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PrintCAD 1.18 printer driver for IBM/DOS CAD packages including AutoCAD and Microstation (C) Copyright Ravitz Software Inc. 1991,1992 Ravitz Software Inc. BBS/FAX 606-268-0577 P.O. Box 25068 Lexington, KY 40524-5068 USA Compuserve Cary Ravitz [70431,32] p-1 Contents ------------------------------------------------------------- Introduction ..................................................... 2 License and Registration 3 What Is New ...................................................... 3 Operation 4 Installation ..................................................... 5 Suggested Startup .BAT Files 5 Syntax ........................................................... 6 Overview of Options 7 /1, /2, /3, /4, /5 - Alternate Configurations .................... 7 /A - Location Option 7 /B - Tiling Option ............................................... 8 /C - Pen Color Option 8 /D - Output Destination Option ................................... 9 /F - Output Format Option 10 /I - Scaling Point Location Option .............................. 12 /J, /K - Printer Code Prefix, Suffix Options 12 /L - Page Layout Option ......................................... 13 /M - Magnification Option 14 /O - Origin and Orientation Option .............................. 14 /P - Intercept Mask Option 14 /Q - Number of Copies Option .................................... 16 /R - Internal Resolution Option 15 /S - Pen Shading Option ......................................... 15 /T - Temporary File Option 15 /W - Pen Width Option ........................................... 16 /X - Control Option 16 /Y - D/Y and S/E Switch Settings Option ......................... 17 /Z - Chord Angle and Enhanced Font Option 17 Large Paper ..................................................... 18 DESQview and Windows 18 Answers ......................................................... 19 Useful Prefix and Suffix Codes 20 Output Devices .................................................. 21 Color Processing 26 Compatibility and Technical Information ......................... 26 User Support 27 p-2 Introduction --------------------------------------------------------- PrintCAD is a pen plotter emulator that acts as a printer driver for most IBM/DOS based CAD packages. It lets you print drawings directly from CAD programs, via the CAD program's pen plotter driver - either AutoCAD's ADI plotter driver or an HP-GL driver. PrintCAD works with AutoCAD, AutoSketch, Microstation, Cadkey, Generic CADD, Draft Choice, PC-Draft-CAD, and other CAD programs. It will print on Epson and IBM 9 pin printers, Epson, Fujitsu, IBM, NEC, and Toshiba 24 pin printers, HP LaserJet, DeskJet, PaintJet, QuietJet, HP-GL/2 devices, and HP-GL plotters, Canon LBP, BJ, and BJC printers, IBM LaserPrinter, ExecJet, and Quietwriter 2 and 3, Kodak Color 4, PDP ProTracer, Tektronix ColorQuick, and PostScript printers, and it will generate PCX files. PrintCAD prints faster than many native CAD printer drivers and provides additional flexibility, such as pen width, shading, and color (with color mixing), and paper size, orientation, magnification, and positioning. PrintCAD uses the best graphics modes available for each printer that it supports. PrintCAD is a swapping resident program that uses 5K of base memory and 400K of EMS or XMS memory. Either 400K of EMS or XMS memory is required. EMS and XMS are expanded and extended memory management protocols that are typically set up with memory management software such as HIMEM/EMM386, QEMM386, or 386MAX. If you have a computer with extended or expanded memory hardware, you need to install such a driver to use it as EMS or XMS memory. PrintCAD automatically loads high if a 5K DOS or XMS upper memory block is available. Do not use LOADHI or LOADHIGH. For use with DOS extender based programs such as AutoCAD 386 and Microstation 4, a VCPI handler needs to be present. VCPI handlers are built into MS-DOS 5's EMM386.EXE and recent versions of QEMM 386, 386MAX, and other 386 memory managers. If PrintCAD notes "VCPI not present" then you need to upgrade your memory management software. PrintCAD has been tested in a variety of environments. However, because it is a swapping resident program, unusual situations may cause it to crash the system. Please test it thoroughly on your system before using it with unsaved data. PrintCAD will generally work with multitasking systems such as DESQview and Windows, but this is not guaranteed. See DESQview and Windows for information. This program is produced by a member of the Association of Shareware Professionals (ASP). ASP wants to make sure that the shareware principle works for you. If you are unable to resolve a shareware-related problem with an ASP member by contacting the member directly, ASP may be able to help. The ASP Ombudsman can help you resolve a dispute or problem with an ASP member, but does not provide technical support for members' products. Please write to the ASP Ombudsman at 545 Grover Road, Muskegon, MI 49442 or send a CompuServe message via CompuServe Mail to ASP Ombudsman 70007,3536. p-3 License and Registration --------------------------------------------- PrintCAD is provided as is. There are no warranties expressed or implied. PrintCAD is a swapping resident program that may have problems with unusual environments. PrintCAD is copyrighted by Ravitz Software Inc. You may copy PrintCAD only for use under this license agreement. PrintCAD is distributed as shareware. You may use PrintCAD without charge on a trial basis to determine its suitability for you. If you continue to use it after your evaluation, you must purchase a registered copy for $49. This registration covers use by a single person (on multiple computers) or installation on a single computer (may be used by a group of people). There is no cost to use a later 1.** version after registering any 1.** version. You may distribute PrintCAD as a stand alone product if you keep the entire package together, unchanged, including this license explanation, and do not charge more than $10. You may not distribute PrintCAD as part of another product. To purchase a registered copy of PrintCAD, send your name, address, and $49 check to: Ravitz Software Inc. P.O. Box 25068 Lexington, KY 40524-5068 USA You will be sent a printed manual and disk (always the latest version). Please specify 3.5 or 5.25 inch disk. If you previously registered PrintCAD, you may send $15 to get a current disk and manual. Multiuser licenses are $49 for the first copy (with disk and manual) and thereafter $40 per copy (with disk and manual) or $25 per license (without disk or manual). For users outside the USA, please make checks payable in US dollars, and except for Canada, please use a check from a US bank if possible. Don't forget to include your country in your address. If you register through a business, be sure to include your name. What Is New ---------------------------------------------------------- V 