[net.micro.amiga] Graphics IFF File to Printer

star@fluke.UUCP (David Whitlock) (08/01/86)

I am looking for a program that takes a IFF Dpaint or compatable file and
dumps it directly to the printer without first having to put the image up
on the screen.

The biggest problem with Dpaint, Images and the Dpaint 'PrintUtility' is that
their is no capability to specify the amount of dots to pixels during the print
out.  What happens is that each image is algorized for shading.

	example:	If you had a screen image of 640x200 and were able
			to specify a one dot to one pixel resolution for
			a printout, you would get what you see on the screen

			Obviously the printout of the image would be small
			but it would be accurate.

			This point illustrates why when coloring an area
			the fixed algorythm used, causes the grey scale
			shadding to look 'blotchie'

	solution:	By allowing the user to specify resolution increments
			you can produce a more accurate rendition of the
			image.

			IMAGES attempts do accomplish this by allowing you
			to select X and Y Format Values.  But a known but
			in the latest revision will not allow you to
			select an even value for x and y also, because of
			the slider span limitation, selected values are
			not repeatable unless you reboot.

	*****		To double the size of printout, selecting the
			values  (640x2)x and (200x2)y would double the
			size but would print a blank dot between every other
			x and y dot in the image.


			640x200		.....
					.....
					.....
					.....
					.....

			1280x400	. . . . .
					. . . . .
					. . . . .
					. . . . .
					. . . . .

	Conclusion:	The images would be more grainey, but would be
			true to the image.


	If anyone has written a graphics dump program that follows this
	phislophy, please E-Mail me or post the sources.

	Hopefully, EA Dpaint and AEGIS Images will get their printer dump
	routines in-order.  As of this date, their just a cludge!


-- 
Dave Whitlock

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

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

perry@well.UUCP (Perry S. Kivolowitz) (08/04/86)

In article <3390@vax4.fluke.UUCP>, star@fluke.UUCP (David Whitlock) writes:
> I am looking for a program that takes a IFF Dpaint or compatable file and
> dumps it directly to the printer without first having to put the image up
> on the screen.
> 
> The biggest problem with Dpaint, Images and the Dpaint 'PrintUtility' is that
> their is no capability to specify the amount of dots to pixels during the print

Dave,
	Using the DPaint PrintUtility, didn't you know  that you  can adjust the
size of the print out simply by changing the margins using preferences? Changing
the margins (to something smaller than a full  page)  forces PrintUtility to use
the smaller area. Exactly what you want.

	Also, didn't  you know  that PrintUtility does not load the entire image
into memory? Noooo. It calculates exactly how many scan lines are needed to fill
one printer head  pass  and   loads only this  many  scan  lines at a time. This
calculation is done using your latest  preferences  values  so  you  can  change
preferences as often as you want without having to reload the PrintUtility.

You didn't know this? Actually the EA print routines are very much in order.
Thank you.


Perry S. Kivolowitz

cmcmanis@sun.UUCP (08/04/86)

> I am looking for a program that takes a IFF Dpaint or compatable file and
> dumps it directly to the printer without first having to put the image up
> on the screen.
>
 [Ed. stuff about how the picture on the printer isn't quite right edited out]
> 
> 	solution:	By allowing the user to specify resolution increments
> 			you can produce a more accurate rendition of the
> 			image.

> 	If anyone has written a graphics dump program that follows this
> 	phislophy, please E-Mail me or post the sources.
> 
> 	Hopefully, EA Dpaint and AEGIS Images will get their printer dump
> 	routines in-order.  As of this date, their just a cludge!
> 
> Dave Whitlock

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

daveh@cbmvax.cbm.UUCP (Dave Haynie) (08/08/86)

>
> 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

        "I don't feel safe in this world no more,
         I don't want to die in a nuclear war,
         I want to sail away to a distant shore
         And live like an ape man."
                                -The Kinks

        These opinions are my own, though for a small fee they be yours too.
\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

carolyn@cbmvax.cbm.UUCP (Carolyn Scheppner) (08/09/86)

In article <3390@vax4.fluke.UUCP> star@fluke.UUCP (David Whitlock) writes:
>I am looking for a program that takes a IFF Dpaint or compatable file and
>dumps it directly to the printer without first having to put the image up
>on the screen.
>
>The biggest problem with Dpaint, Images and the Dpaint 'PrintUtility' is that
>their is no capability to specify the amount of dots to pixels during the print
>out.  What happens is that each image is algorized for shading.

   I just sent my ScreenDump.c to the moderator of mod.amiga.sources.
It's not quite what you want but it'll give you something to play with.
It dumps the highest screen or window and allows the user to choose
various image and output options.  You can go as low level as you want
with the output options, all the way to setting each DumpRPort parameter
youself.  

   You can specify exactly how many dots you want the output to be.
Unfortunately, 1 to 1 will probably not give you the results you
have in mind.  The aspect ratio of the screen pixels is not the same
as the aspect of the printer dots, and a circle on the screen will
be an oval on the printout.

   As you probably know, a ratio such as 1 to 2 will result in each
dot on the printer being duplicated rather than leaving a space
between dots.

   A program like SeeILBM.c (on our IFF disk) will load an IFF pic
into an Intuition screen/window (borderless backdrop).  ScreenDump
can be used in conjunction with this to print out your ILBM's
in any size you want.  

   If you don't want the picture displayed, write a program that combines
EA's ShowILBM.c with Screendump.c.  Pull out their DisplayPic stuff
(and the related de-allocations) and instead create a dummy RastPort
structure that describes and points to their bitmap structure.
Give DumpRPort a pointer to this dummy RastPort.

 
-- 
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Carolyn Scheppner -- CBM   >>Amiga Technical Support<<
                     UUCP  ...{allegra,caip,ihnp4,seismo}!cbmvax!carolyn 
                     PHONE 215-431-9180
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

star@fluke.UUCP (David Whitlock) (08/11/86)

> > 
> > 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