PostScript® Patch Installer for the Apple LaserWriter® 7.0 and 7.1 drivers.
This version supports the following NEC PostScript Printers:
Silentwriter® 95
Silentwriter LC890 and LC890XL
Silentwriter2 Model 90 and 290
Colormate® PS, PS 40 and PS 80
PS Installer is an easy to use utility which improves the support of NEC PostScript printers with Apple Macintosh® systems. By updating either the LaserWriter 7.0 or 7.1 driver, this utility adds support for several NEC features. Please review all information in this document before PERMANENTLY modifying your copy of the LaserWriter driver.
• WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW BEFORE USING THIS SOFTWARE!
Once PS Installer permanently modifies your LaserWriter driver there is no turning back! Be sure to have a backup copy of your driver before using this software. In the unlikely event you do experience problems while printing with your application you can always use the original driver by dragging it back to your Macs system folder.
You must match the version level seen within the PS Installer dialog with the version level of the LaserWriter driver. To determine what version your LaserWriter driver is, select the LaserWriter icon and choose Get Info from the Finder's file menu. The version will appear in the Get Info dialog. This version of PS Installer does not support future versions of the LaserWriter driver.
When sharing printers on a LocalTalk® network; all Macintoshes should use the same or compatible driver version. This prevents frequent re-initialization of PostScript printers by Macs using different versions of the LaserWriter driver. LaserWriter 7.0 is compatible with all Macs using System 6.0.5 and greater and System 7.0. You should use this driver on all systems sharing printers on a network.
Problems may occur with applications that do not print using the standard LaserWriter print dialog. By supporting their own print features, these applications may not support all NEC features added by PS Installer. Fortunately, these applications usually provide some other means of support.
PS Installer isn't very smart! In order to find the LaserWriter driver you must copy it either to your system startup disk or to a folder containing the driver. PS Installer will always look in the current folder before searching in the Mac's system folder. PS Installer will not automatically look into the System 7.0 Extensions folder to locate your driver. The best bet is to always modify a copy of your driver in the same folder as PS installer and then drag the modified copy to your system folder.
PS Installer does not work with older Macintoshes using 64K ROMs (a Mac 512K without a ROM upgrade). If you have one of these older Macs, run PS Installer on a Mac with upgraded ROMs and copy the modified LaserWriter driver to the older Macs system folder.
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Using PS Installer
• To use PS Installer copy it to your startup disk in the same folder with a copy of your original LaserWriter driver.
• The LaserWriter driver's file name must be "LaserWriter" and must be an original unmodified copy of version 7.0 or 7.1.
• Double-click on PS Installer and read the information provided within the Info dialog. Press Ok.
• Push the Modify button to PERMANENTLY modify your driver.
• Select all NEC printers connected to your Mac. NEC features are added according to which printers were selected:
Silentwriter 95 with optional paper casette - Feeder support only.
Silentwriter LC890 and LC890XL - Bitmap smoothing and feeder support.
Silentwriter2 Model 90 and 290 - Bitmap smoothing only.
Colormate PS, PS40, and PS80 - Bitmap smoothing and Colormate page sizes.
• Press Install. An alert tells you when your driver is updated successfully. If necessary drag the new modified version to your system folder and restart your printer.
A description of each added feature is provided below:
New Feeder Button Support
PS Installer adds a new Feeder button to the LaserWriter's print dialog to support all of NEC's paper feed options. The new feeder dialog allows your application to use both the default and optional paper cassettes with your documents. Manual feeding is also supported. Of course, these new feeder options do not interfere when printing to other PostScript printers connected on the same network. Please be sure the cable is installed correctly to the optional hopper on either the Silentwriter LC890 and the LC890XL. Note that manual feeding with these printers is only supported by removing the optional hopper and replacing it with the manual feed guide. The new feeder dialog includes the following options:
(•) Default cassette - Select this radiobutton to feed from the cassette set as default from the front panel.
(•) Optional cassette - Select this radiobutton to feed from the cassette NOT set as default from the front panel.
(•) First page from default cassette - Select this radiobutton to feed the first page of your document from the default cassette and the remaining pages from the optional cassette.
(•) First page from optional cassette - Select this radiobutton to feed the first page of your document from the optional cassette and the remaining pages from the default cassette.
The two mixed feed options require that both paper trays contain the same paper size. Please refer to your printers User's Guide to set the correct page length for both cassettes. These options are useful for documents which require the first page to be printed on letter head or in similar situations.
NOTE: all options require that your Macintosh application uses the LaserWriter driver to perform all paper handling operations. Some applications such as PageMaker®, Quark Express®, and others, are capable of selecting paper trays directly from within the application, or use their own PostScript commands which override the LaserWriter driver's selection. In these situations your selection from within the Feeder dialog may not perform correctly. If your application fails to work correctly with the feeder dialog you should use only the default feed option. Default feed disables the PostScript commands sent to your printer. Fortunately, the Feeder dialog will support the majority of Macintosh applications.
The SAVE button within the feeder dialog allows you to select a default feeder setting. This option will always be selected when selecting the Paper Cassette option within the LaserWriter print dialog. Normally, the default setting should be set as default feed.
NOTE: Under some circumstances it is possible to force your application to use the selection from within the Feeder dialog. If your application uses the LaserWriter driver, but fails to utilize the feeder selection, try making your setting at the Finder level before launching the application. You can do this by opening the print dialog from the Finder's File menu and then saving your feeder selection. After launching your application it may now use the updated default setting.
The Manual Feed selection from within the LaserWriter print dialog always overrides the Paper Cassette option.
Colormate PS Page Sizes
Support has also been added for the Colormate PS letter, legal, and A4 page sizes by adding new page selections to the LaserWriter driver's Page Setup dialog. This useful feature allows Macintosh applications to display the correct page sizes for the Colormate when composing new documents. It prevents clipping which may been seen when using the LaserWriter paper size selections.
Text and Graphics smoothing
The LaserWriter driver can smooth out both graphic images and bitmap fonts by downloading its smoothing software to supported PostScript printers. PS Installer enables this routine so that it will also work on your NEC 68000 based PostScript Level 1 Printer.
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This software is provided as a service, and is not for sale or resale. NEC Technologies, Inc. makes no warranty or representation, either express or implied, with respect to this software and its quality, performance, merchantability, or fitness for a particular purpose. In no event will NEC Technologies, Inc. be liable for direct, indirect, special, incidental, or consequential damages resulting from any defect in the software or its documentation. No person is authorized to make any warranty on this software.
Who can use it? PS Installer is the property of NEC Technologies, Inc. and is protected by its 1989-91 Copyright notice. All rights are reserved. You can not sell it in its current or modified form. However, you can give it away for free in its original form to anyone who wants to use it with their NEC PostScript printer. Please be sure to pass on this document when giving it to a friend.
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Silentwriter and Colormate are a registered trademarks of NEC Corporation.
PostScript is a registered trademark of Adobe Systems, Inc.
Macintosh, LaserWriter, LocalTalk and System 7.0 are all registered trademarks of Apple Computer Inc.
