re atm now hplj pricing while there are too many ps clones to count some of which are quite poor trying to clone something that goes through regular modifications does require some patience three questions come to mid real quick for something like this q which version of adobe ps will we clone aside from the level and level issues adobe has in the past released new code that incorporates modifications upgrades fixes just as all other software vendors do the level stuff may seem sound now but i assure you changes will become more frequent as their customer list begins to dwindle in the face of competition this allows them to shift people to maintenance as well as design efforts for level q do we duplicate the bugs or do we make it work correctly from the laserwriter to the laserjet there have been bugs if i had a number to call at hp or adobe they ld have heard from me deciding which approach to take depends on which printer you want to emulate q do we follow the red book or do we follow someone s implementation without a doubt there are differences between the red book and adobe s ps with level many issues have been refined but the red book does leave big big holes in the implementation specific stuff it would be nice it the red bood at least pined things down enough so that two different implementations of adobe s ps don t do the exact opposite given an identical set of conditions q pscript drv having done a lot of ps clone testing myself the unfortunate side of testing is the limited number of sources for test files the primary source we use is genoa and having characterizes their ps ats files of them over half are taken from pscript drv it may not ideal but the ats files are what the printer vendors use i m sure that adobe uses them too but adobe s output is by definition correct even if its wrong yes there are some very poor clones we ve seen them here at rastek a sub of genicom which has its own clone called geniscript some are poor for lack of design some are poor because they followed the red book and some are poor because the vendors don t know what ps is don newbold don rastek com
