Re: [U2] Code 128 Soft Font
If you have to write a lot of PCL code then a product like print wizards seems a good investment, though. Put it this way - how much does your time cost your employer? If you roll your own it is going to take you a day to mess around with code, look up the printer escape sequences in manuals, get the positioning right (get it wrong the first dozen times), time taken in testing .. when you factor in the cost of your time, it doesn't take 'a lot' of PCL code to justify the cost of a tool. Or are you selling yourself too cheap? [ and BTW mvPDF Lite also does barcodes... and much more besides :) ] Brian ___ U2-Users mailing list U2-Users@listserver.u2ug.org http://listserver.u2ug.org/mailman/listinfo/u2-users
Re: [U2] Code 128 Soft Font
Thanks for all of the input. I think that I will go ahead and try the barcode basic program first and go from there. But will have to look at the Print Wizard program or similar type program for future reporting options Thanks again! marc Marc Caminiti IS Manager Nashbar Direct, Inc 6103 State Route 446 Canfield, OH 44406 330.533.1989, ext 336 330.702.9733, fax Save the earth. It's the only planet with chocolate. -Original Message- From: u2-users-boun...@listserver.u2ug.org [mailto:u2-users-boun...@listserver.u2ug.org] On Behalf Of Brian Leach Sent: Wednesday, May 19, 2010 4:24 AM To: 'U2 Users List' Subject: Re: [U2] Code 128 Soft Font If you have to write a lot of PCL code then a product like print wizards seems a good investment, though. Put it this way - how much does your time cost your employer? If you roll your own it is going to take you a day to mess around with code, look up the printer escape sequences in manuals, get the positioning right (get it wrong the first dozen times), time taken in testing .. when you factor in the cost of your time, it doesn't take 'a lot' of PCL code to justify the cost of a tool. Or are you selling yourself too cheap? [ and BTW mvPDF Lite also does barcodes... and much more besides :) ] Brian ___ U2-Users mailing list U2-Users@listserver.u2ug.org http://listserver.u2ug.org/mailman/listinfo/u2-users CONFIDENTIALITY NOTICE: This e-mail and any attachments may contain confidential information that is legally privileged. The information is solely for the use of the intended recipient(s). Any disclosure, copying, distribution, or other use of this information is strictly prohibited. If you have received this e-mail in error, please notify the sender by return e-mail and delete this message. ___ U2-Users mailing list U2-Users@listserver.u2ug.org http://listserver.u2ug.org/mailman/listinfo/u2-users
Re: [U2] Code 128 Soft Font
Do you have a server version for Linux yet? Glen Batchelor IT Director All-Spec Industries phone: (910) 332-0424 fax: (910) 763-5664 E-mail: webmas...@all-spec.com Web: http://www.all-spec.com Blog: http://blog.all-spec.com -Original Message- From: u2-users-boun...@listserver.u2ug.org [mailto:u2-users- boun...@listserver.u2ug.org] On Behalf Of Bob Rasmussen Sent: Wednesday, May 19, 2010 12:48 AM To: U2 Users List Subject: Re: [U2] Code 128 Soft Font On Tue, 18 May 2010, Charlie Noah wrote: ... Sorry, Tony, I have the greatest respect you you, but printing barcode is just too easy to pay a lot for it. Who said anything about paying a lot? You can get started in Print Wizard for $99 or $300, depending on configuration. How much is your time worth? (And not all printers have barcode capabilities built in.) (And thanks again, Tony.) Regards, Bob Rasmussen, President, Rasmussen Software, Inc. personal e-mail: r...@anzio.com company e-mail: r...@anzio.com voice: (US) 503-624-0360 (9:00-6:00 Pacific Time) fax: (US) 503-624-0760 web: http://www.anzio.com street address: Rasmussen Software, Inc. 10240 SW Nimbus, Suite L9 Portland, OR 97223 USA ___ U2-Users mailing list U2-Users@listserver.u2ug.org http://listserver.u2ug.org/mailman/listinfo/u2-users ___ U2-Users mailing list U2-Users@listserver.u2ug.org http://listserver.u2ug.org/mailman/listinfo/u2-users
Re: [U2] Code 128 Soft Font
On Wed, 19 May 2010, Glen Batchelor wrote: Do you have a server version for Linux yet? You refer to our Print Wizard product. No, we don't have a Linux version. Printer drivers on Linux are far less powerful than those on Windows. Regards, Bob Rasmussen, President, Rasmussen Software, Inc. personal e-mail: r...@anzio.com company e-mail: r...@anzio.com voice: (US) 503-624-0360 (9:00-6:00 Pacific Time) fax: (US) 503-624-0760 web: http://www.anzio.com street address: Rasmussen Software, Inc. 10240 SW Nimbus, Suite L9 Portland, OR 97223 USA ___ U2-Users mailing list U2-Users@listserver.u2ug.org http://listserver.u2ug.org/mailman/listinfo/u2-users