1.18 - Supports HP DeskJet 500C, PaintJet XL 300, LaserJet 4. /XN inhibits swapping for improved compatibility with DOS extender based programs. V 1.16 - HP-GL/2 output (/F0), you can set the nominal resolution of PostScript or HP-GL/2, /X+ and /X- let you increase or shrink PrintCAD's memory space, PS XP macro selects a paper tray, /FG drives the PDP ProTracer, XMS is the default for swapping memory. p-4 Operation ------------------------------------------------------------ When PrintCAD is run for the first time, it installs itself and swaps most of its code to EMS (expanded memory) or XMS (extended memory). Subsequent runs look for the resident copy and send control information to it, updating the parameters. When resident, PrintCAD intercepts calls to DOS that the CAD package makes to output HP-GL. This data is used to drive the printer. To make this work, you must tell PrintCAD how to recognize that HP-GL data is being output from your CAD package. Choose a filename mask that you can match with your CAD package, such as *.PLT. Set this with the /P option (/P*.PLT). Inside your CAD package, output HP-GL (HP 7475, HP 7440/17440, or HP 7550) to a file name that matches the mask. PrintCAD intercepts the data and prints the picture. For AutoCAD and AutoSketch, you can use ADI for the filename mask (/PADI). Configure AutoCAD for an ADI plotter on interrupt hex 78 - up to 40 pens, 1016 dots/inch. Then all output to this driver goes to PrintCAD via interrupt 78. You can also use AutoCAD's HP-GL driver - setup is the same as noted in the previous paragraph. After making PrintCAD resident, you can verify that it is functional by copying an HP-GL file to "pcad.plt" with the DOS COPY command. For color output, the CAD package should be configured for a plotter with multiple pens (up to 40), the CAD package's pen assignment table should be set up match screen colors to pen numbers, and PrintCAD's /C option should set up to match. PrintCAD beeps the first time that it is sent data after a file open. If you turn on sound (/XS), PrintCAD causes a high beep after swapping in its code and a low beep before swapping it out, to let you know that it is processing. When PrintCAD is running, Esc gives stops processing at the next good stopping point. Ctrl-B stops processing immediately and will likely leave the printer in need of a reset. Internally PrintCAD uses two byte coordinates on a 1016 dots/inch grid. This allows for plots with coordinates of over 30 inches - far larger than an HP 7475 can handle. However, if you are using PrintCAD to emulate a large plotter, you may overflow the internal coordinate system. This condition is not checked, and it will cause garbage output. You can change the internal resolution to 508 dots per inch (giving 60 inch maximum plot sizes) with the /R option (/R508). This only helps store the original plot internally. The next step in PrintCAD converts these coordinates to the requested size in the resolution of the output device, and these coordinates must also fit in the two byte coordinate list. p-5 Installation --------------------------------------------------------- Copy the files PCAD.EXE and PCADDV.EXE to your working disk or directory. They are all that you need to run PrintCAD. PCAD.EXE is the PrintCAD executable file. PCADDV.EXE is a loader for setting up PrintCAD underneath DESQview. In addition to the above files, these files are part in the package, and must be included if you distribute PrintCAD as shareware: PCAD.DOC documentation ADD.DOC additional documentation since last release ORDER.FRM order form README.* quick information Suggested Startup .BAT Files ----------------------------------------- Below are some sample .BAT files for various situations. Such .BAT files may be used to start PrintCAD or change its parameters. You should not start PrintCAD from under a DOS shell, but you can change parameters in this situation. AutoCAD or AutoSketch, DeskJet or LaserJet III, 1/1 prints PCAD /padi/fi AutoCAD or AutoSketch, DeskJet 500C, 1/1 prints PCAD /padi/fa/crgbcmyk In AutoCAD configure a seven pen ADI plotter and set up the pen assignment table so that pens 1..7 have colors red, green, blue, cyan, magenta, yellow, black. AutoCAD, DeskJet (printer 1), PaintJet (LPT2), plotter (COM1) PCAD /p#prn.plt/fi PCAD /2/fp/ckrgbcmyk/dlpt2 PCAD /3/f8/dcom1 From AutoCAD plot to 1prn, 2prn, or 3prn. Microstation, Canon BJ330, 1/1 print, 11x17 paper PCAD /p*.000/f7/l10,16,.25,.25/j27 67 0 17 PC-Draft-CAD, LaserJet II, legal paper, best fit PCAD /xa/p*.plt/mf1/fl/j27 38 108 51 65/l7.97,13.25,0,0 (/XA and/or /XL may be needed for use with PC-Draft-CAD.) p-6 Syntax --------------------------------------------------------------- The calling syntax of PrintCAD is: PCAD /option1 /option2 ... Spaces between parameters are not required. Except for the /X and /P options, if a given option is entered more than once, only the last entry is used. And if an option is invalid (but not incorrect), it is ignored. Only one /X and one /P option is allowed. If you do not enter any parameters, PrintCAD displays its option reminder screen. Below, [ and ] enclose optional suboptions and | separates mutually exclusive suboptions. The options and suboptions may be in any order except that multiple numeric suboptions are ordered and numeric suboptions must follow character suboptions where the characters may be digits. "c" refers to a suboption character, "x" and "y" to suboption numbers, "i" and "j" to suboption integers, "b" to a suboption byte, and "f" to a DOS file or device name. For numbers (x, y), a decimal point is allowed but is not required, and scientific notation is not allowed. "-" is allowed but not "+". For integer input (i, j), only base ten integers from -32768 to 32767 are allowed. "+" is not allowed. A byte (b) must be a base ten integer from 0 to 255 or a hexadecimal number prefixed with $ from $00 to $FF. Further range checking is done for most options to flag unreasonable input. If an option has multiple numeric suboptions, these may be separated with commas or blanks. ******************************************************************** It is very important to choose the right output format (/F option). It is likely that the default output format will work on your printer, but it is equally likely that it will not produce optimal results. Please look carefully at the entire list of output formats before choosing one, and do not assume that because a format works that it is the best one to use. ******************************************************************** p-7 Overview of Options -------------------------------------------------- PrintCAD's options fall into several categories. The first is input and output choices. The input option (/Pmask) lets you choose an intercept filename mask, or you may select ADI interrupt 78 by using "adi". The output options are /F, the output format (printer model), and /D, the destination