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From: star@fluke.UUCP (David Whitlock)
Newsgroups: net.micro.amiga
Subject: Re: Re: Graphics IFF File to Printer (Direct Dump)
Message-ID: <3400@vax4.fluke.UUCP>
Date: Sun, 10-Aug-86 18:55:42 EDT
Article-I.D.: vax4.3400
Posted: Sun Aug 10 18:55:42 1986
Date-Received: Tue, 12-Aug-86 23:19:00 EDT
References: <5802@sun.uucp> <586@cbmvax.cbmvax.cbm.UUCP>
Organization: John Fluke Mfg. Co., Inc., Everett, WA
Lines: 59

> > 
> > Actually Dave, most people use the Amiga printer driver to dump the image
> > and have very little control of how the printer "renders" it. The 
> > philosophy being that the person who wrote the printer driver would make
> > it produce the best possible rendition and the programmer need not worry
> > about that aspect of creating an image. I don't know of an easy (read
> > portable) way of going around the driver. 
> > 
> > --Chuck
> 
> Actually, the print driver (read printer.device) allows a great deal of
> flexability in the way it renders things.  The problem is that most of
> the paint programs out don't provide a good user interface to this
> device, but simply set the device to produce the largest possible print
> while maintaining a consistant aspect ratio.  This is very simple to do
> with the printer device, but greatly underutilizes its capabilities.
> 
> -- 
> Dave Haynie    {caip,ihnp4,allegra,seismo}!cbmvax!daveh


This is exactly my point.  In review of the drivers, I have found that the
ratios could be manipulated thus producing fantastic results.  Both EA's
DPAINT and AEGIS's Images have lously interfaces for rendering true dumps.

To defend AEGIS, they do have a method for specifying X and Y ratios but
in the current version, there is a bug which causes the dump to come close
but not quite.  If you specify a ration of 640X and 240Y you should get
a one pixel per one printer dot ratio with both spacing of X and Y dots
the same.  Images, allows you to set this ratio, but only in ODD numbers...
So much for ratios (this is a bug soon to be fixed - next release).

In Perry Kilowitzs (sorry Perry for murdering you name) claims that EA's
DPAINT is done correctly by using the Preferences setting for colum width
and lines per page, to spec the size of the dump.  You are right!, but
to me that still is a cludge.  You should have absolute control!

To demonstrate what I mean, use an Images' pattern of alternating black
and white dots.  Fill the screen, then dump it to the printer.  If the
aspect ratios were correct, not optomized for user simplicity, you would
get what you see on the screen, on the printer!.  Varing the ratio causes
causes this alternating pattern to produce alternating blobs of dots.
This is exactly what DPAINT does when it optomizes for its dump.

	Summary:	A true printer dump for Mirrored images of what
			really is created on the screen, with user
			specified aspect ratios is needed.

	Conclusion:	I am tired of looking at blobs.  Don't get me
			wrong, some people like looking at blobs.


*** REPLACE THIS LINE WITH YOUR MESSAGE ***
-- 
Dave Whitlock

        {decvax!microsof,uw-beaver,ssc-vax,allegra,lbl-csam}!fluke!star

--John Fluke Mfg. Co., 33031 Schoolcraft Road, Livonia, MI 48150