NewsPrint 1.0 - barfs on postscript file generated by Semper 6.2
questions. First to refresh your memory, the original message
(spelling errors included :) :
Dear Netlanders,
The problem:
Just installed NewsPrint 1.0 (with interpreter version 2.1) all
totally standard, using a HP Deskjet Plus (obviously with no SBus
card), on a SS1 with 16Mbytes of memory running 4.1 of SunOS, without
Open Windows.
Grab an example postscipt file generated by Semper 6.2 (image
processing software package) and try to print it (using "lpr -Pnp
filename"). I consistently get this beautiful error page on the
printer each time with the following error message (process id differs
between invocations):
%%[ Error: Message: Process: 0x24a4bc (Unnamed process) Error: undefined
Stack: array{0}
Executing: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
At: Reading file(?,W,R)
{}
]%%
Note that the file prints fine when sent to one of our laser
printers (off another host) with "lpr -l".
The postscipt file is simply an image with up to 256 grey
levels, a title and other info about the image, the comments
section follows (if anyone wants to refer to the whole file I will
tar, compress then uuencode it :-):
%!PS-Adobe-2.0
%%Title: Semper 6 Postscript file
%%Creator: Semper 6 Plus
%%CreationDate: 7-Mar-1991 11:35:21
%%Pages: 1
%%DocumentFonts: Helvetica
%%EndComments
The line that is printed in the error message is one of the lines (maybe the
first?) with the image information on it.
I have read the manual, and checked out the problems that it suggests
may come up when printing files generated by other software - this
file checks out fine.
The questions:
Why won't it work, and more importantly what do I have to do make
it work? (The usually story, the very thing the customer wanted the
package for does not work!)
It seems like a poscript interpreter bug to me, any fixes or updates
to NewsPrint and/or the poscsript interpreter?
I will summarise, thanks in advance.
I received four responses. Three asking for the actual postscript file
(including our local Sun Dealer), and our Sun Dealer asking if we
wished to log this as a bug (which I will now do, though I don't hold
much hope). I have heard nothing at all from the people who received
the postscript file in person.
What I was after was confirmation that this is actually a postscript
interpreter bug, and if possible a work around (so I could write a
script to massage the file then print it). As I have stated above
there was not one helpful/hopeful reply :-(, possibly due to the fact
that NewsPrint is a recent product and not every Sun system comes
supplied with it.
I will however share a couple of experiences with NewsPrint.
1. Do not enable window device security set in /etc/svdtab and
/etc/fbtab. Open Windows complains bitterly that it is not the owner
of the devices when this is enabled, consequently nothing is printed.
This should have been noted in the READ ME FIRST document and
hopefully will be fixed in the next release, anyone in "the know" care
to comment?
This problem has been noted before on this list but I mention it again
for completeness.
2. Sun's advertised (in the NewsPrint documentation) archive server
for NewsPrint support does not seem to be working. I have sent an
initial message to the archive server, "Subject: help", with no
response (no bounce either, so I assume it is getting through :). As
you may have noticed I have Cc'ed my messages to the archive server in
the hope that someone with the power to change this software may get
to know about these problems. Why advertise a service and not provide
it? Again anyone at Sun care to comment?
I will summarise again if I receive any more useful information.
Tony Martindale Computing Services Centre,
email:tony@rata.vuw.ac.nz Victoria University of Wellington,
phone: +64 4 721 000 x8453 P.O. Box 600, Wellington, NEW ZEALAND.
For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