port, device, or file. The second category is the page layout. /L controls the size and location of the print window (hard clip limits) and the option to box the window. Tiling is set with /B and copies with /Q. The third category defines how the plot looks within the print window. /M, the magnification, sets the size of the plot. /A determines the location of the plot within the print window. /O sets the origin and orientation, and is used to rotate or mirror the plot. /I sets the plotter's initial scaling points. The fourth category defines the pens, /W for the width, /C for the color, and /S for the shade. The fifth category determines how PrintCAD processes the plot. This includes the temporary file /T, the default and minimum chord angle /Z, the plotter Y/D and S/E switch position /Y, the internal resolution /R, and prefix and suffix printer codes /J and /K. /1, /2, /3, /4, and /5 let you set up multiple configurations. /1, /2, /3, /4, /5 - Alternate Configurations ------------------------ These options select up to 5 alternate configurations, labeled 1..5. /1 is the default. The configuration used for printing is chosen based on the file name and mask (/P option). /A - Location Option ------------------------------------------------- /A[O][x,y] - location - default /A The A option determines the location of the plot in the print window by specifying a point on the plot that is to be aligned with a point in the print window. You can specify the plot alignment point with x,y in inches from the plot's origin (before PrintCAD's magnification is applied), or let it default to the plot center. For the print window alignment point, you can default to the center or specify the origin with O. /A puts the center of the plot at the print window center /AO0,0 puts the plot 0,0 at the print window origin /A0,0 puts the plot 0,0 at the print window center p-8 /B - Tiling Option --------------------------------------------------- /B[i,j,x] - tiling parameters - default /B1,1,0 /B lets you specify tiling options that break a large plot into pages. Each page is defined by the page layout option (/L). I and j specify the number of tiles (pages) horizontally and vertically. X specifies the overlap in inches. /B2,2,.5 breaks the plot into 4 pages with .5 inch overlap /B is the same as /B1,1,0 and produces no tiling /C - Pen Color Option ------------------------------------------------ /C[O|T]c.. - color - default /CK /C specifies the color of each of 40 pens. The colors are B for blue, C for cyan, G for green, K for black, M for magenta, R for red, W for white, and Y for yellow. Unspecified pens use the last selected color (/CRGB is the same as /CRGBBBBBB). If the output format does not allow color then nonwhite colors are changed to black. Additional colors can be created with shade mixing. These colors use shading patterns to mix the eight pure colors. The format for a mixed color is .?? where each ? represents any of the eight pure colors. The first color is printed with the pen's shading pattern (/S option) and the second is printed with the inverse shading pattern. If the shade value is 0 (solid) it is replaced by 2 (one dot checkerboard) which produces the most uniform mixed colors. Mixed colors need line widths of at least 2 (4 for 2 dot shading patterns) to look good, and they may have visual artifacts on edges near a 45 degree angle. Multipass dot matrix formats may not handle color mixing well. By default, colors are overwritten into the print, so they appear opaque. You can switch to translucent colors (ored into the print) with the T suboption, and then back to opaque with the O suboption. Make this mode switch in front of the pen that you want to change. For PostScript devices and plotters, the color processing is done by the device, not PrintCAD. PostScript devices use opaque lines and plotters use translucent lines. " means repeat the previous color. /CK sets pen 1..40 to black /CKOR.MB""T.KY sets pen 1 to black pen 2 to opaque red pen 3..5 to opaque magenta on blue pen 6..40 to translucent black on yellow p-9 /D - Output Destination Option --------------------------------------- /D[+]f - destination - default /D1 The D option specifies the output printer port, device, or file. The + suboption causes files to be appended rather than overwritten (it has no effect on device output). 1, 2, and 3 select the BIOS printer routines. X1, X2, X3, and X4 select xon/xoff controlled serial port drive. H1, H2, H3, and H4 select hardware controlled serial port drive. You can also use the DOS devices LPT1, COM1, etc. PrintCAD cannot set up the serial ports. This is usually done in the AUTOEXEC.BAT with MODE (probably MODE COM1:9600,N,8,1,P). If you specify a file name extension that is a three digit number (for example 000, 323), and multiple pages are output via the multiple copies option, tiling, or multiple HP-GL pages, then rather than appending the destination file, additional files are created with sequential extensions. /D2 sends output to the second parallel port via BIOS /DLPT3 sends output to the DOS device LPT3 /D+TEMP.PRN appends output to file TEMP.PRN /DOUTPUT.000 sends output to OUTPUT.000, OUTPUT.001, ... p-10 /F - Output Format Option -------------------------------------------- /Fc[-|+|*][!][~][`][x,y] - output format - default /FN~ The F option specifies the output format. -, +, and * are resolution modifiers, ! selects a compression mode driver, ~ turns off color processing, and ` turns off four plane color processing. These suboptions are allowed even if they have no effect. For PostScript (/FS) and HP-GL/2 (/F0) you can append the nominal device resolution. Matching the nominal resolution to the printer may yield small improvements in print quality. You can append the horizontal and vertical resolution of the output device in dots/inch. This overrides the normal output device resolution, but does not affect the structure of the output. These numbers should follow all other suboptions. In addition to letting you choose any resolution for a bit map, this feature lets you compensate for print size error. For example, a 360x360 dpi printer consistently under indexes so that a 6 inch high box comes out 5.94 inches. Using 360,363.6 (6/5.94*360 = 363.6) removes the error. For print size correction, you also specify a number from .5 to 2 which is interpreted as the nominal resolution time this number. For example on a 360 dpi printer, 1.0,1.01 is the same as 360,363.6. Drivers marked below with ! have a compression mode driver, selected with "!". This may be very useful, but it depends on your printer. These drivers compress the output data by breaking bit map strips with printhead positioning commands. This saves data transmission time, but some printers spend more time positioning the printhead than is saved by not sending the data. A number of printers use compression mode by default. It can be turned off with ¡ (ASCII 173). Drivers marked below with ~ are color devices. Using ~ suppresses color processing, substituting black for all colors except white. The ` suboption switches between 4 and 3 plane color (see Color Processing). /F0 ~ HP-GL/2 ......................................... 