PostScript - Re: How can I test whether a printer has true PostScript?

Author

Re: How can I test whether a printer has true PostScript?

Reuti

2005-11-10, 7:01 pm

In article
<julianvREMOVE_THIS_PART-AF71B4.14223103112005@gnus01.u.washington.edu>,
Julian Vrieslander <julianvREMOVE_THIS_PART@mindspring.com> wrote:

> In another thread on comp.periphs.printers, I described how I was
> finding it difficult to determine whether a particular monochrome laser
> was equipped with a true PostScript Level 3 interpreter (licensed from
> Adobe, not emulated). The printer is the Xerox Phaser 3500. The Xerox
> web site has documents which are conflicting. There is a product line
> brochure which indicates that the 3500 uses a PS emulator. But other
> documents show "language support" is "PostScript Level 3" or "Adobe®
> PostScript® Level 3". Telephone calls to Xerox were not helpful. I
> spoke to several people, including a technician. One had no clue, while
> two others said that the printer has true Adobe PS. But none of them
> seemed to have a clear understanding of the difference between a printer
> that supports PS commands vs one that has a PS interpreter licensed from
> Adobe.

What about opening the printer and have a look at the ROM chips? Is
there any "(c) Adobe" on it? Sometimes the PostScript interpreter is on
a (SO-)DIMM near any RAM expansion, and so it's much easier than really
opening the printer. - Reuti

> It's also possible that Xerox (through its literature and its reps)
> might be intentionally obfuscating the issue.
>
> I called Adobe to ask if they have list of printers which use licensed
> PS. I was told that they do not. Well, it's a sure bet that this list
> exists, but it may not be available to the public.
>
> So is there any way to run a test for this? Is it possible to print a
> page with commands that will reveal whether a printer has real or
> emulated PS?

Julian Vrieslander

2005-11-10, 7:01 pm

In article <041120051927548658%reuti@mymac.hu>, Reuti <reuti@mymac.hu>
wrote:

> What about opening the printer and have a look at the ROM chips? Is
> there any "(c) Adobe" on it? Sometimes the PostScript interpreter is on
> a (SO-)DIMM near any RAM expansion, and so it's much easier than really
> opening the printer.

Thanks to everyone who replied.

I finally found someone on the campus here who has a Xerox Phaser 3500
and who is willing to let me print some test pages. But I don't know if
he would be comfortable with a request to pull the printer open so I
could inspect the chips.

In view of the other comments in this thread, it looks like the best I
can do is to look for Adobe logos and trademarks on the test pages, and
to print some sample files similar to the kinds I will frequently print.
But it's certainly possible that if there are bugs in the PS interpreter
(whether it was written by Adobe or some other company), I may not
discover them until after I have bought the printer and used it for
months.

The printer that I am replacing (a 12-year-old LaserWriter Pro 600, with
Adobe PS 2) almost never failed to produce a correct output, on even the
most complex PDFs and PS files. But, by today's standards, it was
glacially slow.

--
Julian Vrieslander

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