Re: [U2] Code 128 Soft Font
You refer to our Print Wizard product. No, we don't have a Linux version. Any plans to develop a Unix version? All of our servers run on Unix. Some of our workstations too. Charles Shaffer Senior Analyst NTN-Bower Corporation Bob Rasmussen r...@anzio.com Sent by: u2-users-boun...@listserver.u2ug.org 05/19/2010 10:39 AM Please respond to U2 Users List To: U2 Users List u2-users@listserver.u2ug.org cc: Subject:Re: [U2] Code 128 Soft Font On Wed, 19 May 2010, Glen Batchelor wrote: Do you have a server version for Linux yet? You refer to our Print Wizard product. No, we don't have a Linux version. Printer drivers on Linux are far less powerful than those on Windows. Regards, Bob Rasmussen, President, Rasmussen Software, Inc. personal e-mail: r...@anzio.com company e-mail: r...@anzio.com voice: (US) 503-624-0360 (9:00-6:00 Pacific Time) fax: (US) 503-624-0760 web: http://www.anzio.com street address: Rasmussen Software, Inc. 10240 SW Nimbus, Suite L9 Portland, OR 97223 USA ___ U2-Users mailing list U2-Users@listserver.u2ug.org http://listserver.u2ug.org/mailman/listinfo/u2-users ___ U2-Users mailing list U2-Users@listserver.u2ug.org http://listserver.u2ug.org/mailman/listinfo/u2-users
Re: [U2] Code 128 Soft Font
Just about everything gets converted to PostScript by CUPS and filters, so I don't follow you. Glen Batchelor IT Director All-Spec Industries phone: (910) 332-0424 fax: (910) 763-5664 E-mail: webmas...@all-spec.com Web: http://www.all-spec.com Blog: http://blog.all-spec.com -Original Message- From: u2-users-boun...@listserver.u2ug.org [mailto:u2-users- boun...@listserver.u2ug.org] On Behalf Of Bob Rasmussen Sent: Wednesday, May 19, 2010 11:40 AM To: U2 Users List Subject: Re: [U2] Code 128 Soft Font On Wed, 19 May 2010, Glen Batchelor wrote: Do you have a server version for Linux yet? You refer to our Print Wizard product. No, we don't have a Linux version. Printer drivers on Linux are far less powerful than those on Windows. Regards, Bob Rasmussen, President, Rasmussen Software, Inc. personal e-mail: r...@anzio.com company e-mail: r...@anzio.com voice: (US) 503-624-0360 (9:00-6:00 Pacific Time) fax: (US) 503-624-0760 web: http://www.anzio.com street address: Rasmussen Software, Inc. 10240 SW Nimbus, Suite L9 Portland, OR 97223 USA ___ U2-Users mailing list U2-Users@listserver.u2ug.org http://listserver.u2ug.org/mailman/listinfo/u2-users ___ U2-Users mailing list U2-Users@listserver.u2ug.org http://listserver.u2ug.org/mailman/listinfo/u2-users
Re: [U2] Code 128 Soft Font
On Wed, 19 May 2010, charles_shaf...@ntn-bower.com wrote: You refer to our Print Wizard product. No, we don't have a Linux version. Any plans to develop a Unix version? All of our servers run on Unix. Some of our workstations too. The same issue exists on Unix, so no. It is quite easy to set up one or more Windows machines as print servers, running Print Wizard, and feed them from Unix or Linux. This is what we recommend, and we have many customers doing this. Regards, Bob Rasmussen, President, Rasmussen Software, Inc. personal e-mail: r...@anzio.com company e-mail: r...@anzio.com voice: (US) 503-624-0360 (9:00-6:00 Pacific Time) fax: (US) 503-624-0760 web: http://www.anzio.com street address: Rasmussen Software, Inc. 10240 SW Nimbus, Suite L9 Portland, OR 97223 USA ___ U2-Users mailing list U2-Users@listserver.u2ug.org http://listserver.u2ug.org/mailman/listinfo/u2-users
Re: [U2] Code 128 Soft Font
On Wed, 19 May 2010, Glen Batchelor wrote: Just about everything gets converted to PostScript by CUPS and filters, so I don't follow you. My understanding is that CUPS deals with things at a job level, but not at a graphical element level. So for instance, if I have a TIF file I can feed it to CUPS as such, and the filters in CUPS can convert it to PostScript, if that's what's needed. But suppose I want to draw a red line from point A to point B on a page. Then I want to print in Arial 23 point bold, rotated 15 degrees. A Windows printer driver lets me do that, and have it come out correctly on thousands of kinds of printers. I don't believe CUPS gives me that fine level of control. Please correct me if I'm wrong. Regards, Bob Rasmussen, President, Rasmussen Software, Inc. personal e-mail: r...@anzio.com company e-mail: r...@anzio.com voice: (US) 503-624-0360 (9:00-6:00 Pacific Time) fax: (US) 503-624-0760 web: http://www.anzio.com street address: Rasmussen Software, Inc. 10240 SW Nimbus, Suite L9 Portland, OR 97223 USA ___ U2-Users mailing list U2-Users@listserver.u2ug.org http://listserver.u2ug.org/mailman/listinfo/u2-users