600x600 /F0i ~ HP-GL/2 ixi /F1 ~ IBM 9 pin ....................................... 120x72 /F1+ ~ IBM 9 pin (2 pass) 120x144 /F1* ~ IBM 9 pin (4 pass) .............................. 240x144 /F2 IBM Quietwriter 2 240x240 /F3 IBM Quietwriter 3 ............................... 240x240 /F4- IBM LaserPrinter (PPDS mode) 150x150 /F4 IBM LaserPrinter (PPDS mode) .................... 300x300 /F5 !~ IBM 24 pin alternate 1 180x180 /F5+ !~ IBM 24 pin alternate 1 (2 pass) ................. 360x180 /F5* !~ IBM 24 pin alternate 1 (4 pass) 360x360 /F6 ! IBM Proprinter X24 .............................. 180x182 /F6+ ! IBM Proprinter X24 (2 pass) 360x182 /F6* ! IBM Proprinter X24 (4 pass) ..................... 360x364 /F7 Canon BJ (Proprinter mode), IBM ExecJet 360x360 /F7+ Canon BJ (Proprinter mode), IBM ExecJet (2 pass) 360x360 p-11 /F8 HP-GL .......................................... 1016x1016 /F8i HP-GL enhanced (7550 enhanced mode) ixi /F9 !~ NEC 24 pin ...................................... 180x180 /F9+ !~ NEC 24 pin (2 pass) 360x180 /F9* !~ NEC 24 pin (4 pass) ............................. 360x360 /FA- ~ HP DeskJet 500C, Mannesmann Tally MT92C 150x150 /FA !~ HP DeskJet 500C, Mannesmann Tally MT92C ......... 300x300 /FB ~ Canon BJC 800 360x360 /FB+ ~ Canon BJC 800 (line overlap) .................... 360x360 /FD- Canon LBP (ISO mode) 150x150 /FD Canon LBP (ISO mode) ............................ 300x300 /FF !~ Fujitsu 24 pin 180x180 /FF+ !~ Fujitsu 24 pin (2 pass) ......................... 360x180 /FF* !~ Fujitsu 24 pin (4 pass) 360x360 /FG PDP Protracer (Proprinter mode) ................. 360x360 /FI- HP LaserJet 3, DeskJet 150x150 /FI HP LaserJet 3, DeskJet .......................... 300x300 /FI+ HP LaserJet 4 600x600 /FJ Canon BJ (BJ130 mode) ........................... 360x360 /FK ~ Kodak Diconix Color 4 192x192 /FL- HP LaserJet ..................................... 150x150 /FL HP LaserJet 300x300 /FN ~ Epson 9 pin ..................................... 120x72 /FN+ ~ Epson 9 pin (3 pass) 120x216 /FN* ~ Epson 9 pin (6 pass) ............................ 240x216 /FO !~ Toshiba 24 pin 180x180 /FO+ !~ Toshiba 24 pin (2 pass) ......................... 360x180 /FO* !~ Toshiba 24 pin (4 pass) 360x360 /FP !~ HP PaintJet ..................................... 180x180 /FQ HP QuietJet (PCL mode) 192x192 /FR ~ Tektronix ColorQuick ............................ 216x216 /FS ~ PostScript 600x600 /FSi ~ PostScript ........................................ ixi /FT !~ Epson 24 pin 180x180 /FT+ !~ Epson 24 pin (2 pass) ........................... 360x180 /FT* !~ Epson 24 pin (4 pass) 360x360 /FU- HP LaserJet 2 ................................... 150x150 /FU HP LaserJet 2 300x300 /FW ~ Epson 9 pin alternate ........................... 120x72 /FW+ ~ Epson 9 pin alternate (3 pass) 120x216 /FW* ~ Epson 9 pin alternate (6 pass) .................. 240x216 /FX !~ IBM 24 pin alternate 2 180x180 /FX+ !~ IBM 24 pin alternate 2 (2 pass) ................. 360x180 /FX* !~ IBM 24 pin alternate 2 (4 pass) 360x360 /FZ ~ ZSoft PCX ....................................... 100x100 /FZi,j ~ ZSoft PCX ixj p-12 /I - Scaling Point Location Option ----------------------------------- /IA|R|W[N] - IP point location - default /IA This option is not useful with AutoCAD or any software that outputs HP-GL that does not use scaling commands or that initializes the plotter or sets the scaling points. The I option sets the initial scaling points (P1, P2 - the scaling points may be set in the HP-GL file with the IP command). A (absolute) sets the points to the default for the paper size (see below). R fits P1 and P2 to the print window with at least .25 inch margins and an x/y ratio of 10/7.2 (the same ratio as the HP 7475 with small paper). W fits P1 and P2 to the print window with a .25 inch margin. N makes the margin 0 for R or W and is ignored with A. The default scaling points depend on the print window (/L option) with the implied paper size and the plot orientation (/O option). paper options default scaling pts with RO90 command 7440 A /O1 /L 7.54,10.14 250,279 10250, 7479 279,250 7479,10250 7440 A4 /O1 /L 7.54,10.74 250,279 10250, 7479 279,250 7479,10250 7475 A4 /O1 /L 7.84,10.20 250,596 10250, 7796 154,244 7354,10244 7475 A4 /O1 /L 7.60,10.88 603,521 10603, 7721 0,610 7200,10610 7475 B /O1 /L10.20,16.38 522,259 15722,10259 283,934 10283,16134 7475 A3 /O1 /L10.88,15.90 170,602 15370,10602 607,797 10607,15997 7440 A /O2 /L10.14, 7.54 250,279 10250, 7479 279,250 7479,10250 7440 A4 /O2 /L10.74, 7.54 250,279 10250, 7479 279,250 7479,10250 7475 A /O2 /L10.20, 7.84 250,596 10250, 7796 154,244 7354,10244 7475 A4 /O2 /L10.88, 7.60 603,521 10603, 7721 0,610 7200,10610 7475 B /O2 /L16.38,10.20 522,259 15722,10259 283,934 10283,16134 7475 A3 /O2 /L15.90,10.88 170,602 15370,10602 607,797 10607,15997 anything else 250,279 10250, 7479 279,250 7479,10250 /O3 and /O4 gives the same default scaling points as /O1 and /O2. /IA uses the default scaling points /IWN sets the scaling points to fit the print window /J, /K - Printer Code Prefix, Suffix Options ------------------------- /J[b,b,..] - printer code prefix - default /J /K[b,b,..] - printer code suffix - default /K /J lets you send codes to the printer before PrintCAD's usual data is sent and /K lets you send codes after PrintCAD's usual data is sent. This lets you set up and reset the printer for special situations. For PostScript and HP-GL output, the /J codes follow the initialization commands. The codes are specified with byte values (0..255 or $0..$FF) separated by blanks or commas. There is a limit of 80 characters for any option, so long sequences must be handled outside of PrintCAD. /J27 79 sets skip perforation off to allow plots larger than one page on most continuous form printers p-13 /L - Page Layout Option ---------------------------------------------- /L[B][F|N][R][x,y[,x,y]] - page layout - default depends on printer The L option defines the page layout. B boxes the plot at the print window edge using pen 8. F and N set form feed or no form feed. Form feed is the default and does not need to be specified. This is ignored for PCX output. R reverses the colors on bit maps and output formats 4, D, and L, (Canon, HP, and IBM laser printers) and is otherwise ignored. This gives the equivalent of a photographic negative. The first optional x and y are the print window width and height in inches. These define the hard clip limits. These values are not checked against your printer's capabilities. If you specify a print window that exceeds the output device limits, the results are unknown. You may need to reset your printer's margins, maximum line length, or page length to get large plots (see Large Paper). The size needed for a given width and height exceeds x