PostScript 3 debut, new Imation proof material highlight Seybold show. (Seybold Seminars spring 1997; Adobe Systems' PostScript 3)(Product Announcement)

The long-awaited introduction of PostScript 3 (no longer referred to as Level 3) was one of the highlights-though perhaps somewhat anticlimactic-of the Seybold Seminars spring event, being held for the first time in New York April 23-25.

Perhaps more exciting was the debut of a color proofing technology based on a new imaging material developed by Imation. It runs in a Presstek Pearlsetter CTP system, making it possible to use the same imaging engine to produce plates and color contract proofs.

We'll have an overview of these and other topics here, as we prepare a more complete rundown on the event in our next issue.

Adobe rolls out new PostScript

With an elaborate presentation at the Hudson Theater in New York on April 22, Adobe Systems rolled out version 3 of PostScript functionality. In a sense it was anticlimactic, in spite of a dramatic performance by President Chuck Ges- chke, who intermixed descriptions of new functions with a concocted video extolling the wonders of remote printing with PostScript.

The first news was on the naming front, where this version of PostScript will be called PostScript 3, not PostScript Level 3, and the Supra architecture introduced last year was renamed Extreme. (Apparently PostScript 3 is easier to trademark than Level 3, making it slightly more difficult for non-Adobe suppliers of interpreters to use the name.)

As Adobe had indicated in its first announcement of version 3 last fall, this edition covers a wide range of new capabilities, including enhanced quality, an estimated 30% improvement in performance, easier means of setting up printers and effective use of the Web for printer control and remote printing.

Unfortunately, very little was actually demonstrated. Although several com- panies participated in an exhibit at the Adobe press event and some others mentioned PostScript 3 in their booths, none of them had very much to show. The most obvious new feature-demonstrated on an Encad printer and an Agfa RIP-was the ability to create smoother shading than has been possible with Level 2.

The Smooth Shading operator is one of several new operators in the language. Another new one facilitates printing composite images where one is placed onto another. Also supported are six-color Hexachrome separations and a variety of other features intended to print more pleasing quality, even on low-resolution monochrome printers.

Some other features of note include direct printing of PDF files; an expansion of the standard font set from 35 to 136 faces; full support for international font requirements; simplified printer installation through the use of a single CD-ROM …