Re: [U2] Code 128 Soft Font
Charlie: Why don't you post the code on the U2 wiki, if you can figure out how, or on Pickwiki. Bill Charlie Noah said the following on 5/18/2010 7:41 PM: Marc, If you are using a small Laserjet or a 9050, why spend extra money on hardware or software products which might tie you to a specific setup, when you can use a Basic subroutine to print your Code 128 barcode (or many other codes) anywhere on the page you want it? I've done the grunt work and written the program, which uses standard commands built into the printer. We use this program in production every day - it works. This assumes you are printing to a piece of printable stock you can feed through your printer. I will get the latest version of the program tomorrow and post it. Don't worry - I wrote it, I own it and I can share it with anyone I want. Sorry, Tony, I have the greatest respect you you, but printing barcode is just too easy to pay a lot for it. Now, if you want to print labels, just buy a cheap barcode label printer like the ones UPS customers use (Zebra, Datamax, etc.), and send the very simple codes to it. Used or reconditioned ones are very inexpensive, and new ones aren't prohibitively expensive. Charlie Noah Sr. Systems Analyst Inland Truck Parts Company On 05-18-2010 3:45 PM, Caminiti, Marc wrote: Quick, maybe not necessarily U2 related, question. We are looking to generate Code 128 Barcodes from an HP LaserJet printer. Testing on a 4050, but the production printer (yet to be purchased) will be an HP LaserJet 9050. I'm leaning toward using a soft font, but was wondering if anyone out there had any luck with a particular font and see what is being used out there. Thanks in advance marc Marc Caminiti IS Manager Nashbar Direct, Inc 6103 State Route 446 Canfield, OH 44406 330.533.1989, ext 336 330.702.9733, fax All generalisations are dangerous, even this one. CONFIDENTIALITY NOTICE: This e-mail and any attachments may contain confidential information that is legally privileged. The information is solely for the use of the intended recipient(s). Any disclosure, copying, distribution, or other use of this information is strictly prohibited. If you have received this e-mail in error, please notify the sender by return e-mail and delete this message. ___ U2-Users mailing list U2-Users@listserver.u2ug.org http://listserver.u2ug.org/mailman/listinfo/u2-users ___ U2-Users mailing list U2-Users@listserver.u2ug.org http://listserver.u2ug.org/mailman/listinfo/u2-users ___ U2-Users mailing list U2-Users@listserver.u2ug.org http://listserver.u2ug.org/mailman/listinfo/u2-users
Re: [U2] Code 128 Soft Font
I'll pipe in here, just to be fair. If you have pretty much any kind of printing to do, get PrintWizard. It is well worth the time and effort. We took a very difficult (i.e. many different ways to accomplish the same thing) task of converting reports to .pdf, and found the simplest, most direct solution by using PrintWizard. I've got nothing but good things to say about the product and Bob. Just my $.02. :-) Bill Bob Rasmussen said the following on 5/18/2010 9:47 PM: On Tue, 18 May 2010, Charlie Noah wrote: ... Sorry, Tony, I have the greatest respect you you, but printing barcode is just too easy to pay a lot for it. Who said anything about paying a lot? You can get started in Print Wizard for $99 or $300, depending on configuration. How much is your time worth? (And not all printers have barcode capabilities built in.) (And thanks again, Tony.) Regards, Bob Rasmussen, President, Rasmussen Software, Inc. personal e-mail: r...@anzio.com company e-mail: r...@anzio.com voice: (US) 503-624-0360 (9:00-6:00 Pacific Time) fax: (US) 503-624-0760 web: http://www.anzio.com street address: Rasmussen Software, Inc. 10240 SW Nimbus, Suite L9 Portland, OR 97223 USA ___ U2-Users mailing list U2-Users@listserver.u2ug.org http://listserver.u2ug.org/mailman/listinfo/u2-users ___ U2-Users mailing list U2-Users@listserver.u2ug.org http://listserver.u2ug.org/mailman/listinfo/u2-users