and y by 8 dots to allow for line widths. The second optional x and y are the left and top margins, measured from the printer's left margin and current vertical position to the print window. The margins for HP-GL, HP-GL/2, and PostScript are measured from 0,0 (left, bottom). THE PRINT WINDOW PLUS MARGINS MUST FIT WITHIN THE PRINTABLE AREA. Each printer has a default page layout. The default print window is 7.54x10.14 for printers and 10.14x7.54 for plotters. This corresponds to HP 7440 A size paper. The margins are printer specific to compensate for different paper handling. In evaluating user options, PrintCAD processes each option and when finished reprocesses the default page layout for the chosen printer and then reprocesses the last user /L option. This procedure gives good default values so that your /L option can change the letter suboptions while keeping the default print window. /LB7.5,3,.5,0 makes the print window 7.5 inches wide and 3 inches high, with a .5 inch left margin and no top margin, and boxes the print window /L7.54,10.14 sets window equivalent to HP 7440 with A paper /L7.54,10.74 sets window equivalent to HP 7440 with A4 paper /L7.84,10.20 sets window equivalent to HP 7475 with A paper /L7.60,10.88 sets window equivalent to HP 7475 with A4 paper /L10.20,16.38 sets window equivalent to HP 7475 with B paper /L10.88,15.90 sets window equivalent to HP 7475 with A3 paper p-14 /M - Magnification Option -------------------------------------------- /M[F]x - magnification - default /M1 The M option specifies the magnification. F fits the plot to the print window size. The default /M1 gives the same size plot as an HP 7475 plotter. /MF.9 fits the plot to the print window and shrinks it 10% /M1 prints at the same size as an HP 7475 /O - Origin and Orientation Option ----------------------------------- /O[1|2|3|4[L]] - origin, orientation - default /O The O option sets the print window origin and orientation. The origin is one of four corners numbered 1..4 for upper left, lower left, lower right, and upper right, and implies a plot rotation. The L suboption specifies a left handed coordinate system, which mirrors the plot. If no origin is specified then it is chosen so that the x axis is the longer dimension. Here are pictures of PrintCAD's view of the output media compared to an HP 7475's view. O marks the default origin. HP 7475 PrintCAD A size B size printer plotter y┌────────┐ 0,0┌────────┐y ul o─────┐ur ul ┌────────┐ur │ │ │ │ 1 │ │4 1 │ │4 │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ 0,0└────────┘x │ │ │ │ ll o────────┘lr │ │ │ │ 2 3 │ │ ll └─────┘lr │ │ 2 3 x└────────┘ /O1 puts the print window's origin in the upper left corner /O2 puts the print window's origin in the lower left corner /P - Intercept Mask Option ------------------------------------------- /PADI|mask - intercept mask /PADI sets up PrintCAD as an AutoCAD ADI plotter driver. /Pmask lets you choose a DOS file mask as PrintCAD's intercept mask. The mask should not include disk or directory information - PrintCAD ignores this information when looking at file names. The mask may contain the character #. This is the same as ?, but when a file matches the mask the character that matches the # selects the PrintCAD configuration - 2..5 selects configurations 2..5 and anything else selects configuration 1. /Padi sets up PrintCAD to take data from AutoCAD interrupt 78 /P*.plt intercepts data written to *.plt /P#prn.plt intercepts data written to 1prn.plt, 2prn.plt, etc. p-15 /Q - Number of Copies Option ----------------------------------------- /Qi - number of copies - default /Q1 /Q sets the number of copies of each printed page. The default is one. Page printers produce multiple copies faster using the "N copies" prefix code (see Useful Prefix and Suffix Codes). /R - Internal Resolution Option -------------------------------------- /Ri - internal resolution - default /R1016 /R sets the internal grid resolution in dots/inch. It is normally 1016 and rarely needs to be changed. To fit very large plots into the -32768..32767 coordinate limit, use /R762. Setting the resolution to a multiple of the output device resolution times the magnification may yield a small improvement in print quality. /S - Pen Shading Option ---------------------------------------------- /Sc.. - pen shading patterns - default /S0 /S assigns a shading pattern to each pen. Unspecified pens use the last specified shade. The shade values are 0..8. 0 is the default solid line. 1..4 are 1 dot patterns (75%, 50%, 25%, 12.5%) and need line widths of at least three to give good looking lines. 5..8 are 2x2 dot patterns (75%, 50%, 25%, 12.5%) and need line widths of at least five to give good looking lines. Some printers, especially dot matrix printers in multipass modes, may wash out shading because they have a dot size that is large relative to the dot spacing. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 █▀█▄ ▀▄▀▄ ▀▄ ▀ ██████ ██ ██ ██ ██ ▀█▄█ ▀▄▀▄ ▄▀ ▀ ██ ████ ██ ██ ██ █▀█▄ ▀▄▀▄ ▀▄ ▀ ████ ██ ██ ██ ██ ██ ▀█▄█ ▀▄▀▄ ▄▀ ▀ ██████ ██ ██ ██ /S024 sets pen 1 to solid, pen 2 to 50%, pen 3..40 to 12.5% /T - Temporary File Option ------------------------------------------- /T[+]f - temporary file - default /TPLOT.TMP PrintCAD uses a temporary file when it does not have enough memory to handle a plotfile. You can use /T to put it on a RAM disk for extra speed. You can force the use of a temporary file, if the plot has over 1024 data points, with +. If you use a RAM disk this may speed printing. p-16 /W - Pen Width Option ------------------------------------------------ /Wc.. - pen widths - default /WA The W option assigns pen line widths. Each width may be 0..9, .10 .. .24 dots, A..I for 2..10 units of 4/1016 inch (.1 mm), or N to turn off the pen. A..I widths are approximations, based on the device technology. Odd widths of 9 or above are modified to the next higher (even) width. Unassigned pens use the last assigned width. For nonsquare matrix printers, PrintCAD uses pen points optimized for an h/v ratio of .67, 1, or 1.5. Widths are figured in the direction of higher resolution, and are not accurate in the other direction. Line widths of over eight dots are distorted at the print window edge to fit within the four dot border. /WA sets pen 1..40 to 0.2 mm /WB2.16 sets pen 1 to .3 mm, pen 2 to 2 dots, pens 3..40 to 16 dots /X - Control Option -------------------------------------------------- /XQ - queries PrintCAD installation /XR - removes PrintCAD if allowed /X[E|N|X][L][A][M][S][-|+] - controls PrintCAD's setup /XQ checks to see if PrintCAD is installed. /XR removes PrintCAD from memory, if allowed. /XQ and /XR disallow all other options. The other suboptions control setup, and are effective only for initial setup. X specifies XMS for swapping - this is the default. E forces the use of EMS for swapping instead of XMS. N inhibits swapping. This forces the entire program to load in low memory and it will take a large chunk of DOS memory. In return, all of the compatibility problems of swapping TSRs are removed. This can be very useful with DOS extender based CAD programs. L forces PrintCAD to load low. A sets an alternate handle (use with PC-Draft-CAD and Drafix). M sets an alternate mouse handler. Each of these suboptions may or may not improve compatibility. + or - increases or decreases the PrintCAD memory space, for improved speed or reduced resource usage. S adds progress beeps. This is not advised with the N suboption. /XL sets up PrintCAD in low memory p-17 /Y - D/Y and S/E Switch Settings Option ------------------------------ /Y[D|Y][S|E] - D/Y and S/E switch setting - default /YDS The Y option sets the plotter's D/Y switch to D or Y and the S/E switch to S or E. Y starts with the plotter off and responds to esc.