Re: Looking for PostScript Composition Program

["Steven J. Owens" <puff -at- NETCOM -dot- COM>]

Weiner, Kandis writes:

> Sorry about the confusion, let me try again.
>
> We currently work in FrameMaker and save as PostScript, sending the PS
> files outside to be printed and composed into saddle stitch books.
> [... description of saddle-stitch, large sheet, four pages side by side]
> I'm looking for a software that will do that for us so that we can print
> these documents in house. I imagine that printers use a similar
> software, but we surely don't need the same extended capabilities as a
> high-turnover printing house.

     It's been about three or four years, but at one time there was a
script to do that for postscript files.  Essentially you printed the
file to postscript, then ran the script on it.  The script rearranged
the contents of the file.  It should still be on the net somewhere,
but you may not have an easy time finding it.

     Unfortunately, it's also been about three or four years since
I've even *looked* at PostScript code, or I'd offer to write a Perl
script to do this; the logic part of it's not rocket science.  The
only tricky part is:

     a) figuring out how to extract the individual pages from the file,

     and then

     b) how to code them so PostScript thinks they're all on the same
        page when you write them back to the the file.

     If there are any PostScript hackers around who don't feel too
good about their Perl skills and want to tackle this, drop me a line.

     Come to think of it, I'm surprised that FrameMaker doesn't have
this capability built-in, by now.  And if you're going to produce this
stuff in-house, you'll need some sort of special printing apparatus,
(otherwise you might as well just get a full-duplex, high-capacity
laser printer and print it double-sided).  Whatever printing system
you get might have this capability built in.

Steven J. Owens
puff -at- netcom -dot- com


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