Print Configuration

I'm trying to understand the printing setup.  We have working on plans for a client using their level setup.  The client provided us with the information below to print. I'm uncertain how to set this up for use with the plans.  Guidance would be apricated.

S = W / 25R
where: S = # of strokes in weight strokes statement of driver
W = desired width of line in millimeters
R = resolution of plotter in inches in resolution statement
#####################################
;A-size 1200dpi (0.021 - 1.6 mm)
weight_stroke=(1,1,2,4,5,6,7,8,10,11,12,13,14,17,19,22,24,26,29,32,36,40,43,47,50,54,58,61,65,68,72,76)
;B-size 1200dpi (0.042 - 3.2 mm)
weight_stroke=(1,2,5,7,10,12,14,17,19,22,24,26,29,34,38,43,48,53,58,65,72,79,86,94,101,108,115,122,130,137,144,151)
;D-size 1200dpi (0.084 - 5.4 mm)
weight_stroke=(1,5,10,14,19,24,29,34,38,43,48,53,58,67,77,86,96,106,115,130,144,158,173,187,202,216,230,245,255,255,255,255)
;1200 dpi
resolution(IN)=(0.00083333,0.00083333)
style(1) = (14,42)/nohardware
style(2) = (70,42)/nohardware
style(3) = (168,56)/nohardware
style(4) = (112,42,28,42)/nohardware
style(5) = (56,56)/nohardware
style(6) = (84,28,28,28,28,28)/nohardware
style(7) = (112,28,56,28)/nohardware
#####################################
;A-size 600dpi (0.042 - 1.6 mm)
weight_strokes=(1,1,1,2,2,3,4,4,5,5,6,7,7,8,10,11,12,13,14,16,18,20,22,23,25,27,29,31,32,34,36,38)
;B-size 600dpi (0.042 - 3.2 mm)
weight_strokes=(1,1,2,4,5,6,7,8,10,11,12,13,14,17,19,22,24,26,29,32,36,40,43,47,50,54,58,61,65,68,72,76)
;D-size 600dpi (0.084 - 5.4 mm)
weight_stroke=(1,2,5,7,10,12,14,17,19,22,24,26,29,34,38,43,48,53,58,65,72,79,86,94,101,108,115,122,130,137,144,151)
;600 DPI
resolution(IN)=(0.0016666,0.0016666)
style(1) = (7,21)/nohardware
style(2) = (35,21)/nohardware
style(3) = (84,28)/nohardware
style(4) = (66,21,14,21)/nohardware
style(5) = (28,28)/nohardware
style(6) = (42,14,14,14,14,14)/nohardware
style(7) = (60,14,28,14)/nohardware
#####################################
;A-size 300dpi (0.085 - 1.6 mm)
weight_strokes=(0,0,1,1,1,2,2,2,2,3,3,3,4,4,5,5,6,7,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14,14,15,16,17,18,19)
;B-size 300dpi (0.085 - 3.2 mm)
weight_strokes=(0,1,1,2,2,3,4,4,5,5,6,7,7,8,10,11,12,13,14,16,18,20,22,23,25,27,29,31,32,34,36,38)
;D-size 300dpi (0.085 - 3.2 mm)
weight_strokes=(0,1,2,4,5,6,7,8,10,11,12,13,14,17,19,22,24,26,29,32,36,40,43,47,50,54,58,61,65,68,72,76)
;300 DPI
resolution(IN)=(0.0033333,0.0033333)
style(1) = (4,11)/nohardware
style(2) = (18,11)/nohardware
style(3) = (42,14)/nohardware
style(4) = (33,11,7,11)/nohardware
style(5) = (14,14)/nohardware
style(6) = (21,7,7,7,7,7)/nohardware
style(7) = (30,7,14,7)/nohardware
#####################################

NOTE: 0 strokes produces a line of minimum width. On some plotters
this results in a thinner line than the plotter resolution
would indicate (ie. thinner than one stroke).
Resulting line widths (mm)
Ustation A-size B-size D-size
Weight plot plot plot
-------- ------ ------ ------
1 .025 .05 .1
2 .05 .1 .2
3 .075 .15 .3
4 .1 .2 .4
5 .125 .25 .5
6 .15 .3 .6
7 .175 .35 .7
8 .2 .4 .8
9 .225 .45 .9
10 .25 .5 1.0
11 .275 .55 1.1
12 .3 .6 1.2
13 .35 .7 1.4
14 .4 .8 1.6
15 .45 .9 1.8
16 .5 1.0 2.0
17 .55 1.1 2.2
18 .6 1.2 2.4
19 .675 1.35 2.7
20 .75 1.5 3.0
21 .825 1.65 3.3
22 .9 1.8 3.6
23 0.975 1.95 3.9
24 1.05 2.1 4.2
25 1.125 2.25 4.5
26 1.2 2.4 4.8
27 1.275 2.55 5.1
28 1.35 2.7 5.4
29 1.425 2.85 5.7
30 1.5 3.0 6.0
31 1.575 3.15 6.3

