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PrintCAD 1.14 resident ADI/HP-GL pen plotter emulator for use as a printer driver with MS-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 70431,32 Cary Ravitz 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 /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 /Z - Chord Angle and Enhanced Font Option 16 Large Paper ..................................................... 17 Answers 18 Useful Prefix and Suffix Codes .................................. 19 Printers 20 PCX and Fax Output .............................................. 24 Compatibility and Technical Information 24 User Support .................................................... 25 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, 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, DeskJet 500C, PaintJet, QuietJet, and plotters, Canon LBP, BJ, and BJC printers, IBM LaserPrinter, ExecJet, and Quietwriter 2 and 3, Kodak Color 4, Tektronix ColorQuick, and PostScript printers, and it will generate PCX files. PrintCAD outperforms most 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. You do not need to 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 has not been tested under Microsoft Windows, and you should not expect it to work in this environment. 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 Microsoft Windows and unusual DOS 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, a $49 registration is requested. 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 register your 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 current disk (specify 3.5 or 5.25). 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 1.14 - handles 40 pens, color dot matrix output uses true black, PCX output, quiet (/XS turns on sound mode), multiple copies (/Q) v 1.12 - Tektronix ColorQuick support, revised shading patterns 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 packages. 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" 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. PrintCAD can be used with DESQview (DV). If you load PrintCAD inside a DV window, it will only be visible from that window. No special steps are needed for this. If you load PrintCAD before running DV, there may be problems, depending on your configuration. If you have problems, instead of running PCAD to install PrintCAD, run PCADDV. This loads PrintCAD at the top of lower memory, preventing it from overwriting DV code. You must have a 5K upper memory block for PCADDV to work. Do not use the /XL option with PCADDV as it will cause PCAD's resident block to split lower memory. 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 --------------------------------------------------------- The PrintCAD package includes these files: PCAD.EXE program PCADDV.EXE special loader for DESQview PCAD.DOC documentation README.* quick information To install PrintCAD copy the distribution files to your working disk or directory. PCAD.EXE is a stand alone executable file. There are no extra printer driver files or overlays. PCAD.DOC is this manual. You can print it with "COPY PCAD.DOC PRN". PCADDV.EXE is a loader for setting up PCAD underneath DESQview. The README.* files are not needed to run PrintCAD, but they must accompany the rest of the files if you distribute the package. 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 IIP/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. 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 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 pel checkerboard) which produces the most uniform mixed colors. Mixed colors need line widths of at least 2 (4 for 2 pel 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..8 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). /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 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, and ~ turns off color processing on color printers. -, +, *, !, and ~ are allowed even where they have no effect. You may enter the horizontal and vertical resolution of the output device in dots/inch. This overrides PrintCAD's normal output device resolution, but does not affect the structure of the output format (-,+, and * generally do alter the output structure). These numbers must follow the format character. This 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. 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. /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 180x180 /F7 Canon BJ (Proprinter mode), IBM ExecJet ......... 360x360 /F8 HP, IBM plotter 1016x1016 /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 (Epson LQ mode) 180x180 /FB ~ Canon BJC 800 (Epson LQ mode) ................... 360x360 p-11 /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 /FI- HP LaserJet 3, DeskJet 150x150 /FI HP LaserJet 3, DeskJet .......................... 300x300 /FJ- Canon BJ (BJ130 mode) 180x180 /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 1016x1016 /FT !~ Epson 24 pin .................................... 180x180 /FT+ !~ Epson 24 pin (2 pass) 360x180 /FT* !~ Epson 24 pin (4 pass) ........................... 360x360 /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 Most 9 pin printers, including the IBM Graphics Printer, work best with the /FN drivers, even if they claim Proprinter rather than Epson compatibility. 