is nothing in
the printing system for such a utility to wedge itself to.

   On both Macintosh and Windows, ATM is totally invisible to both
applications and the user.  When an application tries to print a document with
a bitmapped font, if a PostScript Type 1 replacement is available, the outline
font is used instead, at the highest resolution of the printer.  But for
something like this to work, some font-substitution facilities have to be
available in the system for a utility such as ATM to attach itself to.  The
Amiga's printing system is so simplistic that I don't think any such
facilities are available in the Amiga OS.  

   The problem is that the Amiga OS leaves most of the printing facilities up
to the applications.  When an application uses a font -- be it a bitmapped
font or an outline font -- the application composes the bitmap that gets sent
to the printer.  Since all fonts are sent to the OS's printing facilities as
bitmaps, and no font names are involved, there is nothing available in this
scheme for a utility such as ATM to intercept a font name and an occurrance of
a font and substitute an outline font.

   BTW, don't try to tell me that the Amiga CompuGraphic fonts provide what
ATM privides, because they don't.  The Amiga's CG font system makes it up to
the application to get good printed output.  Getting smooth fonts on screen
is invisible to the applications with the Amiga's CG fonts, but getting smooth
fonts on the printer is not invisible to the applications.  ATM on the
Macintosh and Windows is invisible to the applications, however.

>The Amiga is designed for printing to a wider range of printers than
>the Mac.  ImageWriters & LaserWriters.  Wow.

   I have a package here that includes Macintosh printer drivers for over 
1000 printers.  WOW!!

>>   You said that the Amiga and Mac printing systems were pretty much the same.
>>They aren't.  The big difference is that Mac applications route graphics
>>through QuickDraw, which provides structured graphics, and send font names to
>>the printer drives instead of the actual fonts. 
>
>Really?  Is that how Imagewriters work?
>
>You don't really understand how PostScript printers work, do you.  The only
>time you can just send a font name to a printer is when that printer
>contains that font.  To print in a font that
>is not resident on the printer, some font definition still needs to be
>downloaded to the printer.
>
>Macs do it too.  It's not a function of Macintosh at all... it's how
>Postscript printers work.  Same when dealing with Postscript on the Amiga.

   Then tell me how I get laser-quality output on my original-model DeskJet
non-PostScript printer with old applications that were never written to
support outline fonts?

---
| Marc Barrett -MB-  |  email: barrett@iastate.edu
--------------------------------------------------------------------
"No, I just think that a computer grafted on top of another computer
is a kludge.  It has nothing to do with the AGA chipset." -- me
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga.advocacy