Power Geopak (SS10)

v08.11.09.918

Parents
  • They've given you a fragment of an old-school printer driver configuration (.plt) file.  Specifically, their desired mappings for

     

    • MicroStation integer (0-31) line weights to printed line widths
    • MicroStation integer (0-7) line styles to printed on/off pattern lengths

     

    For the same line weight value, they want different printed line widths depending on both the paper size and the printer resolution.  Their line style on/off patterns vary on printer resolution but not paper size.

     

    If your deliverable is a PDF file, then you have to choose what resolution to use.  Usually the best resolution is the resolution of whatever device the PDF is eventually printed on.  If hardcopy is not important, then generally the higher the resolution the better because people expect to be able to zoom way in inside a PDF viewer and still see crisp graphics.  But that can cause problems if the PDF contains raster or rendered data.  Since they seem to be particular, you should ask the client what resolution PDF they expect.  Hopefully they don't want three different resolution versions of every PDF.

     

    Assuming PDF output, you'll need to make a copy of pdf.pltcfg for each paper size you print on (ANSI A, B, and D) and every printer resolution you need (300  DPI, 600 DPI, and 1200 DPI).  With luck you can eliminate some or most of those permutations.  Then use the MicroStation printer driver configuration editor to customize the weight maps and line styles for each .pltcfg file.  Make sure to set the "Display Label" field under the "General" Tab for each .pltcfg file to help you identify them in the MicroStation printing interfaces.

     

     

    For each custom .pltcfg file, also set the printer resolution under the 'Base Properties' tab, 'Advanced' category:

     

     

    Some math will be required to convert their obsolete "weight_strokes" keyword values into millimeters.   The width of "stroke" is dependent on the printer resolution.  For example, 1 stroke (or dot) at 600 dots per inch (DPI) is 1 / 600 inches, or 0.0424 mm.  2 strokes is 0.085 mm, 3 strokes is 0.127 mm, etc.

     

    For their 1200 DPI, ANSI D permutation, they want

     

    ;D-size 1200dpi (0.084 - 5.4 mm)
    weight_stroke=(1,5,10,14,19,24,29,34,38,43,48,53,58,67,77,86,96,106,115,130,144,158,173,187,202,216,230,245,255,255,255,255)

     

    That translates into weight index 0 = (1/1200)*25.4 -> 0.021 mm; weight index 1  = (5/1200)*25.4 -> 0.106 mm; yada yada yada; weight index 31 = (255/1200)*25.4 -> 5.40 mm

     

    Enter those index-to-millimeters mappings under the 'Weight Maps' tab in the printer driver configuration editor:

     

    (Don't pay attention to the exact numbers in my screenshots below, they're just for example purposes)

     

     

     

    The line style patterns are defined under the 'Line Styles' tab.  You'll need to copy the on/off pattern lengths from your client's .plt fragment for the given resolution.  For example, their 600 DPI settings:

     

    style(1) = (7,21)/nohardware
    style(2) = (35,21)/nohardware
    style(3) = (84,28)/nohardware
    style(4) = (66,21,14,21)/nohardware
    style(5) = (28,28)/nohardware
    style(6) = (42,14,14,14,14,14)/nohardware
    style(7) = (60,14,28,14)/nohardware

     

    For each of the seven integer line style indices, edit and enter the on/off pattern separated by spaces using the selected units.  To make it easier to enter, you can optionally change the 'Units' to dots *after making sure that the .pltcfg resolution has been set correctly* and copy the values as-is from the client's .plt fragment.  You can do the same for the weight-to-width mappings above if you prefer, but I think it's better to do the math up front, get rid of  'dots', and work in millimeters going forward.

     

     

    Since all of their line style definitions have "/nohardware" defined, make sure that the "Process style in software" box is checked.

     

    Every time you print, for each different paper size and resolution (if required), you'll need to select the correct custom .pltcfg file you created in order to get the desired line width and style settings.

     

    The paper sizes defined in the .pltcfg file do support a scale factor for printed line widths and styles.  That is, you can set up the weight-to-width mappings and line style on/off patterns for ANSI A, then indicate that for ANSI D for example, those values should be scaled up 50%:

     

     

    That feature potentially could reduce the number of custom .pltcfg files you have to create.  However, it does require that line width and styles values be consistently scaled between paper sizes and I did not try to see if that was true for your client's values.  It would be safer to assume they are not scaled consistently, and use different .pltcfg files for each paper size the same as the client.