(, esc.Y, esc.), and esc.Z commands. D starts with the plotter on and ignores these commands. S sets the standard interpretation of IW (clipping window) commands. E sets 7550 enhanced interpretation of IW commands, so that they use scaled coordinates. /YD puts the YD switch in the usual D position /Z - Chord Angle Option ---------------------------------------------- /Z[E]i,j - default, min chord angle, enhanced font - default /Z10,5 This option is not useful with AutoCAD or any software that outputs HP-GL that draws circles, arcs, and text as line segments rather than using HP-GL circle, arc, and label commands. The Z option specifies the default and minimum chord angles for circles and arcs. The HP 7475 defaults to a chord angle of 5 with no minimum. But using chord angles of less than 10 returns little print quality improvement and takes a lot of processing time. So the default Z option is /Z10,5. For better emulation use /Z5,2. The E suboption says to use the enhanced font, which doubles the number of chords on curves in text, improving the curve smoothness. This is only effective on character heights above .5 cm. /Z5,2 sets the default chord angle to 5 degrees, the minimum to 2 p-18 Large Paper ---------------------------------------------------------- PrintCAD can handle printing on paper larger than the usual 8.5x11, but this takes some extra work. First you need to increase PrintCAD's print window to cover the large paper. This is done with the /L option. The print window plus the margins (/L) must fit within the printer's printable area. And then you must make sure that your printer recognizes the larger paper height. For continuous forms paper this is best done by setting skip perforation to off, either by printer switch or with PrintCAD prefix codes. For Canon, Epson, Fujitsu, IBM, and NEC line printers (dot matrix, ink jet, thermal) use /J27 79. For cut sheet paper, on Canon, Epson, Fujitsu, IBM, and NEC line printers use /J27 67 0 n, where n is the page length in inches. For page printers, legal size paper may be specified with these printer code prefixes: HP-PCL printers /J27 38 108 51 65 (/K27 38 108 50 65 to reset to 11 inch paper), Canon LBP printers /J27 91 51 50 59 59 112 (/K27 91 51 48 59 59 112 to reset), IBM LaserPrinter /J27 91 70 5 0 3 1 2 1 (/J27 91 70 5 0 3 1 1 1 to reset). To get a 10x16 print window on 11x17 paper with a Canon, Epson, Fujitsu, IBM, or NEC line printer, use these options: /L10 16 .4 .25 /J27 67 0 17. You will probably need to adjust the margins (.4 .25) for best centering. The maximum width of the print window on most narrow carriage printers is 8 - 8/(horizontal dpi). For 300 dpi printers, this is 7.97. At 120 dpi it is 7.93. The maximum width of the print window on most wide carriage printers is 13.6 - 8/(horizontal dpi). At 180 dpi this is 13.55. At 360 dpi it is 13.57. The horizontal margin should be set to 0 to get this width. DESQview and Windows ------------------------------------------------- PrintCAD can generally be run inside a session/window of a multitasking environment such as DESQview or Windows. No special steps are needed for this. PrintCAD can generally be run under a multitasking environment such as DESQview or Windows, but this situation requires special consideration. Run PCADDV instead of PCAD to load PrintCAD (only at load time, not to reset parameters). This loads the swapping area at the top of lower memory, avoiding protected mode interrupt code that is loaded by Windows or DESQview. You must have a free 5K upper memory block to use PCADDV. With Windows use XMS memory (the default) instead of EMS memory (/XE) for swapping . p-19 Answers -------------------------------------------------------------- To access PrintCAD from a CAD package you must PLOT. Do NOT print. If you are getting system crashes or nothing from PrintCAD, try the options /XA, /XM, /XE, /XL, and all combinations of these (/XAM, /XAE, /XAL, ...). Try /XN for DOS extender based software. If your plot is messed up, with wraparound lines covering the page, you have probably exceeded the PrintCAD internal coordinate limit. This happens when the HP-GL coordinates exceed 32 inches. Reduce the internal resolution with /R762 for coordinates up to 42 inches or /R508 for coordinates up to 64 inches. If you are having trouble getting the print size or location correct, check your /L option. The print window plus the print margins must define an area that fits in the printable area of the paper. Printers cannot print over the entire area of the paper. They usually require .25 to .5 inch margins. To get color output from PrintCAD, you must: Define a multipen plotter in your CAD package. Set up the pen assignment table in your CAD package so that each color is assigned to a pen. Use the PrintCAD /C option to assign the same colors to PrintCAD's pens, for example /CRGBCMYK. Plot spoolers are not generally compatible with PrintCAD, and would be of little value if they were. Do not bother with one. Print buffers may or may not be compatible with PrintCAD. You must install the buffer first. A buffer may be very useful. If your prints are coming out not quite to scale: For ADI plotters, check that your plotter is defined as 1016 steps/inch. Check that no calibration is being done by the CAD package. See the /F Output Format Option for print size correction. For the Canon BJC-800, the right margin defaults to 8 inches. Use /J27 81 114 to set it to 11.4 inches. Because the margin can only be set once between printer resets, you may need to use /J27 64 27 81 114 (27 64 is a printer reset). For the Canon BJ-330 and most other wide carriage PC printers, the maximum print window width is 13.57 inches. This is a printer limitation that you cannot get around. If your printer ejects the paper before the plot is finished, you probably needed to specify a paper length prefix code. For most line printers use /J27 67 0 n where n is the page length in inches. p-20 Useful Prefix and Suffix Codes --------------------------------------- Below, n represents any number 0..255, nA represents any number in ASCII format (1 becomes 49, 2 becomes 50, 43 becomes 52 