9 pin printers with 1/144 inch indexing, such as the IBM Proprinter and 2380, work better with the /F1 drivers. And some not fully compatible 9 pin printers only work with /FW, the Epson 9 pin alternate drivers. Most Proprinter X24 compatible printers, including the IBM Quickwriter and 2390, work best with /F5 or /FX. /F6 is only for the IBM Proprinter X24, XL24, X24E, XL24E, and 24P. p-12 /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. These are not needed in the normal use of PrintCAD. For plotter and PostScript output, the /J codes follow the initialization commands. The codes are specified with byte values (0..255 or $0..$FF) separated with blanks or commas. There is a limit of 80 characters for any option, so very 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 /K10 10 sends two line feeds after the plot p-13 /L - Page Layout Option ---------------------------------------------- /L[B][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. The first optional x and y are the print window width and height in inches rounded to .01. 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 pels 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 top margin is modified to match the printer's native indexing, but is accurate to .02 inch. The margins for HP-GL and PostScript are measured from the device's 0,0 (left, bottom). THE PRINT WINDOW PLUS MARGINS MUST FIT WITHIN THE PRINTABLE AREA OF YOUR PRINTER. 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 or size suboptions and still have good margins. /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 /M.5 prints at half the size of an HP 7475 /O - Origin and Orientation Option ----------------------------------- /O[1|2|3|4[L]] - origin, orientation - default /O1 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. The L suboption specifies a left handed coordinate system (this should never be needed). Here are pictures of PrintCAD's view of the output media compared to an HP 7475's view, to help with choosing a /O option. HP 7475 PrintCAD A size B size printer plotter y┌────────┐ 0,0┌────────┐y ul┌─────┐ur ul┌────────┐ur │ │ │ │ 1│ │4 1│ │4 │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ 0,0└────────┘x │ │ │ │ ll└────────┘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 /R508. 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..8 to 12.5% /T - Temporary File Option ------------------------------------------- /T[+]f - temporary file - default /TPRINTGL.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 .. .16 pels or A..I for 2..10 units of 4/1016 inch (.1 mm). A..I gives a device independent width, but it is an approximation, limited by the device technology. Unassigned pens use the last assigned width. For nonsquare matrix printers, PrintCAD uses "pens" that are optimized for an x/y ratio of .67, 1, or 1.5. The widths are figured in the direction of higher resolution, and are not accurate in the other direction. Line widths of over eight pels are slightly distorted at the print window edge to fit within the four pel border. /WA sets pen 1..40 to 0.2 mm /WB2.16 sets pen 1 to 0.3 mm pen 2 to 2 pels pen 3..40 to 16 pels /X - Control Option -------------------------------------------------- /XQ - queries PrintCAD installation /XR - removes PrintCAD if allowed /X[X][L][A][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 PrintCAD's setup, and are effective only during initial setup. X forces the use of XMS for swapping instead of EMS. L forces PrintCAD to load low instead of using a UMB. A sets an alternate handle (use with PC-Draft-CAD and Drafix). S adds progress beeps. These may be used in any combination. Each one, except S, may or may not improve compatibility. /XL sets up PrintCAD in low memory /Z - Chord Angle Option ---------------------------------------------- /Z[E]i,j - default, min chord angle, enhanced font - default /Z10,5 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. And for CAD packages (including AutoCAD) that use vectors to create text (instead of the HP-GL label command), this option is ineffective. /Z5,2 sets the default chord angle to 5 degrees, the minimum to 2 p-17 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 print margin should be set to 0 to get this width. p-18 Answers -------------------------------------------------------------- To get data from your CAD package to PrintCAD you must PLOT. Do NOT print. If you are getting system crashes or nothing from PrintCAD, try the options /XA, /XX, /XL, /XAX, /XAL, /XXL, and /XAXL. 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. 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. If it worked, a plot spooler would send data to PrintCAD the background, but PrintCAD's processing would take place in the foreground. Print buffers may or may not be compatible with PrintCAD. You must install the buffer first. 