Re: [U2] Code 128 Soft Font
Bob, You don't directly use a printer driver to generate content for other printers, so what you suggest is a little misleading. I understand the Microsoft printing interface having done some coding myself. There are drawing and publishing libraries out there that will do what you want and produce vector or raster imaging depending on what output you're attempting. You can then reformat that using other tools/libraries. The Ghostscript libraries are very powerful and there are a lot of format, or device, output options included. The key with the GS/GPDL library is that everything gets processed as vector graphics. It is, afterall, based on Postscript. Bitmaps are not handled that well, so PCL output can get bloated. The GPDL library is getting better for PCL2PS conversion, but it's still not perfect. I would note that your best success will probably come from generating Postscript content in your tools and then leveraging the GS libs to output PCL, inkjet, jpeg, etc output. I also suggest you stop by #ghostscript on irc.freenode.net and chat with the devs if you're looking for a Microsoft-like drawing and formatting library replacement. While it may be off-topic, I'm sure someone will suggest a few options. There also is a user and dev mailing list if you're not IRC-inclined. Don't forget about Tetex and/or LaTex markup conversion possibilities too. Glen Batchelor IT Director All-Spec Industries phone: (910) 332-0424 fax: (910) 763-5664 E-mail: webmas...@all-spec.com Web: http://www.all-spec.com Blog: http://blog.all-spec.com -Original Message- From: u2-users-boun...@listserver.u2ug.org [mailto:u2-users- boun...@listserver.u2ug.org] On Behalf Of Bob Rasmussen Sent: Wednesday, May 19, 2010 11:59 AM To: U2 Users List Subject: Re: [U2] Code 128 Soft Font On Wed, 19 May 2010, Glen Batchelor wrote: Just about everything gets converted to PostScript by CUPS and filters, so I don't follow you. My understanding is that CUPS deals with things at a job level, but not at a graphical element level. So for instance, if I have a TIF file I can feed it to CUPS as such, and the filters in CUPS can convert it to PostScript, if that's what's needed. But suppose I want to draw a red line from point A to point B on a page. Then I want to print in Arial 23 point bold, rotated 15 degrees. A Windows printer driver lets me do that, and have it come out correctly on thousands of kinds of printers. I don't believe CUPS gives me that fine level of control. Please correct me if I'm wrong. Regards, Bob Rasmussen, President, Rasmussen Software, Inc. personal e-mail: r...@anzio.com company e-mail: r...@anzio.com voice: (US) 503-624-0360 (9:00-6:00 Pacific Time) fax: (US) 503-624-0760 web: http://www.anzio.com street address: Rasmussen Software, Inc. 10240 SW Nimbus, Suite L9 Portland, OR 97223 USA ___ U2-Users mailing list U2-Users@listserver.u2ug.org http://listserver.u2ug.org/mailman/listinfo/u2-users ___ U2-Users mailing list U2-Users@listserver.u2ug.org http://listserver.u2ug.org/mailman/listinfo/u2-users
Re: [U2] OPENSEQ and Abnormal termination of UV
Anthony W. Youngman pi...@thewolery.demon.co.uk 'Yings, yow graley yin! Suz ae rikt dheu,' said the blue man, taking the thimble. 'What *is* he?' said Magrat. 'They're gnomes,' said Nanny. The man lowered the thimble. 'Pictsies!' Carpe Jugulum, Terry Pratchett 1998 Visit the MaVerick web-site - http://www.maverick-dbms.org Open Source Pick Anthony, Did you know that clicking on your maverick link in your signature brings up the janitor's warehouse website? ___ U2-Users mailing list U2-Users@listserver.u2ug.org http://listserver.u2ug.org/mailman/listinfo/u2-users
Re: [U2] Code 128 Soft Font
In message pine.lnx.4.64ras.1005190850490.5...@nimbus.anzio.com, Bob Rasmussen r...@anzio.com writes On Wed, 19 May 2010, charles_shaf...@ntn-bower.com wrote: You refer to our Print Wizard product. No, we don't have a Linux version. Any plans to develop a Unix version? All of our servers run on Unix. Some of our workstations too. The same issue exists on Unix, so no. It is quite easy to set up one or more Windows machines as print servers, running Print Wizard, and feed them from Unix or Linux. This is what we recommend, and we have many customers doing this. The only problem with *that* - is that your $100 solution has just become a $1000 solution. Find a machine, find somewhere to put it, pay for Windows (and you probably need the expensive pro version), and then pay all the running costs (electricity, air-con, etc etc aren't cheap). A lot harder to justify for occasional use. Don't forget - nix houses aren't used to the one server per service concept - they've probably got one old box running twenty, thirty occasionally used services - $100 to add another service on it is a very different proposition to finding a complete new machine just to run one thing. Cheers, Wol -- Anthony W. Youngman pi...