<p class="MsoNormal">PostScript templates are used to create the printer layout for some letter, prescription styles, graphs, and currently is the only way to define a print layout for the Superbill. Using PostScript means that if you have a PostScript capable printer, you can easily print to a local or network PS printer without going thru the process of first creating a PDF which is how most of Synapse EMR printing is done. PostScript printers tend to be higher end lasers, and many color lasers are PostScript capable. But be careful when purchasing as some of the low end color lasers that are windows specific are cheaper precisely because they lack PostScript. Older B&W lasers from HP were also PostScript capable such as the 4MP, but of course they were very expensive when first released some 12 years ago! You can purchase a used PostScript printer off eBay for less than $100 - but make sure first that it works with Windows and is not Macintosh specific! Synapse EMR comes with a built-in template for the Superbill. However, you may wish to customise if you need to change the layout. To see the built in layout, in Synapse EMR build 166 and higher <li class="MsoNormal" style="">Navigate to the Custom/PostScript tab<li class="MsoNormal" style="">Select “invoice” from the drop down menu near the bottom left<li class="MsoNormal" style="">Click on the “Default” button same line, and it will be displayed on the right<li class="MsoNormal" style="">Type a name for the template in the field above the buttons eg. Superbill, and then “Add New”<li class="MsoNormal" style="">You are now ready to make changes, and test them. When happy with the changes, use the “Update” button. <p class="MsoNormal">To activate the new template <li class="MsoNormal" style="">Navigate to the Settings/PostScript tab<li class="MsoNormal" style="">Click on the “?” button to the right of the “Superbill Template” label<li class="MsoNormal" style="">One template called “superbill” or whatever name you used will appear in the list<li class="MsoNormal" style="">Click on the name to select it, and then use the “Save Config” button to save this setting. <p class="MsoNormal"><o></o>The PostScript templates use a DSL ( domain specific language ) to specify the layout. At present this is undocumented, but can be inferred from the examples. If you need help, ask on the forums. <p class="MsoNormal">NB: When you use a PostScript template, it previews in a window which allows you to view at different sizes etc. This may well be blank if you do not install the optional PostScript font package!
Custom/PostScript I use a template called "A4 script generic" which is below The "at nxn" tells the printer where to place the following item on the page. The item can be a keyword such as "My-name", or "patient-table" which takes information from the database or configuration settings. Or, it can be text as long as there is a font directive before that. So, lets go thru this template line by line pagesize A4 Set the pagesize to A4. Can be letter, or A5. font Times-BoldItalic 30 Use the PostScript font, Times-BoldItalic in a 30 point size for the heading linewidth 1 Use a linewidth of 1 point for any lines we draw. We are going to draw 3 lines in this template later on. at 190x750 My-Name On the page measured from the bottom left, place My-name at 190x750 points where there are 72 points per inch. My-name is set up in Settings. color (black) Use the color black for any printing until we change the color. Note the ( ). font Times-Roman 12 Change the font to Times-Roman at 12 point size newpath at 75x725 line1 Start a newpath ( ie. we've finished with the text now ), and at 75x725 place the text corresponding to Line1 of the doctors address in Settings. at 75x715 line2 at 75x705 line3 Print Line2 and Line3 of the doctors address at 440x725 "Reg: " At 440x725 put the text "Reg: " still using the same font as last set. at 465x725 medical-registration Now at 465x725 ( on the same y setting, but 25 points to the right of "Reg: " ) put the medical registration as taken from the doctor's Settings. at 445x715 "Ph: " at 465x715 ph at 445x705 "Fx: " at 465x705 fx Do similar for the phone and fax from Setttings at 75x680 "Date:" font Times-Bold at 105x680 today Put the text "Date: " and then change to a bold font before printing today's date. font Times-Roman 14 Change to a larger font size of 14 at 75x655 patient-table Now at 75x655, print the patient's address details as taken from the database. at 360x660 "Dob:" at 400x660 dob Print the date of birth newpath at 75x740 line 530x740 newpath at 75x700 line 530x700 Draw a couple of parallel lines across the page 75x740 to 530x740, and 75x700 to 530x700 font Times-Roman 12 Change to a 12 point font at 75x570 pre
I got rid of my PostScript HP printer 3 years ago. Substituted it for 2 HP LaserJet 1000 series $98 dollars each. Very nice printers with reasonable upkeep. Will ghostscript work? Got this site:Creating a Virtual Postscript Printer in Windows using Ghostscript http://www.stat.tamu.edu/~henrik/GSPSprinter/GSPSprinter.html DrO
Yes. Ghostscript and GSview will work. That is what I use. In the >Settings>Postscript area - enter the location of GSVIew. For me it is .. c:\Program Files\Ghostgum\gsview\gsview32.exe
DrO, Redmon should work, but it looks very complicated to setup. Basically with Redmon, ghostscript is used to create the bitmap that is eventually sent to the printer. With a PS printer of course, it's much easier and quicker because all the processing is offloaded to the printer itself. With Redmon/Ghostscript, the processing has to be done by the PC. You can get cheap second hand postscript printers on eBay etc.
Since my beta of Synapse came only with two templates, I copied and pasted the templates from the demo version of Synapse online. Some of these do not work for me, it throws errors with some of the templates. Thus, would anyone mind sending me or publishing here all her or his templates? Thanks, Marius
Nope ... you have all the default templates. In Settings/PostScript templates use the drop down list. Select one of each you don't have. click on "Default" to create it. Resize it to Letter. Give it a name, and then save it. you may see errors if you don't have a patient loaded up to fill the template.
I get "There's an error in your postscript template, or you have not selected a patient first!" when I try to print a consult note using the default. If I try to print repeatedly, it crashes my GUI. Marius EDIT: I know why. For some reason, I got a "script" default template into my letter template and that screwed things up. It works now, flawlessly.