Okay, here goes - I did install this one but have not printed yet and it seemed to work as well, or better than my older version. Much easier to install. No guarantees, but it's real close. A lot closer than trying to dig it out from the university sites, etc.
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GHOSTVIEW / GHOSTGUM INSTALLATION INSTRUCTIONS -
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- Ghost can be downloaded from several sites.
There are two parts to install - Ghostscript and Ghostview (also referred to as Ghostgum)
Ghostscript -
http://www.ghostscript.com/download/-Click Ghostscript 9.10
-select the platform - and click that General Public License Link
- At the Download File Info popup, point the "SAVE AS" to where you can find the download and click Start Download
- Find the GPL Ghostscript and double click
- Next
- I agree
- Install
- Finish
- That's Ghostscript
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But you still need the viewer
GhostView -
http://pages.cs.wisc.edu/~ghost/GSview 5.0 is on that link
Select the right one for your operating system
Find where you saved it and double click - It's a self extracting zip file
- Setup
- Next
- Next
- Next
- Next
- Next - to create Ghostgum folder
- Finish
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You now have Ghost Installed on your PC
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You will never directly use GHOSTSCRIPT again.
You will use GSVIEW (called GHOSTGUM) to view and print which needs GHOSTSCRIPT to run so it is necessary to
install both parts.
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You now have everything in place now to create and print Postscript (.ps) files from your Graphic Software.
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CREATE POSTSCRIPT FILES - Skip this if you're only printing from .ps files and not creating a .ps file
- You will create a .PS file from your graphic software such as Illy, Corel or Photoshop.
The most critical part is that when you do the print step, you must direct it to a POSTSCRIPT DRIVER,
NOT a physical printer. This write-up uses the HP DesignJet 5500 Postscript driver. When using Ghost
software, you do not reference a physical Printer when outputting from the Graphic Software. Instead
you reference a Postscript Driver to write to a file. That output file is what goes to GhostView (Ghostgum)
to print.
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PHOTOSHOP
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- Photoshop - finish any separations for halftones to where you have the channels ready to go
Click File - Print Options - SCREEN and set the lpi, angle, and shape for each color channel
Note for CS2 this is found in Print with Preview - If you don't see these setting, be
sure your setting is for "Output", NOT "Color Management"
Select PAGE SETUP to point to HP DesignJet 5500 and click OK
Select one channel to print and click PRINT. If a message pops up that clipping might occur, just
Click PROCEED. If a message pops up for resolution higher than 2.5 times the frequency, just click PROCEED.
Click the box for PRINT TO FILE and click OK. The PRINT TO FILE box should open wanting an Output
File Name. I have a folder on my C drive named "GHOST", so what I put in the box is -
C:\GHOST\xxxxxxx_yyyy.ps where xxxxxxx is my file or customer namd and yyyy is the color plate. Name
it something like C:\GHOST\Cust_Image_Color.ps and click OK. Note those are "back slashes" (above the
Enter Key), not "forward slashes". The channel will output to where you referenced. It may take 20 - 45
seconds to output and Postscript files can be quite large.
- Repeat the steps above for each channel
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PS-CS4 and CS5 - Download the Wilflex Free RIP for CS4 at
http://www.wilflexeasyart.com/downloads.htm. Once you have the .atn file, open the "Actions" window in PS and select Load Actions and find/load the downloaded Wilflex Rip.
Now select the channel desired to print and Click on the desired LPI from the Wilflex Action list. Wilflex will actually RIP
the image in a new copy in Photoshop. You then just print it directly to the printer and it will be halftones. If you don't
want to print from Photoshop, just do a 'save as' using the copy image Wilflex created as a .eps file. Then open that in
Ghost and print directly from Ghost or send the .eps file to someone, as needed.
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CORELDRAW
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- Coreldraw - Click on Print -
General Tab - Select Device Independent Postscrip File (this allows changes to LPI and Angle)
Separations Tab - Click on Print Separations box - Click on Color to be printed
Advanced Button - then click on Color in the new window and change Frequency (lpi) and Angle -
Set Halftone Type to DEFAULT - Click OK
Check only the ONE color to be printed (print films one color at a time) and click Print
Print to File - Create a Folder (if you don't already have one) and Name your file (type=Postscript)
This setting will save as a .ps file type
Click Save to output the file
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ILLUSTRATOR
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- Illustrator - Click on Print
General -
Printer - Adobe Postscript File
PPD - Design Jet 5500PS (my HP5500PS Postscript Driver)
Output -
Mode - Separations (Host Based) - Turn on printer for one Pantone Color
Set Freq/Angle/Dot
Save (button near bottom) - will open window to direct output to a Postscript file
Set location and name as xxxxxxxx.ps where xxxxxxxx is the name of your file
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LPI
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"Rule of Thumb".
Always set your LPI dependent on your screen mesh. Use 4.5 (although 5 is ever better to reduce the chance of
Moire pattern) time the LPI. Example. Setting LPI of 45 requires a mesh of 203 (45 * 4.5 = 202.5), but 230
is even better (45 * 5 = 225)
Dot Shape
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Elipse is a best choice for color gradient transitions, BUT for COREL, you have to use the DEFAULT.
Angle
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22.5 is the most recommended angle that most use, even for CMYK
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PRINT STEPS USING GHOSTGUM -
Click Start/Programs - Find GHOSTGUM and click on to open it up. Or you can just find your .ps file and
"Open With" gsview
Click OK - It's just a notice for registration and is ignored
Note that Ghost will open many other file type extensions if needed). It's a very useful utility to have and
can print spot colors just as nicely as halftones.
The image should appear on the canvas
If image does not fit properly, you may have the wrong canvas selected. Click "MEDIA" and change the canvas setting.
Try 11x17. When correct, the image will appear in the center of the canvas for printing. (Note: I have had some
issues in Corel output getting it to center and have had to adjust the location in Corel when outputting).
Click PRINT and change printer settings for your printer
If the print comes out as code text lines and not an image, when the Print Box appears, check PRINT METHOD settings
and select "Windows GDI printer", not PostScript Printer.
NOTE: - the ORIENTATION selection in Ghost refers to HOW THE PAPER IS IN THE PRINTER, NOT the way you're seeing the
image on the screen.
Click OK to print