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.

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

"Julian Vrieslander" ha scritto nel messaggio
> 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.
[CUT]
> 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?

Does the test page give any clue ?
In many of the printers I've seen, the startup page (or at least the
test page) reports the PS version (and subversion on some), and
I *think* Adobe get it's logo printed on every piece of SW built
around it's code, even on third party's equipment.

Bye, G.

In article <dke4qm$u4k$(E-Mail Removed)>,
"Paperino" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:

> "Julian Vrieslander" ha scritto nel messaggio

> > 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?
>
> Does the test page give any clue ?
> In many of the printers I've seen, the startup page (or at least the
> test page) reports the PS version (and subversion on some), and
> I *think* Adobe get it's logo printed on every piece of SW built
> around it's code, even on third party's equipment.

Good idea. I am still seeking to locate one of these printers so I can
run some tests. I'll try the test page.

--
Julian Vrieslander

READ THE MANUAL

Julian Vrieslander 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.
>
>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 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.
>
> 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.

They might not be willing to divulge the list, but couldn't/wouldn't
they tell you about that particular printer?

>
> 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?
>


--
The e-mail address in our reply-to line is reversed in an attempt to
minimize spam. Our true address is of the form che...@prodigy.net.

In article <Tpxaf.23810$(E-Mail Removed)>,
measekite <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:

> READ THE MANUAL

Wotta genius. I had already downloaded and searched the user guide,
thank you very much. It lists PostScript as a supported language, but
does not state whether the interpreter code is licensed from Adobe, or
is based on emulation.

--
Julian Vrieslander

Julian Vrieslander wrote:
>
> In article <Tpxaf.23810$(E-Mail Removed)>,
> measekite <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:
>
> > READ THE MANUAL
>
> Wotta genius. I had already downloaded and searched the user guide,
> thank you very much. It lists PostScript as a supported language, but
> does not state whether the interpreter code is licensed from Adobe, or
> is based on emulation.
>
> --
> Julian Vrieslander

If the printer (provided it is the original as delivered from Xerox) has the Adobe PostScript
logo attached somewhere or shows it in some menu, it *is* an Adobe RIP. Unauthorized use of this
logo will be usually sued by Adboe immediately.

Helge

--
Helge Blischke
Softwareentwicklung
SRZ Berlin | Firmengruppe besscom
http://www.srz.de

I have seen Xerox assertments on their web site that claim as a benefit that
their printer has true Adobe PS 3 not an emulation. My question is does it
really matter? I have a HP 2100 with HP's PS emulation. I have never had a
reason to complain. Along the same lines, I have never seen a difference
between HP's PS printer driver and Adobes' using the HP 2100 *.ppd. However,
I admit that I probably have not looked hard enough.


"Julian Vrieslander" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in
message
news:julianvREMOVE_THIS_PART-(E-Mail Removed)...
> 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.
>
> 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

Roy Bethel wrote:
>
> I have seen Xerox assertments on their web site that claim as a benefit that
> their printer has true Adobe PS 3 not an emulation. My question is does it
> really matter? I have a HP 2100 with HP's PS emulation. I have never had a
> reason to complain. Along the same lines, I have never seen a difference
> between HP's PS printer driver and Adobes' using the HP 2100 *.ppd. However,
> I admit that I probably have not looked hard enough.
>

Well, I've never seen a PostScript RIP that didn't show at least one weird bug. But you may
rely on that every Adobe licensed RIP - as far as my experience shows - exhibits the same but,
whereas RIPs from different other vendors usually have different bugs.

But in everyday life, it should not matter if it is an Adobe RIP or not. But you should
check the version, as the major version number (the part preceding the dot) tells you
what additional features are (or should be) built in or not.

Helge


--
Helge Blischke
Softwareentwicklung
SRZ Berlin | Firmengruppe besscom
http://www.srz.de

In article
<julianvREMOVE_THIS_PART-(E-Mail Removed)>,
Julian Vrieslander <(E-Mail Removed)> 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).

It's difficult to impossible to determine from the printer whether it
has Adobe PostScript or an emulation. Companies that provide
PostScript emulation often make their version and build date identical
with the Adobe version.

Looking at the printer or documentation for an Adobe logo might indeed
be the best way.

Paul

--
Paul Anderson
OpenVMS Engineering
Hewlett-Packard Company