@thewolery.demon.co.uk 'Yings, yow graley yin! Suz ae rikt dheu,' said the blue man, taking the thimble. 'What *is* he?' said Magrat. 'They're gnomes,' said Nanny. The man lowered the thimble. 'Pictsies!' Carpe Jugulum, Terry Pratchett 1998 Visit the MaVerick web-site - http://www.maverick-dbms.org Open Source Pick ___ U2-Users mailing list U2-Users@listserver.u2ug.org http://listserver.u2ug.org/mailman/listinfo/u2-users
Re: [U2] Code 128 Soft Font
On Wed, 19 May 2010, Anthony W. Youngman wrote: In message pine.lnx.4.64ras.1005190850490.5...@nimbus.anzio.com, Bob Rasmussen r...@anzio.com writes On Wed, 19 May 2010, charles_shaf...@ntn-bower.com wrote: ... It is quite easy to set up one or more Windows machines as print servers, running Print Wizard, and feed them from Unix or Linux. This is what we recommend, and we have many customers doing this. The only problem with *that* - is that your $100 solution has just become a $1000 solution. Find a machine, find somewhere to put it, pay for Windows (and you probably need the expensive pro version), and then pay all the running costs (electricity, air-con, etc etc aren't cheap). A lot harder to justify for occasional use. Don't forget - nix houses aren't used to the one server per service concept - they've probably got one old box running twenty, thirty occasionally used services - $100 to add another service on it is a very different proposition to finding a complete new machine just to run one thing. Print Wizard will run quite nicely on a $300 netbook. Velcro it to the wall. :-) Or set up a virtual Windows machine on your Linux machine. Seriously, though, I believe you're overestimating the costs while being largely unaware of the benefits. Regards, Bob Rasmussen, President, Rasmussen Software, Inc. personal e-mail: r...@anzio.com company e-mail: r...@anzio.com voice: (US) 503-624-0360 (9:00-6:00 Pacific Time) fax: (US) 503-624-0760 web: http://www.anzio.com street address: Rasmussen Software, Inc. 10240 SW Nimbus, Suite L9 Portland, OR 97223 USA ___ U2-Users mailing list U2-Users@listserver.u2ug.org http://listserver.u2ug.org/mailman/listinfo/u2-users
Re: [U2] Code 128 Soft Font
Bill, Wow, it looks like I started a small war here. That wasn't my intent - well, maybe a little, just to keep the blood pumping. I am putting the source at the end of this email, as some people don't or can't receive attachments. It's not too long. If you, or anyone else, knows how, please feel free to post it on the U2 wiki and/or Pickwiki. Post it anywhere else you'd like. Use it, share it, modify it to make it better, just share your improvements with me and don't claim it as your own. I've also done code 39, Codabar, int25 and Postnet. I haven't done codes like UPC because I didn't have a need for them. With the algorithms, I'd be glad to, just for the pleasure of doing it. And yes, I'm a Linux geek. I heartily approve of sharing knowledge, information and source code, as long as it doesn't violate someone's license or copyright. I have to express my gratitude here to Tony for QSORT. We use it a lot, and credit Tony as author. [Excuse me for a minute, my mouse cursor just took off by itself across the screen while I was typing, and I had to see how far it would go. It crawled slowly to the left of the screen and just sat there. Spooky!!!] It looks like Print Wizard does a whole lot more than just barcodes, and is certainly worth a serious look. I will be looking at it, and don't mind buying software that's genuinely useful to me. This barcode routine can be used as is or adapted easily for pretty much any MV system. I've used it in Universe, Unidata, Advanced Pick, and most recently, Jbase. Since it is an MV Basic program and outputs simple escape codes, it can be used on Unix, AIX (our platform), Linux or Windows. All the best to all who have participated in this discussion, especially Bob Rasmussen, who is a gentleman of the first order, and a hell of a developer. Charlie Here's the