Exporting PostScript and EPS files from Layout by Zaweba
Export PostScript level 3 from Layout by Zaweba with text as outlines in RGB, CMYK or grey, sized from a .ppd, or EPS pages with a TIFF preview.
PDF has taken over most of the work that PostScript once did, but not all of it. Some print rooms still run workflows built around PostScript files, some older imagesetters and RIPs want them, and EPS is still asked for by people placing artwork in older software. Layout by Zaweba can export both, so you can meet those requests without hunting for a converter.
PostScript level 3 output
The PostScript export writes level 3 PostScript, the most recent version of the language, which most PostScript devices still in use understand. You choose RGB, CMYK or grey output to suit the device and the job.
Text goes out as outlines. That means the receiving device doesn't need your fonts, and the letter shapes print exactly as they look in the document. The trade off is that the text in the file is no longer text as such; it can't be searched or edited at the other end. For a file destined for a printer, that is usually exactly what is wanted.
Sizing from a printer description
The page size can be taken from a .ppd file, a PostScript printer description. A PPD tells software what a particular device can do, including the paper sizes it supports. Using the right one means the PostScript file is laid out for the paper and device it is heading for, rather than a generic size that the device then has to guess about.
If the print room uses a particular PostScript device, ask them for its PPD. If they don't specify one, they may be happy with a general file, but it is worth asking.
EPS, one file per page
EPS export writes one file per page. Each EPS includes a TIFF preview, so programs that can't render PostScript themselves can still show what the file looks like when it is placed.
EPS suits jobs like sending a single advert to a publication that still asks for EPS, giving a logo panel to someone working in older layout or drawing software, or archiving pages in a format that many tools can read. One file per page keeps things simple: page five of a document becomes its own EPS, ready to place.
When to choose PostScript or EPS over PDF
Choose PDF by default. Layout's PDF presets cover press quality, the PDF/X style standards and screen use, and PDF keeps live text, transparency and accessibility tags in ways PostScript and EPS can't.
Choose PostScript when a print room or device explicitly asks for it. Some established workflows are built around it, and sending what they ask for avoids a conversion step on their side where things can go wrong.
Choose EPS when someone needs to place a page as artwork in software that prefers it, or when a supplier's specification says EPS.
Mistakes to avoid with PostScript and EPS
Sending PostScript when PDF would do adds a step and loses information. Ask what the recipient wants.
Picking the wrong colour mode is easy to do. A CMYK device sent RGB output, or the other way round, may convert colours in ways you didn't intend. Match the output to the device.
Expecting editable text in either format leads to disappointment. Text is outlined, so corrections have to be made in the Layout document and exported again.
Using the wrong PPD, or none when one was asked for, can give the wrong page size. Check with the print room.
Checking before you export
The same checks apply as for PDF. Clear live preflight first, so missing pictures, low resolution images and overset text are dealt with. Look at the separations preview if the file is going to a CMYK device. Then export. A clean document produces a clean PostScript or EPS file, whatever the format asked for.