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 /F Output Format Option for information on 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. p-19 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 N inch paper 27 67 0 n 17 paper 27 67 0 17 Skip perforation off 27 79 Reset 27 64 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 HP LaserJet N copies 27 38 108 nA 88 HP DeskJet 500C 50% shingling 27 42 111 49 81 (1/2 speed, reduced banding) No depletion 27 42 111 49 68 (uses more ink, better quality) PostScript N copies nA 32 88 67 Nominal dots/inch nA 32 88 88 (use with /FS nA nA) 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 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-20 Printers ------------------------------------------------------------- Canon BJ and BJC Printers, IBM ExecJet For the BJ130e, BJ10e, BJ10ex, BJ300, BJ330, and ExecJet in Proprinter mode, use /F7. This is the fastest way to drive these printers at 360 dpi. /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 pel. 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. For Canon BJC printers, use /FB in Epson LQ mode. This driver uses a graphics mode that is not supported by the BJ printers. 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-21 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) /FT does not work with IBM Proprinter X24s in alternate graphics mode because it uses the esc $ command. HP DeskJet, Mannesmann Tally MT92C /FI works with any black/white DeskJet in portrait mode. /FA drives the DeskJet 500C or MT92C, and any color 300 dpi HP-PCL printer that supports data transfer mode 2. HP LaserJet /FL works with any LaserJet compatible printer in portrait mode. Portrait mode may be set with /J 27 38 108 48 79 or you can reset the printer with /J 27 69. /FI works with the LaserJet 3 and any HP-PCL 5 compatible printer. LaserJets with under one meg of memory may not be able to handle a full page of graphics. /FL uses less printer memory than /FI, so it may be preferred on LaserJet 3s with limited memory. p-22 HP PaintJet /FP drives PaintJet printers. PaintJet printers are sold with either a serial or parallel interface. The parallel interface is faster. The compression mode driver (/FP!) uses data transfer mode 2 (instead of 1) and works only with a PaintJet XL. 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 selected 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. 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 (1/6, 1/8, 1/9) then 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 and 2391 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 different 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. Proprinter X24 and XL24 printers are very slow with graphics. The X24E and XL24E are significantly faster. p-23 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 pel lines. These drivers reset the line feed distance to 1/6 inch upon completion. Kodak Diconix Color 4 /FK drives the Color 4. PostScript Printers /FS outputs PostScript. All characters, arcs, fill, and clips are converted to simple vectors. PrintGL's pen color and shading parameters are mapped into gray levels or RGB color levels. You can specify the nominal resolution of the PostScript with a prefix code that includes the dots/inch followed by ' XX'. For example /J 54 48 48 32 88 88 sets 600 dpi. The actual resolution should be set to match, for example /FS 600,600. You can specify the number of copies similarly with the XC macro, for example /J 50 32 88 67 makes 2 (ASCII 050) copies. Tektronix ColorQuick /FR drives the ColorQuick. HP and IBM Pen Plotters /F8 outputs low level HP-GL, converting characters, arcs, fill, and clips to vectors. The output is HP 7440 compatible, containing only IN, SP, IW, LT, PU, PD, and PG commands. 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. p-24 PCX and Fax Output --------------------------------------------------- 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. Compatibility and Technical Information ------------------------------ PrintCAD will run on any IBM compatible DOS computer with 400K of EMS or 400K of XMS 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 (MS Windows) 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's EMM386.EXE/HIMEM.SYS, 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" or the mask specified with /P, then file handle dec 99 (or 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 buffer limit (16K) is reached 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 used as the graphics engine. p-25 User Support --------------------------------------------------------- The quickest way to resolve problems with PrintCAD is to use the support bulletin board. The Ravitz Software support bulletin board is at: 606-268-0577 1200/2400,N,8,1 24 hours/day. To ask a question (or make a comment or suggestion), first prepare a file with the details of your question. Please be very specific, and include any related information on your hardware, software, and operating environment. 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. XMODEM is also required for downloading answers. All question and answer files are public. You may send questions to Compuserve - 70431,32 Cary Ravitz. You may send questions by mail to: Ravitz Software Inc. P.O. Box 25068 Lexington, KY 40524-5068 USA Please send a diskette (360K, 1.2M, 720K, or 1.44M, 720K is best) with your question so that example files or newer versions of the software may be included with the response. Return postage is appreciated.