source. It may wrap a little, but should straighten out if you paste it into a wider screen. Brackets (]) in a string are probably literal value marks. Have fun! SUBROUTINE PRINT.BARCODE.128.HP.SUB (MESSAGE, INDENT, BAR.WIDTH, BAR.HEIGHT, ORIENTATION, PASSED.PARAMS) * Title:PRINT.BARCODE.128.HP.SUB * Written by: Charlie Noah * Date written: 1988 * Print barcode in Code 128 on HP Laserjet printers * (C) Copyright 1988 Charles W. Noah Associates * * Rev 02-19-2010 12:50 by:40 charlien charlien 350 lines; 13,149 bytes 5,271,091,321 * * Start modification history * Mod 02 02-16-2010 CWN Modify Mod 01 to make all barcode routines consistent SMURF AA2001 * Mod 01 06-25-2002 TEM Remove printer on/off. The parent process will do this. * End modification history * * Requires HP LaserJet (compatible) printer * * Specifications * * MESSAGE (passed) - This is the actual data to be encoded. * * INDENT (passed) - Spacing to indent message if it is printed below barcode. * * BAR.WIDTH (passed) - If a whole number is passed it will be the number of *dots for a single bar (300 dpi). If a number less *one is used it is assumed to be inches for a single *bar (ex .010 is the same as 3 dots). If the value *is null or zero the default of 3 dots (.010) will be *used. (max is 15 dots or .5) * * BAR.HEIGHT (passed) - If a whole number is passed it will be the number of *dots for the overall barcode height (300 dpi). If a *decimal number is used, it is assumed to be inches. *(ex. for a 1/2 inch barcode use 150 or .5). The *maximum is 900 dots or 3.0 inches. * * ORIENTATION (passed) - Orientation of the barcode. Use 'H' for horizontal *(lines going up and down) and 'V' for vertical. The *default is horizontal. * * PASSED.PARAMS (passed) - Attr 1 = true Print message text below barcode *Attr 2 = true Subroutine will control printer *null No message will print, caller will control printer * * PASSED.PARAMS (returned) - attr 10 = true status code - 1 Null message * 2 Message too long (N/A) * 3 Invalid width param (N/A) * 4 Invalid indent param (N/A) * 5 Invalid character(N/A) * 0 OK * * Note: The barcode is printed from the current cursor position. After * the barcode is printed the cursor is
Re: [U2] Code 128 Soft Font
I'm not going to get into any disagreement about Linux vs Windows. But a Linux solution for anything is very expensive, time-wise. If you have the time it's cheap. What they say is true; the easy is hard and the hard is doable in Linux, the easy is easy and the hard is $99.95 in Windows. Pick your poison, but for those of us who have such experience, don't suggest one is cheaper than the other. :-) Bill Dan McGrath said the following on 5/19/2010 3:31 PM: So $199 for Windows 7 Pro, plus $100 for the $100 for the software. Now if there a Unix/Linux shop, give them 2-4 hours to setup the windows VM and appropriate firewall settings, etc. A couple of hours to properly work out how to use the software and the few hours a year of administration for the Windows box and organizing backups, etc (I'm feeling generous towards Windows today). So how many man hours is that worth? I wouldn't say he is over estimating... -Original Message- From: u2-users-boun...@listserver.u2ug.org [mailto:u2-users-boun...@listserver.u2ug.org] On Behalf Of Bob Rasmussen Sent: Thursday, May 20, 2010 7:41 AM To: U2 Users List Subject: Re: [U2] Code 128 Soft Font Print Wizard will run quite nicely on a $300 netbook. Velcro it to the wall. :-) Or set up a virtual Windows machine on your Linux machine. Seriously, though, I believe you're overestimating the costs while being largely unaware of the benefits. Regards, Bob Rasmussen, President, Rasmussen Software, Inc. personal e-mail: r...@anzio.com company e-mail: r...@anzio.com voice: (US) 503-624-0360 (9:00-6:00 Pacific Time) fax: (US) 503-624-0760 web: http://www.anzio.com street address: Rasmussen Software, Inc. 10240 SW Nimbus, Suite L9 Portland, OR 97223 USA ___ U2-Users mailing list U2-Users@listserver.u2ug.org http://listserver.u2ug.org/mailman/listinfo/u2-users __ This email has been scanned by the MessageLabs Email Security System. For more information please visit http://www.messagelabs.com/email __ ### The information transmitted in this message and attachments (if any) is intended only for the person or entity to which it is addressed. The message may contain confidential and/or privileged material. Any review, retransmission, dissemination or other use of or taking of any action in reliance upon this information by persons or entities other than the intended recipient is prohibited. If you received this in error, please contact the sender and delete the material from any computer. The intended recipient of this e-mail may only use, reproduce, disclose or distribute the information contained in this e-mail and any attached files with the permission of IMB. ### ___ U2-Users mailing list U2-Users@listserver.u2ug.org http://listserver.u2ug.org/mailman/listinfo/u2-users ___ U2-Users mailing list U2-Users@listserver.u2ug.org http://listserver.u2ug.org/mailman/listinfo/u2-users
