Instructions for PSFC Authors: What is the PostScript language?

What is the PostScript language?

The PostScript computer programming language was originally developed by Adobe Systems to communicate complex graphic printing instructions to digital laser printers. It is now built into most laser printers and available in many operating systems for high-quality rendering of images on display screens.

An important characteristic of the PostScript language is that it is device independent. This means that it will produce good-looking images regardless of the resolution or color rendering of the output medium. It takes full advantage of whatever capabilities are built into the device. 

Type 1 fonts are in fact a specialized form of PostScript program and are the normal file format used for type display on all PostScript printers and displays. Type 1 is the only format that takes full advantage of the capabilities of Adobe PostScript language software.