Category : Printer + Display Graphics
Archive   : PRINTIFF.ZIP
Filename : PRINTIFF.DOC

PRINTIFF - TIFF file print utility V1.0
Copyright (c) 1992 S.K. Consultants
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Sven Kahrkling
S.K. Consultants
R.R. 2 Loretto
Ontario, Canada
L0G 1L0

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This program requires VGA graphics and a HP compatible laser printer.
If your laser printer only has 512K of available memory, you'll only be
able to fill half the page with graphics at a time.

If you attempt to print more than that, the printer will auto-
matically eject the page. Please refeed the paper so that the remainder of
the image can be printed. Unfortunately registration is not very accurate
with laser printers, so a gap is usually seen between the upper and lower
halves of the image.

For a full page of graphics at 300 dots per inch resolution, your
laser printer requires 1 Meg of memory or more.
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Installation:

This program can be run from the floppy disk. However, because TIFF files
are large and take a long time to load, it's best to install this program
and TIFF files on your hard drive.


Create a directory on your hard drive.

Copy all files from the floppy disk to this new directory.


Type:

PRINTIFF


and the program should come up and display various parameters related to
the TIFF file.

Press F10 to see configuration parameters of the program.

Move to the field "Eject Page" by using the UP or DOWN arrow keys on the
keyboard. Use the LEFT or RIGHT arrow keys to change the parameter to
"YES" if you want the printer to eject the page or "NO" if you anticipate
more than one image on the same page. Other parameters should be left as
they are for now. They may be removed in future versions of the software.

Press "Esc" to exit the configuration window. The parameters will be saved
automatically in a file PRINTIFF.CFG.

Press F2 to view the TIFF file on the screen. Press F1 for help, or use
LEFT, RIGHT keys to adjust the number of gray shades. Observe the size of
the image at the bottom of the screen. It should be able to fit on an
8 1/2" x 11" sheet of paper. Also keep in mind that an effective
resolution of 50 or 60 gives the most pleasing results.

Press "Enter" when brightness and contrast adjustments have been completed.

Position the image on the page by using the LEFT, RIGHT, UP and DOWN arrow
keys. You can also scale the image down by using the F3 and F4 keys. The
red rectangle shows the image's relative position and size on the paper.
Green rectangles show where previous pictures have been printed on the
page, if any. This helps position subsequent pictures beside those already
printed. Up to 16 previous views are displayed. F2 clears these previous
views.

Press F10 to print the image.

If you selected "NO" for "Eject Page" in the configuration window, you can
still eject the page by one of two methods:


- Go back to the configuration window, and press the PgUp key.

- Set your printer "Off Line" and press "Form Feed" on its
front panel.

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SHOW mode: The TIFF file parameters are displayed.

Esc - Exit the program.
F2 - View the TIFF file - go to VIEW mode.
F10 - Change program parameters - go to CONFIG mode.
PgUp - Move to previous image - of a multi-image TIFF file.
PgDn - Move to next image - of a multi-image TIFF file.

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CONFIG mode: The program's parameters can be changed.

Esc - Exit CONFIG mode. Back to SHOW mode.
Up - Move the cursor up to the previous field.
Down - Move the cursor down to the next field.
Left - Decrease the value of the current field.
Right - Increase the value of the current field.
Pgup - Eject the page from the laser printer.

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VIEW mode: Preview the TIFF file, change the way it looks.

Enter - Go to POSITION mode.
Esc - Exit VIEW mode. Back to SHOW mode.
F1 - Help. The function keys in this mode are described.
F5 - Decrease brightness. Minimum brightness is -63.
F6 - Increase brightness. Maximum brightness is +63.
F7 - Decrease contrast. Minimum contrast is -99.
F8 - Increase contrast. Maximum contrast is +99.
F9 - Toggle on/off extreme range. See below for a description.
F10 - Reverse image - make the image negative.
Up - Decrease absolute resolution. Resolution is 75,100,150,300.
Down - Increase absolute resolution. Resolution is 75,100,150,300.
Left - Decrease gray scale size. Shades is 2,5,10,17,26,37,50,65.
Right - Increase gray scale size. Shades is 2,5,10,17,26,37,50,65.
PgUp - Move to previous image - of a multi-image TIFF file.
PgDn - Move to next image - of a multi-image TIFF file.


F9 Is used to toggle the "Extreme range display". When "On", the
screen will show areas of the image which will appear black in the final
printout as white, and areas that will have no toner at all as black. The
intention is to provide a tool for the accurate adjustment of brightness
and contrast so that only a relatively small amount of the image appears as
black, and that some of the image will be white. In this way, the full
range of shades is exploited.

For the sample TIFF file MELANIE.TIF, if available, a brightness
setting of +3 and contrast at -1 is about right.

In general, the most pleasing image is obtained when contrast and
brightness controls are such that a small change in brightness, either up
or down, will make the extreme ranges disappear. That is, the black and
white portions of the image truly represent the extreme ranges your printer
is capable of reproducing. Too large a dark area will obscure detail in
the darker portions of the picture - not to mention waste a lot of toner.
Likewise, it is desirable to have at least some part of the picture
represented with no toner at all. For the purposes of this discussion,
white is considered a "shade" which should be present in the final printout
to fully bring out the highlights of the image.


NOTE:

The effective resolution is displayed at the bottom right of the
screen. It is affected by the setting of the printer's absolute resolution
(Up,Down keys) as well as the number of shades (Left, Right keys). The
more gray shades, the less the resolution of the image, and the larger the
overall image appears on the page. This is because a greater number of
pixels must be used to form the image. Try to obtain an effective
resolution of about 50 or greater. Any less than that and the image will
look quite grainy. The number of shades should be at least 17 for a
realistic looking image. The VIEW mode represents the final image as it
would appear. Experiment.

The table below shows the effective resolution for all combinations
of shades and the printer's absolute resolution.

Absolute Resolution

300 150 100 75
Shades ---------------------------------
|
2 | 300 150 100 75
5 | 150 75 50 37.5
10 | 100 50 33.3 25
17 | 75 37.5 25 18.8
26 | 60 30 20 15
37 | 50 25 16.7 12.5
50 | 42.9 21.4 14.3 10.7
65 | 37.5 18.8 12.5 9.38

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POSITION mode: Scale the image if required and position it on the page.

Enter - Exit POSITION mode. Back to VIEW mode.
Esc - Exit POSITION mode. Back to SHOW mode.
F2 - Clear previous views. See below for a description.
F3 - Decrease the size of the image.
F4 - Increase the size of the image.
F10 - Print the image.
Up - Move the image.
Down - Move the image.
Left - Move the image.
Right - Move the image.


NOTE:

The current image is shown as a green rectangle. Everytime an image
is printed the program remembers its relative position and size on the
page. The next time you wish to print, you'll see previous images
(represented by red rectangles), to help position the current image before
printing. The program can remember the positions of up to 16 past images.

This tool allows you to position future images irregardless of
whether the paper has been ejected between images. F2 erases the red
rectangles - previous positions of images - to prepare for a new page.

When actually printing you will see the image on the screen, as well
as an indicator line on the left edge showing how much data has been sent
to the printer. You may interrupt this process by pressing any key. This
will cause the printer to eject the current page - showing a partial image.

If the indicator line is not changing there is a problem with the
printer or its cable. Please ensure that there is paper available and that
the printer is "On-Line". To make sure, perhaps a test print from a word
processor or other program will insure that everything is working.

This program only works with laser printers. Others such as dot
matrix printers may be supported in future versions.
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