prps -- Command

Prepare files for PostScript-compatible printer
prps [options] [file ... ]

prps reads each  file, breaks it into pages, writes  a header at the top of
each page, then writes the paginated  text onto the standard output.  If no
file is given, prps reads the standard input.

Unike  the related  command pr,  prps writes its  output in  the PostScript
language, suitable  for printing on  a PostScript printer such  as an Apple
LaserWriter or a Hewlett-Packard LaserJet with a PostScript cartridge.  The
PostScript output program generates a sequence of standard 8.5×11-inch
pages, each containing a header line (file name, current time and date, and
page number) and  a box that encloses the text  of file. The default output
typeface is ten-point Courier.

prps recognizes the following options:

-b   Suppress  the  box around  the  page  text.  If  the  box is  present,
     PostScript clips text that would extend beyond its right border.

-h   Suppress the header line.

-in  Indent the left margin by an additional n characters.

-l   Generate ``landscape''-format output.   prps normally generates output
     pages  in ``portrait''  format (upright  8.5×11 inches).   The -l
     option generates output pages in landscape format (11 by 8.5) instead.
     This option is useful for files with long lines; by default, it prints
     46 lines per page.

-l2  Generate landscape-format output  pages that each contain two side-by-
     side  ``pages'' of  text.   This format  is useful  for saving  paper,
     especially when  used with a  small size of  type.  As it  prints in a
     small size of type, it prints 66 lines per page.

-nname
     Use name in place of the file name in the header line.

-tN  Set  tab stops  at every  N  characters.  The  default tab  setting is
     eight.

-ptsize
     Change the size  of type to ptsize points.  By  default, prps sets its
     output  in ten-point  type.  This  yields 64  lines per  normal output
     page, 46 lines in landscape format,  and 52 lines per half page in -l2
     format.  (Note  that a ``point''  is one twelfth  of a pica,  which in
     turn is one  sixth of an inch; thus, there  are 72 points in an inch.)
     By specifying the ptsize on its command line, you can tell prps to use
     a different  size of type.  For  example, -8 tells prps  to use eight-
     point type.

-pN  Print N lines  of text on each output page  (or half page).  Note that
     the point size determines how many  lines fit on a page, and lines per
     page determine  point size.   If you specify  both, prps will  use the
     given values unless the lines do not fit at the given point size.

+N   Skip the first N output pages.

Setting Fonts

prps  recognizes  the  standard  nroff  font  specification  sequences  and
translates them  into PostScript font specifications.   The default font is
Courier.  Because  the naming conventions for  PostScipt fonts are anything
but uniform,  prps appends a suffix  to the fontname to  designate a Roman,
boldface and italic font variety.  The default suffix is ` ' for Roman, ``-
Bold''  for bold  and  ``-Oblique'' for  italic.  These  give the  standard
PostScript names for the Courier family, ``Courier'', ``Courier-Bold'', and
``Courier-Oblique''.

Option  -ffontname  specifies an  alternative  fontname. Option  -FsXsuffix
specifies  an  alternative  font  suffix,  where  X is  one  of  the  three
characters   RBI (for  Roman, Bold  or  Italic) and  suffix is  the desired
suffix.  For example, the option

    -fTimes -FsR-Roman -FsI-Italic

generates  the usual  PostScript font  names for  the Times  family, namely
``Times-Roman'', ``Times-Bold'', and ``Times-Italic''.

To spare you  some of this grief, a few  fonts have built-in abbreviations.
Option  -FX,  where  X  is  one  of the  characters  ABHNPST,  specifies  a
PostScript fontname as follows:

    -FA AvantGarde
    -FB Bookman
    -FH Helvetica
    -FN Helvetica-Narrow
    -FP Palatino
    -FS New Century Schoolbook
    -FT Times

These  options also  set each  suffix appropriately  for the  desired font.
However, font naming  conventions may differ on various PostScript devices;
examine the prps output and your device documentation if problems occur.

Examples

prps  is especially  useful  as a  way  of printing  the  output of  nroff,
including manual pages.  For example,

    man prps | prps | hpr -B

or

    man prps | prps -l2 | hpr -B

prints  this Lexicon  article in, respectively,  portrait mode  or two-page
landscape mode.  It looks nicer if you center the output with an indent:

    man prps | prps -i8 | hpr -B

or

    man prps | prps -l2 -i4 | hpr -B

See Also

commands,
hp,
hpr,
lp,
pr,
nroff,
printer

Notes

When  you installed  COHERENT onto  your  system, the  installation program
asked  you  whether   your  printer  used  the  PostScript  language.   For
information on  how to install  a PostScript printer onto  your system, see
the Lexicon entries for lp and printer.

© 2012 by Stephen A. Ness