Extremely random question time (regarding Print Shop and similar software)

[JohnBuell]

So my wife had been asking about classroom banners; something she could make herself, before school started. About the only way to do that with modern tech not using continuous feed paper is to print out a whole bunch of sheets of paper (that she set up with a slideshow program so they'd all have the same background), and kludge them together with scissors and tape. Ugh, we've gone backwards.

 

Well, I've got a row of working Atari 8 bits in the basement, but nothing that could print graphics. Ok, find a STAR like we had back in the day, ah, here's an nx-2420 on eBay, no problem. And it works. Connect to my Axiom AT-846, no joy. Rats. Ok, B&C still has Supra MicroPrint, still new in the bag. Get one of those, follow the instructions, BINGO. Grab the driver for Print Shop for 24 pin printers from AtariMania, check. Everything looks good.

 

Now I should say that while I own a couple of different hardware versions of FujiNet, I'm using a simple S-Drive Max for this. I can disk swap with a tap on the screen when I've got Print Shop sides A & B, a driver disk, and a graphics disk all loaded up. I wasn't getting the disk swap on the FN to work.

 

Except my son saw what I was doing, and him being a complete Sesame Street nut, he wants Cookie Monster, even if it is old dot matrix black and white artwork. Hm, I had a copy of the Sesame Street print kit once.... Yep can download it, run it.... None of the printer settings seem to work.

 

So here's the random questions:

1) Have any of the rest of you tried the Sesame Street Print Kit lately with a real 24-pin printer and got it to work? What printer setting did you use?

2) Did anyone ever dump/convert the graphics and borders from the SSPK and convert them to work with Print Shop? Or did anyone ever make a PD library type disk with art that just MIGHT have included Sesame Street characters?

3) Anyone tried Print Shop or SSPK with a virtual printer setting in FujiNet? Yeah that would defeat the use of continuous paper, but I'm talking about single page signs.

 

Any other (useful!) suggestions welcome.

Edited August 23, 2023 by JohnBuell

[_The Doctor__]

seemingly rambling random response to random question time follows.

The FujiNet takes over the printing port and then you must take the output file and print it with a modern windows printer.

It will interfere with real printer which is what I always used, so skip the Fujinet and get it working on you real printer hardware for the Atari.

After that you can work your way through the available fujinet choices, How that print out on a modern day inkjet etc depends on that printer for borders etc. You may need to try different fujinet firmware as they all seem to be a bit different in what works with what.

Many newer picture printing inkjets do what is called border-less printing but that allows you to print the printshop stuff properly edge to edge.

borderless in their case means no blank space borders... so you can print actual graphic borders in that space.

Edited August 23, 2023 by _The Doctor__

[JohnBuell]

Ok, great! So if my son has a screaming tantrum about not getting Cookie Monster signs off the Star, there's a workaround. Plug in Fujinet, run Sesame Street Print Kit from Fujinet, print from actual Atari to virtual Fujinet printer, and use that PDF to go to our four color wireless laser printer.

 

And thanks for humoring me, Doctor.

Edited August 23, 2023 by JohnBuell