51, etc.). Canon, Epson, Fujitsu, IBM, NEC dot matrix and inkjet printers Reset 27 64 N line paper 27 67 n N inch paper 27 67 0 n 17 inch paper 27 67 0 17 Skip perforation off 27 79 Right margin n columns 27 81 n (not compatible with IBM) Unidirectional printing 27 85 1 HP-PCL printers Reset 27 69 Portrait mode 27 38 108 48 79 Top margin 0 27 38 108 48 69 Skip perforation off 27 38 108 48 76 11 inch paper 27 38 108 50 65 14 inch paper 27 38 108 51 65 11x17 inch paper 27 38 108 54 65 manual feed 27 38 108 50 72 N copies 27 38 108 nA 88 (page printers only) HP DeskJet 500C High quality, slow 27 42 111 49 81 No ink depletion 27 42 111 49 68 HP PaintJet XL300 Low quality, fast 27 42 111 45 49 81 PostScript N copies nA 32 88 67 Paper tray n nA 32 88 80 IBM LaserPrinter 11 inch paper, tray 1, n copies 27 91 70 5 0 3 1 1 n 14 inch paper, tray 1, n copies 27 91 70 5 0 3 1 2 n 14 inch paper, manual, n copies 27 91 70 5 0 1 1 2 n N copies 27 91 70 5 0 0 0 0 0 n Canon LBP Reset 27 99 11 inch paper 27 91 51 48 59 59 112 14 inch paper 27 91 51 50 59 59 112 Manual feed 27 91 49 113 Automatic feed 27 91 48 113 Full page memory mode 27 59 27 91 50 38 122 N copies 27 91 nA 118 Cursor to top of page 27 91 48 100 Diablo mode 27 58 ISO mode 27 59 HP QuietJet HP-PCL mode 27 37 65 DIP switch mode 27 37 64 p-21 Output Devices ------------------------------------------------------- Canon BJ and BJC Printers, IBM ExecJet For the BJ130e, BJ5, BJ10, BJ20, BJ300, BJ330, and ExecJet in Proprinter mode, use /F7. This is the fastest driver for these printers. /F7+ gives dark print with line to line overlap. /FJ gives 360 dpi graphics for any Canon BJ printer in BJ130 mode. The printer is set to 10 pitch text. You can use /FT*! with the BJ or ExecJet printers in Epson LQ mode to get 360 dpi print, but it is very slow. These printers have an image density option (switch 1-9 on the BJ130, 1-4 on the BJ300, BJ330, and ExecJet). Low density eliminates every second dot. To get the full 360 dpi resolution, use high density. For the BJ300, BJ330, and ExecJet, also be sure that the front panel FONT HQ (high quality) light is on. Use /FB for Canon BJC printers. The prefix code 27 81 114 sets the right margin to 11.4 inches. /FB+ gives a sparse line overlap. Canon LBP Printers /FD works with any Canon LBP printer in ISO mode. At 300 dpi it takes up to one meg of printer memory to print a full page of graphics. At 150 dpi (/FD-) 512K handles a full page. It may help to set the printer memory mode with /J27 59 27 91 50 38 122. If the printer is in Diablo mode, PrintCAD switches to ISO mode. To switch back to Diablo mode on completion, use /K27 58. Epson, IBM 9 Pin Printers /FN, /FW, and /F1 cover a wide range of Epson/IBM compatible 9 pin dot matrix printers. You need a cyan/magenta/yellow/black ribbon to get color prints. The * drivers use 1/240 graphics. /FN+, /FN*, /FW+, and /FW* use 1/216 indexing and do three vertically interleaved passes. /F1+ and /F1* use 1/144 indexing and do two vertically interleaved passes. /FW sets line feeds to 1/6 inch. For Epson printers, the IBM Graphics Printer, and other printers with 1/216 indexing hardware, /FN is preferred. For some not quite compatible printers, /FW works. For IBM Proprinters and other printers with 1/144 indexing hardware, /F1 gives better results. Some Proprinters do not handle 1/240 graphics correctly. These drivers use the following escape codes: esc 3 set n/216 line feeds for all /FW esc J index n/216 (n=2 for 1/144 index) for all /FN and /F1 esc L graphics command for /FN, /FN+, /FW, /FW+, /F1, and /F1+ esc Z graphics command for /FN*, /FW*, and /F1* esc r set ribbon color (only if color is specified) p-22 Epson, Fujitsu, NEC, Toshiba 24 Pin Printers /FT covers all Epson LQ printers and many compatible printers (Panasonic in LQ mode and others). /FF works with Fujitsu 24 pin printers in Fujitsu mode. /F9 works with NEC 24 pin printers. /FO works with Toshiba 24 pin printers. /FO resets the line feed distance to 1/6 inch on completion. For all of these drivers, you need a cyan/magenta/yellow/black ribbon to get color prints. The + and * drivers use 1/360 graphics mode, and the * drivers use 1/360 (1/120 for /FO*) indexing and reset the line feed distance to 1/6 inch on completion. A clean paper path with equal tension on each side is needed for good 360x360 graphics. Many 24 pin printers are not capable of 360x360 graphics and a few cannot handle 360x180 graphics. The compression mode drivers (! suboption) may or may not be an improvement with these printers. The /FT drivers use the following printer escape codes: esc $ absolute tab esc * ' graphics command for /FT esc * ( graphics command for /FT+, /FT* esc + set n/360 indexing for /FT* esc 2 set 1/6 indexing for /FT* esc J index n/180 for /FT, /FT+ esc r set ribbon color (only if color is specified) HP DeskJet, HP PaintJet XL300, Mannesmann Tally MT92C /FI works with any black/white DeskJet in portrait mode. /FA drives the DeskJet 500C, PaintJet XL300, MT92C, and any color 300 dpi HP-PCL printer that supports data transfer mode 2. /FA has three modes and covers different levels of 300 dpi color HP-PCL printers. /FA uses RGB color and works with the DeskJet 500C and Mannesmann Tally MT92C. /FA! uses CMY color which can speed printing in some cases. This works with the DeskJet 500C, DeskJet 550C, and PaintJet XL300. /FA!` uses CMYK color to give give better blacks on the DeskJet 550C. HP LaserJet /FL works with any LaserJet compatible printer. /FU works with LJ 2 (PCL 4) printers. /FI works with LJ 3 (PCL 5) printers. /FI+ is a 600 dpi driver for the LaserJet 4. All of these drivers work in portrait mode, which may be set with /J 27 38 108 48 79 or you can reset the printer with /J 27 69. LaserJets with under one meg of memory may not be able to handle a full page of graphics. /FU uses less printer memory than /FI, so it may be preferred on LaserJet 3s with limited memory. p-23 HP PaintJet /FP drives 180 dpi PaintJet printers. The compression mode driver (/FP!) uses data transfer mode 2 (instead of 1) and works only with a PaintJet XL. /FA! (the DeskJet 500C CMY driver) works with the PaintJet XL300. HP-GL, HP and IBM Pen Plotters /F8 outputs low level HP-GL, converting characters, arcs, fill, and clips to vectors. The output is HP 7220 compatible, containing only IN, IP, SC, SP, IW, LT, PU, PD. PG is added if form feed is specified (the default). You can specify the nominal resolution of the HP-GL by appending it to the /F option (for example /F8 300). When you set the nominal resolution to other than 1016, enhanced IW command interpretation (HP 7550 enhanced mode) is needed to handle dashed lines correctly. PrintCAD uses its width parameter (/W) as a pen selector, so for each pen in the original plot, you may specify a new pen in the output. The default /W option is /W12345678 for this case. Shading and color parameters are ignored. HP-GL/2 /F0 drives HP-GL/2 raster devices. You can specify the nominal