          
    .

Reply
  • They've given you a fragment of an old-school printer driver configuration (.plt) file.  Specifically, their desired mappings for

     

    • MicroStation integer (0-31) line weights to printed line widths
    • MicroStation integer (0-7) line styles to printed on/off pattern lengths

     

    For the same line weight value, they want different printed line widths depending on both the paper size and the printer resolution.  Their line style on/off patterns vary on printer resolution but not paper size.

     

    If your deliverable is a PDF file, then you have to choose what resolution to use.  Usually the best resolution is the resolution of whatever device the PDF is eventually printed on.  If hardcopy is not important, then generally the higher the resolution the better because people expect to be able to zoom way in inside a PDF viewer and still see crisp graphics.  But that can cause problems if the PDF contains raster or rendered data.  Since they seem to be particular, you should ask the client what resolution PDF they expect.  Hopefully they don't want three different resolution versions of every PDF.

     

    Assuming PDF output, you'll need to make a copy of pdf.pltcfg for each paper size you print on (ANSI A, B, and D) and every printer resolution you need (300  DPI, 600 DPI, and 1200 DPI).  With luck you can eliminate some or most of those permutations.  Then use the MicroStation printer driver configuration editor to customize the weight maps and line styles for each .pltcfg file.  Make sure to set the "Display Label" field under the "General" Tab for each .pltcfg file to help you identify them in the MicroStation printing interfaces.

     

     

    For each custom .pltcfg file, also set the printer resolution under the 'Base Properties' tab, 'Advanced' category:

     

     

    Some math will be required to convert their obsolete "weight_strokes" keyword values into millimeters.   The width of "stroke" is dependent on the printer resolution.  For example, 1 stroke (or dot) at 600 dots per inch (DPI) is 1 / 600 inches, or 0.0424 mm.  2 strokes is 0.085 mm, 3 strokes is 0.127 mm, etc.

     

    For their 1200 DPI, ANSI D permutation, they want

     

    ;D-size 1200dpi (0.084 - 5.4 mm)
    weight_stroke=(1,5,10,14,19,24,29,34,38,43,48,53,58,67,77,86,96,106,115,130,144,158,173,187,202,216,230,245,255,255,255,255)

     

    That translates into weight index 0 = (1/1200)*25.4 -> 0.021 mm; weight index 1  = (5/1200)*25.4 -> 0.106 mm; yada yada yada; weight index 31 = (255/1200)*25.4 -> 5.40 mm

     

    Enter those index-to-millimeters mappings under the 'Weight Maps' tab in the printer driver configuration editor:

     

    (Don't pay attention to the exact numbers in my screenshots below, they're just for example purposes)

     

     

     

    The line style patterns are defined under the 'Line Styles' tab.  You'll need to copy the on/off pattern lengths from your client's .plt fragment for the given resolution.  For example, their 600 DPI settings:

     

    style(1) = (7,21)/nohardware
    style(2) = (35,21)/nohardware
    style(3) = (84,28)/nohardware
    style(4) = (66,21,14,21)/nohardware
    style(5) = (28,28)/nohardware
    style(6) = (42,14,14,14,14,14)/nohardware
    style(7) = (60,14,28,14)/nohardware

     

    For each of the seven integer line style indices, edit and enter the on/off pattern separated by spaces using the selected units.  To make it easier to enter, you can optionally change the 'Units' to dots *after making sure that the .pltcfg resolution has been set correctly* and copy the values as-is from the client's .plt fragment.  You can do the same for the weight-to-width mappings above if you prefer, but I think it's better to do the math up front, get rid of  'dots', and work in millimeters going forward.

     

     

    Since all of their line style definitions have "/nohardware" defined, make sure that the "Process style in software" box is checked.

     

    Every time you print, for each different paper size and resolution (if required), you'll need to select the correct custom .pltcfg file you created in order to get the desired line width and style settings.

     

    The paper sizes defined in the .pltcfg file do support a scale factor for printed line widths and styles.  That is, you can set up the weight-to-width mappings and line style on/off patterns for ANSI A, then indicate that for ANSI D for example, those values should be scaled up 50%:

     

     

    That feature potentially could reduce the number of custom .pltcfg files you have to create.  However, it does require that line width and styles values be consistently scaled between paper sizes and I did not try to see if that was true for your client's values.  It would be safer to assume they are not scaled consistently, and use different .pltcfg files for each paper size the same as the client.

          
    .

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