Re: [U2] Code 128 Soft Font
Bob, Let me also extend an offer to help with general development off-hours, if you're willing to work with GPL libs for open development. I'm sure Artifex will be happy to work out a commercial distribution deal for their Ghostscript offerings. I've dealt with the GS devs on many occasions for both the GPL Ghostscript libs and the XPS/GPDL stuff for PCL, where I've found bugs. They are troopers in that regard. My time is limited @home and I don't have time @work right now to devote to co-developing something, but I could really use a PrintWizard product on our RH server. HTMLDOC is far from a perfect solution, but it's getting the job done right now. As Anthony has stated, I would rather have a local app running on an existing server than go through the hassle/time/expense of configuring yet another critical Windows machine. We will be using it extensively company-wide so it needs to be a fast and rock-solid solution from the power plug in the server it's running on to the PDF being sent via sendmail. I'm sure your customers have never had problems, but based on my previous experience with Windows updates and service pack conflicts I can't take chances with something like this. A perfect example of why I don't care for Windows as a server; I've been forced to hunt down a copy of Win2K3 SBS because FedEx has yet to certify their shipping server app on 2K8. I came - - close to dumping an entire shipping solution due to the OS version requirements and availability tied on by a third party as large as FedEx. C'mon, how long as 2K8 been out?! I've found one application, which I obtained back on RH7.2, that does not run properly on RH ES5. I don't want to get into a Linux/Windows argument, but the fact is I love Linux for core processing and it'll take a major business upset for me to even consider moving something as critical as global document gen to a Windows machine. I have no quarrels with using Windows as a desktop OS or even as an interim data processing platform as long as my approval stamp isn't on it. :) BTW, TRUSTPrice has retail 2K3 copies with 5 CALs for around $500. They're legit copies, or at least mine is. Regards, GlenB On 5/19/2010 1:15 PM, Glen Batchelor wrote: Bob, You don't directly use a printer driver to generate content for other printers, so what you suggest is a little misleading. I understand the Microsoft printing interface having done some coding myself. There are drawing and publishing libraries out there that will do what you want and produce vector or raster imaging depending on what output you're attempting. You can then reformat that using other tools/libraries. The Ghostscript libraries are very powerful and there are a lot of format, or device, output options included. The key with the GS/GPDL library is that everything gets processed as vector graphics. It is, afterall, based on Postscript. Bitmaps are not handled that well, so PCL output can get bloated. The GPDL library is getting better for PCL2PS conversion, but it's still not perfect. I would note that your best success will probably come from generating Postscript content in your tools and then leveraging the GS libs to output PCL, inkjet, jpeg, etc output. I also suggest you stop by #ghostscript on irc.freenode.net and chat with the devs if you're looking for a Microsoft-like drawing and formatting library replacement. While it may be off-topic, I'm sure someone will suggest a few options. There also is a user and dev mailing list if you're not IRC-inclined. Don't forget about Tetex and/or LaTex markup conversion possibilities too. Glen Batchelor IT Director All-Spec Industries phone: (910) 332-0424 fax: (910) 763-5664 E-mail: webmas...@all-spec.com Web: http://www.all-spec.com Blog: http://blog.all-spec.com (]chomp[) for brevity ___ U2-Users mailing list U2-Users@listserver.u2ug.org http://listserver.u2ug.org/mailman/listinfo/u2-users
