PostScript-to-GIF: Two Methods

The two different methods are:

Interpreter:            Non-Adobe       Adobe

Command:                ghostview, gs   Preview, xpsview, psrip,
Intermediate Format:    ppm             tiff
Color Depth:            24 bits         24 or 32 bits (RGB or CMYK)
Conversion:             ppmtogif, xv    Photoshop
Font Rendering:         without hints   with hinting

#! /bin/sh
#    pstogif
#
# Call it by putting the .ps file name as first argument but without the
# ".ps" extension.  Ex:  for "Intro_Tbl.ps" use "pstogif Intro_Tbl"
#
gs -r72x72  -sDEVICE=ppmraw -sOutputFile=$1.ppm << endinput
   ($1.ps) run
endinput
 
pnmcrop < $1.ppm | ppmtogif > $1.gif

"pnmcrop" crops the graphic at each of the four sides. "ppmtogif" converts the ppm file into the GIF format.

Here are some Silicon Graphics programs for the Adobe way:

xpsview

Adobe interpreter and PostScript previewer

imgsnap

producing screen shots (with box selection)

Font Technology

Ghostscript ".pfa" fonts (Type 1) give better results:

In addition, the Adobe interpreter uses hinting information and guarantees uniform line width for vertical stems when drawing small characters.

Anti-Aliasing (with gray scales): see unizh logo ...