ned%UPenn-Grasp%upenn.CSNET@CSNET-RELAY.ARPA (12/06/85)
All Troff macro packages that I have seen have printed cut marks with a .tl command: .tl '--''--' The safest way to remove cut marks is simply to delete those four hyphens (or comment out the whole line). I've tried to keep the amount of code changed to a minimum.
laser-lovers@ucbvax.UUCP (12/08/85)
[Maybe this should go to net.text as well, since this subject keeps popping
up]
Removing (commenting out) the line .tl '--''--', printing out the cutmarks
unconditionally is a bad idea when you run troff in a mixed environment of
output devices.
You want them left out on page printers (like laser writers) but have them
in on real typesetters (which most times uses a roll of paper).
So you want to make this depending on your output device.
I suggest the next solution:
1) Old style troff
Replace the offending line with
.if \\nx .tl '--''--'
(The double backslash is not really needed, if you have the -rx1
before the -m<favourite macros> but safety first here...)
and if you print on the roll of paper call troff as
troff -rx1 [other options]
This will set register x to 1 and consequently, the cutmarks will be
printed.
2) New style troff (also known as [dt]itroff or DWB).
Still replace the offending line as in case 1. But now also bote that
the -Tdev option sets the string ".T".
If your device with rolls is called "rolls" you add in the beginning
of each macro package:
.if '\*(.T'rolls' .nr x 1
This last method is preferred over the -rx1, since you are likely to
forget the -rx1 option and you likely need -Tdev anyway.
jaap akkerhuis (mcvax!jaap)
PS. I prefer .tl '\(rn\(rn\(rn''\(rn\(rn\(rn' as cut marks.
PSS. Good old vtroff, when used with the rotated fonts (rvsort, rvcat) tried
find the cutmarks in the first inch of a page and removed them. If I
remember it well, there was even an option (undocumented) which forced
the cutmarks to be removed (and on some versions you could specify which
cutmarks it should look for).