PS2FAX(8C)PS2FAX(8C)NAMEps2fax - image POSTSCRIPT(R) for facsimile transmission by
HylaFAX
SYNOPSIS
/var/spool/fax/bin/ps2fax [ options ] [ files... ]
DESCRIPTIONps2fax takes POSTSCRIPT input and generates a TIFF Class F
image file suitable for facsimile transmission. It is
usually invoked by the HylaFAX scheduler process,
faxq(8C). On Silicon Graphics' IRIX systems, this appli-
cation is based on Adobe's Display POSTSCRIPT software.
On other machines POSTSCRIPT imaging is typically done
using the freely available Ghostscript software.
ps2fax is actually a link (symbolic or otherwise) to the
script appropriate for the POSTSCRIPT imaging tool. The
link is setup when the faxsetup(8C) script is run to con-
figure a HylaFAX server machine for use.
Input files containing POSTSCRIPT may be specified on the
command line. If none are given, then ps2fax will read
from standard input.
By default, ps2fax will generate a 98 line/inch output
document whose page width is 1728 pixels and page length
is 297 mm (a standard A4 page at low resolution). Hori-
zontal resolution is always 204 dpi. Command line options
may be used to select alternate vertical resolution and
page dimensions.
If no filename is given, ps2fax writes its output to a
file named ps.fax; the -o option can be used to specify an
alternate filename.
By default, output is compressed using the standard Group
3 1D-encoding scheme, with EOL codes padded to byte bound-
aries. If the -2 option is specified, output is encoded
with the optional Group 3 2D-encoding scheme (EOL codes
are still padded to byte boundaries).
Note that bin/ps2fax is usually just a link to a shell
script that invokes the appropriate POSTSCRIPT RIP to do
the work.
OPTIONS
The following operations are recognized:
-1 Write Group 3 1D-encoded data to the output
file.
-2 Write Group 3 2D-encoded data to the output
file.
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PS2FAX(8C)PS2FAX(8C)-m pages Set the maximum number of pages that are permit-
ted in the output file. If more pages are pre-
sent in the input document then abort process-
ing.
-o file Write output to the specified file instead of
the default ps.fax filename.
-w width Set the output page width, in pixels. By
default, pages are 1728 pixels wide.
-l length Set the output page length in millimeters. By
default, pages are 297 millimeters long.
-r vres Set the vertical resolution, in lines/inch, at
which to image the POSTSCRIPT.
RUNTIME ENVIRONMENT
Before user-supplied POSTSCRIPT is passed to the
POSTSCRIPT interpreter, a limited number of operators are
defined. These operators are operators commonly found in
a LaserWriter printer and (sometimes) generated by Macin-
tosh-based applications.
The default Display POSTSCRIPT-based execution environment
includes support for the following fonts:
AvantGarde-Book Helvetica-Bold Palatino-BoldItalic
AvantGarde-BookOblique Helvetica-BoldOblique Palatino-Italic
AvantGarde-Demi Helvetica-Narrow Palatino-Roman
AvantGarde-DemiOblique Helvetica-Narrow-Bold StoneSerif
Bookman-Demi Helvetica-Narrow-BoldOblique Symbol
Bookman-DemiItalic Helvetica-Narrow-Oblique Tekton
Bookman-Light Helvetica-Oblique Times-Bold
Bookman-LightItalic Lithos-Bold Times-BoldItalic
Courier NewCenturySchlbk-Bold Times-Italic
Courier-Bold NewCenturySchlbk-BoldItalic Times-Roman
Courier-BoldOblique NewCenturySchlbk-Italic ZapfChancery-MediumItalic
Courier-Oblique NewCenturySchlbk-Roman ZapfDingbats
Helvetica Palatino-Bold
Note that this is the same set of fonts supported by the
DPS extension to the X server.
The default Ghostscript-based environment is more uncer-
tain; consult the Ghostscript documentation for informa-
tion on what fonts are available.
FILES
/var/spool/fax/etc/dpsprinter.ps POSTSCRIPT code read at startup for DPS
/usr/lib/DPS/default.dps_vm startup VM file for DPS
/usr/lib/DPS/outline Type 1 fonts for DPS
/usr/lib/DPS/prebuilt prebuilt versions of fonts for DPS
BUGS
Output from the Display POSTSCRIPT version of this command
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PS2FAX(8C)PS2FAX(8C)
is encoded according to the Display POSTSCRIPT binary
encoding protocol.
No prebuilt bitmap fonts are currently available for the
DPS-based imager; this would greatly improve legibility at
low resolutions, as the rendering of outline fonts at 98
lpi is particularly poor.
Both DPS- and Ghostscript-based versions of this program
fail to exit with non-zero status when an invalid
POSTSCRIPT document is processed; this makes it problem-
atic for the HylaFAX queue manager to determine when a
problem arises when preparing a job for transmission.
SEE ALSOsendfax(1), faxq(8C), hylafax-server(5F)
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