resolution of the HP-GL/2 by appending it to the /F option (for example /F0 300). Use /F8 for HP-GL/2 pen plotters. HP QuietJet /FQ works with QuietJets in HP-PCL mode. /J27 37 65 /K27 37 64 sets HP-PCL mode and resets to the DIP switch mode on completion. IBM LaserPrinter /F4 drives any LaserPrinter in PPDS (native) mode. /FL will work if the LaserPrinter is in HP LaserJet mode, but this may be slower than PPDS mode. At 300 dpi it takes up to one meg of printer memory to print a full page of graphics. At 150 dpi (/F4-) 512K handles a full page. p-24 IBM 24 Pin Printers PrintCAD has three drivers that cover Proprinter X24 compatible printers. The printers should be in native mode (not AGM). The first driver, /F6, is for all IBM Proprinter X24s and the 24P. These printers do 1/144 inch indexing, and using them at 180 dpi results in horizontal white streaks every 2/3 inch. The /F6 drivers compensate for this by indexing 19/144 inch per line, giving 182 dpi. To work properly, the printer must be on a 1/72 boundary when the graphics are printed. If you keep the line feed distance a multiple of 1/72 this will always be the case. The second X24 compatible driver is /F5 and is referred to as X24 alternate 1. This is for printers that are X24 compatible except that they do 1/180 inch indexing. This is probably the case with most X24 compatible printers, including the IBM Quickwriter and IBM 2390 and 2391. /F5* works only with printers that can handle 1/360 indexing, including the 2390 but not the Quickwriter. The third X24 compatible driver is /FX and is referred to as X24 alternate 2. This is the same as /F5 except that the vertical units command uses a format that is not strictly IBM compatible. This driver works with Panasonic 24 pin printers in X24 mode. The compression mode drivers (! suboption) may or may not be an improvement with these printers. IBM Quietwriter 2 and 3 /F2 and /F3 drive the Quietwriter 2 and 3. Do not use 1 for pen widths because Quietwriters do not print consistent 1 dot lines. These drivers reset the line feed distance to 1/6 inch upon completion. Kodak Diconix Color 4 /FK drives the Color 4. Pacific Data Products ProTracer /FG drives the ProTracer in IBM Proprinter mode. The maximum print window width is 14.97. p-25 PostScript Printers /FS outputs PostScript. All characters, arcs, fill, and clips are converted to simple vectors. PrintCAD's pen color and shading parameters are mapped into gray levels or RGB color levels. You can specify the nominal resolution of the PostScript by appending it to the /F option (for example /FS 300). You can specify the number of copies with a prefix code that includes the number of copies followed by ' XC'. For example /J 50 32 88 67 makes 2 (ASCII 050) copies. You can specify the paper tray with the XP macro. Tektronix ColorQuick /FR drives the ColorQuick. ZSoft PCX and Fax Use /FZ to output a ZSoft PCX bit map. The horizontal and vertical dots/inch may be appended to override the default 100x100, for example /FZ80,80. Such output should generally be directed to a file with the /D option. Since most fax boards can take PCX files as input, this is useful for faxing drawings. Use /FZ200,196 to match the fax resolution. p-26 Color Processing ----------------------------------------------------- Color graphics devices use a variety of color technologies. PrintCAD supports these basic types. CMY or cyan/magenta/yellow is used by inkjet printers with no black ink. This uses three color planes and give eight pure colors. CMYK or cyan/magenta/yellow/black is used by inkjet and dot matrix printers. This uses four color planes and give eight pure colors. Using black ink instead of a cyan/magenta/yellow mix gives a more neutral black color. RGB or red/green/blue is used by bit maps. This uses three color planes and give eight pure colors. RGBI or red/green/blue/intensity is used and bit maps. This uses four color planes. All simple colors except black are intense. When you specify any color mixed with black at shade 0, then instead of mixing the colors at 50%, the intensity is turned off. This gives fifteen pure colors. CMYK and RGBI are used by default when they are appropriate. You can switch to CMY or RGB with the ` suboption of /F. For dot matrix printers this may speed printing by reducing memory usage and eliminating the use of the black ribbon. /FA! (300 dpi color HP-PCL) uses CMY color by default. /FA!` switches to CMYK color to let you access true black on the DeskJet 550C. Compatibility and Technical Information ------------------------------ PrintCAD will run on any IBM compatible DOS computer with 400K of EMS or XMS memory and a base memory region of 304K. Because it is a swapping resident program, it may have problems in some environments. PrintCAD can handle VCPI (Virtual Control Program Interface) based DOS extenders, but DPMI based programs and stand alone DOS extenders may cause problems. When using a DOS extender based program such as AutoCAD 386 or Microstation 4, use an extended/expanded memory manager that provides VCPI, such as MS-DOS 5 EMM386/HIMEM, QEMM 386, or 386MAX. PrintCAD is a TSR that takes over interrupt hex 21 and watches for DOS 2.0+ file management open functions. If the filename on an open command matches either "pcad.plt" or the mask specified with /P, then file handle dec 99 (dec 15 if /XA is used) is returned and PrintCAD is awakened. It then responds to write, device information, close functions, seek, and set date functions. When awake, PrintCAD stores HP-GL commands (from the write command) until its 16K buffer is filled and then it swaps in its 304K memory space, processes the data, and swaps the original memory back. PrintCAD was written by Cary Ravitz and compiled with Borland's Turbo Pascal 6.0. PrintGL Printer Driver is the graphics engine. p-27 User Support --------------------------------------------------------- Correspondence about PrintCAD may be sent via the support bulletin board, fax, Compuserve, or mail. BBS: 606-268-0577 1200/2400,N,8,1 24 hours/day To ask a question, prepare an ASCII text file with the details of your question. Then call the bulletin board and choose the upload question option. XMODEM file transfer protocol is required for this. Your question will be assigned a number (such as 1015) - remember this number. An answer file (with the assigned number) will be posted, usually within 24 hours. To get an answer, call the bulletin board, choose the download option, then the answer option, and then enter the answer number. For XMODEM transfers, when the BBS says to begin the upload or download, you must initiate the protocol from your system. Compuserve: Cary Ravitz [70431,32] Fax: 606-268-0577 If you hand dial, the BBS will answer and hang up (about 20 seconds), then the call is routed to the fax. Faxes from outside the USA may be answered via letter. The fax may be unavailable sometimes. Mail: Ravitz Software Inc. P.O. Box 25068 Lexington, KY 40524-5068 USA