#####################################¢¢ BILLBOARD¢ More than just a screen dump¢ by Thomas J. Andrews, member¢ ACE of SYRACUSE, and THE OL'¢ HACKERS A.U.G., Inc.¢ ¢ Billboard is an 8-bit Shareware¢ program that will print screen¢ graphics on a dot-matrix printer. ¢ It's much more than a simple screen¢ dump, however. Billboard prints can¢ range from wallet size to multi-page¢ posters and on up to huge billboards,¢ for which the program is named.¢¢ Billboard was written by Chris¢ Wareham of Spearfish, South Dakota. ¢ The version I have, from the ACE of¢ Syracuse November 1991 disk of the¢ month, carries a copyright date of¢ 1987. It is written in Atari BASIC and¢ can be used with any Atari 8-bit¢ computer with at least 48K of RAM and¢ a disk drive.¢¢ As written, Billboard requires a¢ printer compatible with the Epson FX-¢ 80. For users with other printers,¢ the author thoughtfully provides¢ information in the documentation that¢ makes it reasonably easy to change the¢ necessary printer codes. I had to do¢ this for my Gemini 10X printer and for¢ a friend's Atari XMM801. (Author's¢ note: This modification is in the¢ OHAUG library! Check your 2 library¢ disks, or with the Librarian for¢ details.)¢¢ The source code is completely¢ accessable, allowing those with¢ programming skills to enhance and¢ customize it. It is well-written and¢ commented, making it fairly easy to¢ follow for such a complex program. ¢ Roy Goldman once created a version¢ that would print to a disk file as¢ well as to a printer, and included it¢ with his famous Daisy Dot II.¢¢ Billboard can print pictures from¢ GRAPHICS modes 7+(15 on XL/XE¢ machines), 8, and 9. These pictures¢ must come from "standard" 62-sector¢ disk files. This format is used by¢ many drawing programs, such as¢ MicroPainter and RAMbrant. There are¢ literally hundreds of these pictures¢ available from several PD sources. ¢ The JVIEW XL monochrome modes produce¢ files in this format.¢ Many drawings created with other¢ programs, such as Micro Illustrator,¢ can be converted to 62-sector format¢ using Rapid Graphics Converter, a¢ program from the November 1985 issue¢ of Antic magazine. Print Shop icons¢ and Newsroom photos can be converted¢ to GRAPHICS 8 files using Newsroom¢ Converter, from the December 1988¢ Antic. Several PD programs exist that¢ also do such conversions.¢¢ Because GRAPHICS 7+, 8, and 9 each¢ use the same amount of memory,¢ Billboard can load, display, and print¢ a picture in several different ways. ¢ Each picture can be loaded and printed¢ in any of the three modes, and in¢ addition can be loaded and displayed¢ as GRAPHICS 7+ but printed as GRAPHICS¢ 8.¢¢ GRAPHICS 8 is a two-color mode, so¢ each pixel is either on or it's off. ¢ GRAPHICS 7+ and 9 are multi-color¢ modes, and shading techniques are used¢ to differentiate between the different¢ colors in the printout. In the case¢ of GRAPHICS 7+, the user is given the¢ opportunity to change the shadings¢ applied to each of the four color¢ registers before printing. A handy¢ one-button default restoration is¢ provided for those who get hopelessly¢ lost during this process.¢¢ Pictures may be printed either¢ upright or sideways, and in either¢ regular or inverse style. In regular,¢ pixels that are light on the screen¢ are dark on the printout. In inverse,¢ dark pixels are dark on the paper.¢¢ Only one vertical dot density is¢ provided-the standard 72 dots per¢ inch. This is the distance between¢ the pins on most dot-matrix printers,¢ and variance from this density, while¢ sometimes possible, is limited and¢ difficult to program.¢¢ For those printers capable of¢ producing them, four horizontal¢ densities are supported. They are¢ 480, 720, 960, and 1920 dots per line¢ (dpl). These translate to 60, 90,¢ 120, and 240 dots per inch,¢ respectively. The base width of the¢ printed picture is determined by the¢ selection of the horizontal density. ¢ Thus, a 960 dpl base-sized printout is¢ twice as wide as a 1920 dpl base-sized¢ printout.¢¢ Printout height and width sizes can¢ be expanded in multiples of the base¢ dimensions, and independently of each¢ other. As the user cycles through¢ each dimension multiple on the¢ selection menu, the physical size of¢ the final result in feet and inches is¢ reported in a message box.¢ Once the second dimension has been¢ selected, the number of pages and the¢ amount of time required for a printout¢ as if it were done on an FX-80 are¢ reported. There seems to be no upper¢ limit to the size capabilities of this¢ program. For instance, a 960 dpl¢ printout that is 1800 high by 1800¢ wide is 400 by 400 feet in size and¢ will take 270,000 pages and 32,400¢ hours to print. That's 3.7 YEARS! I¢ have not yet checked this for¢ accuracy. (grin)¢¢ Pictures may also be placed to the¢ right, center, or left side of the¢ printout, and there is a handy¢ printing pause feature to allow the¢ printer to cool off and for paper or¢ ribbon changes.¢¢ For all of its versatility,¢ Billboard is one of the easiest¢ programs I have ever tried to learn to¢ use. There is one command screen,¢ with various menu and message boxes. ¢ Selections from the menus are made¢ through the use of the arrow and¢ RETURN keys. Except for the physical¢ requirements of printer operation, the¢ entire program can be operated with¢ just one finger.¢¢ Billboard is an excellent program,¢ and I recommend it to all 8-bit users.¢ It can have many uses beyond printing¢ pretty computer pictures. For¢ example, you could create an¢ advertising poster or a sign with a¢ drawing program like DRAW7, then blow¢ it up to almost any size using¢ Billboard-something you can't do with¢ Print Shop.¢¢ As with many other good 8 BIT¢ programs, the only real limit is your¢ own imagination.¢¢ #####################################¢¢
