We are assuming that you are talking about the Digital ScriptPrinter LN03R.
To connect the ScriptPrinter directly to the serial port of the Macintosh, you
need a cable with the correct pinouts to support all signals between the
printer and the Macintosh. Second, even though the ScriptPrinter is
PostScript-controlled, you need a driver on the Macintosh so you can select
from the Chooser. To our knowledge, there is no such driver. One alternative
is to print to a disk file from the application, and send the file to the
printer using a terminal emulation program. With the correct cable, you can
communicate to the printer using a terminal emulation program, like
MacTerminal, over the serial port. This is not very convenient.
Another alternative is to use the printer on the network. With Alisa Digital
Printer (ADP) support system, an option for AlisaTalk for VAX/VMS, Macintosh
users can print to Digital PostScript devices, such as the LN03R ScriptPrinter
and the PrintServer 40. To the Macintosh user, the Digital PostScript device
looks like an Apple LaserWriter.
ADP makes use of VMS system queueing and printing. Features include forms and
paper-type control, optional job-flag and trailer pages for job identification,
paper tray selection, and support for the Adobe system typeface pack. One VMS
receiver process handles all Macintosh users; a new process for each job is not
necessary. The software uses standard Digital Print symbionts and
automatically loads the Laser Prep dictionary to the front of each Macintosh
job submitted.
Another product called PacerPrint from Pacer Software, Inc., offers similar
features. For more information on the Alisa Digital Printer support system or
PacerPrint, search the Technical Info library using keywords "Alisa or Pacer".
Finally, PATHWORKS (formerly LanWORKS) for Macintosh, the new Apple-Digital
Alliance product announced May 1, 1990, available later this year, will offer
this capability. The service is called VAXshare Print Server, and it will
support Digital's LPS20, LPS40, ScriptPrinter LN03R, and Apple's LaserWriter,
LaserWriter Plus, LaserWriter IINT, and LaserWriter IINTX.