[U2] Print Wizard on Linux (was Re: Code 128 Soft Font)
On Wed, 19 May 2010, Glen B wrote: Bob, Let me also extend an offer to help with general development off-hours, if you're willing to work with GPL libs for open development. ... Thanks for the offer. But you haven't said what Print Wizard features you want, exactly. Let me give you the scope of things. I just did a full build of printwiz.exe; that is, just the main program that does all the dirty work. It's 550,432 lines of code! It has a PCL reader, a PDF writer, a PDF reader (coming soon), graphics file input routines (some purchased), an interface to Windows faxing, Windows sockets, and Windows scanning, SSL, CDO, MAPI, SMTP, the Windows spooler, FTP, HTTP, and Windows printer drivers (yes, we do use those for most printing output). It has some user interface, notably the print previewer, but not a lot. It can read files in formats PCL-5, PCL-6 (some), JPG, TIFF, BMP, WMF, EMF, SPL, TXT, PWML, HTML, PDF, Unicode, and more. It deals with input and output of TrueType fonts and does fine-grained manipulation on them. It prints in most world languages. And it's not in C, it's in Delphi. Now if you're interested in a very small subset of its capabilities, there might be hope. Several years ago I ported it to Kylix, which is the Linux equivalent of Delphi. I restricted it WAY down to just outputting PDF files. It was moderately painful. More to the point, it was dependent on Kylix and several libraries it used, which I think even today would be less stable and future-proof than Windows. I don't know if Kylix is currently supported. Then there's the question of the business case. It would have to generate some serious revenue. I won't go into numbers at this point, but I have a long to-do list. So what do you need, and what's it worth to you? Regards, Bob Rasmussen, President, Rasmussen Software, Inc. personal e-mail: r...@anzio.com company e-mail: r...@anzio.com voice: (US) 503-624-0360 (9:00-6:00 Pacific Time) fax: (US) 503-624-0760 web: http://www.anzio.com street address: Rasmussen Software, Inc. 10240 SW Nimbus, Suite L9 Portland, OR 97223 USA ___ U2-Users mailing list U2-Users@listserver.u2ug.org http://listserver.u2ug.org/mailman/listinfo/u2-users
[U2] Print Wizard teaser
Hi all, With all the conversation on printing and related topics, let me mention what's in the pipeline. Some of this was described and demonstrated at the recent Spectrum conference, but most of you weren't there. So... We will soon be going to beta with Print Wizard 4.0. This major release has many new building blocks, and many more ways to connect those blocks together. Let me mention one main focus area: eliminating the need for multi-part preprinted forms. We've had some of this, but more is coming. Imagine the classic case: you're currently printing invoices on 4-part carbonless preprinted forms on a dot matrix printer. Once printed, maybe you burst (decollate) them, maybe not. With Print Wizard 4, you will be able to: 1) Feed in text (the main, variable data) in plain text, PCL-5, HTML, or PWML (Print Wizard Markup Language). 2) Use as an overlay a 4-page PCL file, 4-page TIF file, 4-page PDF, or a list of files, to serve as the form backgrounds. 3) Tell Print Wizard to use paper from 4 different input bins, each containing a different color paper. 4) Create the output either collated or burst. 5) Preview the print job on the screen. 6) Shrink and place the form image to fit within the printable boundaries of the printer being used, graphically. 7) Shrink and place the text on the form image, graphically. 8) Save the configuration into a job-specific profile file, for reuse later. 9) Output to any Windows-supported printer. 10) Print in Chinese. 11) Set this all up easily. As I said, that's just one of the focus areas, but it's a biggie. If interested in assisting with the beta process, please email me off-list. Stay tuned... Regards, Bob Rasmussen, President, Rasmussen Software, Inc. personal e-mail: r...@anzio.com company e-mail: r...@anzio.com voice: (US) 503-624-0360 (9:00-6:00 Pacific Time) fax: (US) 503-624-0760 web: http://www.anzio.com street address: Rasmussen Software, Inc. 10240 SW Nimbus, Suite L9 Portland, OR 97223 USA ___ U2-Users mailing list U2-Users@listserver.u2ug.org http://listserver.u2ug.org/mailman/listinfo/u2-users
