Windows BLL Generator
User Guide
Windows BLL Generator User Guide V1.10, last modification January 26, 1999
Acknowledgements
The combined effort of many people is required to make a quality software product. This is an
undoubtedly incomplete list of dealers, customers, coworkers and friends who have been helpful in one
way or another in making Windows BLL Generator into what it is today.
Hanspeter Andermatt, Wolfgang Beaugrand, Xavier Bengoechea, Tim Bochnak, Murray Bowman, Dr.
Ralf Brandes, Tony Brown, Falah Chebbo, Larry Cole, David Davies, Mike DeLucca, Dr. Stefan
Demetrescu, Jo Elliot, Jon Elion, LtCol Dr. Doug Erickson, David Hard, Wenxin He, Ron Herman, Jack
Hobbs, Andreas Hölling, Thomas Hofmeister, Genie Jacobsen, Dr. Jürgen Krüger, Bill Kruki, Jörg Kunz,
Klaus-Norbert Laroche, Beat Lechmann, Wai-Hung Lee, Adrian Martin, Bob McCormack, Rod Miller,
Martin Müller, Rick Narveson, Chris Olsen, Doris Rusch, Doug Schafer, Steffen Seeber and Bill
Smithson.
Thank you all.
This software is based in part on the ZLIB compression library written by Jean-loup Gailly and Mark
Adler.
Thank you for providing incredibly useful code.
Acknowledgements 3
Contents
Chapter 1: Introduction ........................................................................................9
What You Need ...............................................................................................10
Required Hardware ...............................................................................10
Required Software.................................................................................10
About this Guide..............................................................................................11
What’s new......................................................................................................12
Windows BLL Generator Features..................................................................13
Various Output Types............................................................................13
High-Resolution.....................................................................................13
True Color .............................................................................................14
Easy to Use and Highly Compatible......................................................14
Chapter 2: Express Setup ....................................................................................15
Installing Windows BLL Generator..................................................................16
Installing BLL Generator from the Web Site .........................................16
Installing Windows BLL Generator using Windows BLL Generator installation
disks ......................................................................................................16
Chapter 3: Software Installation ..........................................................................17
Contents 5
Running setup..................................................................................................18
Adding a BLL-Generator..................................................................................19
Chapter 4: Printing your first image ................................................................... 21
Printing from an Application.............................................................................22
Viewing a BLL..................................................................................................26
Chapter 5: Principle of Operation ....................................................................... 27
Introduction......................................................................................................27
Printing from Windows on a PC without Film Recorder ........................29
Important Concepts .........................................................................................31
Resolution..............................................................................................31
Color Fidelity..........................................................................................32
Bitmaps and Objects .............................................................................33
Graphics......................................................................................33
Text .............................................................................................33
Which Applications Create Bitmaps or Objects ..........................34
Chapter 6: Reference ........................................................................................... 35
Printer Settings ................................................................................................35
Resolution..............................................................................................35
Orientation and Paper Size ...................................................................36
Film Type...............................................................................................37
Non-LFC based Film Types ........................................................37
LFC-based Film Types................................................................38
Background Color..................................................................................39
Scaling...................................................................................................39
Minimum Exposure Time.......................................................................39
Color Balance........................................................................................39
Contrast Gamma...................................................................................40
Using the Windows 95/98 driver......................................................................41
6 Contents
Printer settings in Windows 95/98.........................................................41
Color balance and gamma correction ...................................................44
Miscellaneous options...........................................................................45
Changing the Default Printer Settings in Windows 95/98 .....................47
Using the Windows NT driver..........................................................................48
Printer settings in Windows NT.............................................................48
Storing Changed Settings...........................................................51
Changing the Default Printer Settings in Windows NT .........................52
Managing BLL-Generators..............................................................................53
Adding a BLL-Generator.............................................................53
Changing Destination Path .........................................................54
Deleting a BLL-Generator...........................................................54
Modifying Driver Options.......................................................................55
Chapter 7: Uninstalling.........................................................................................57
When to use the Uninstaller ............................................................................57
How to use the Uninstaller...............................................................................58
Chapter 8: Tips and Tricks...................................................................................59
Specific Applications........................................................................................60
Adobe Type Manager (ATM).................................................................60
Arts & Letters.........................................................................................60
Corel Draw ............................................................................................60
Corel Draw 7 .........................................................................................60
CorelDRAW 8........................................................................................61
Freelance Graphics for Windows Ver 1.0 .............................................61
Freelance Graphics 97..........................................................................61
Persuasion ............................................................................................61
PhotoStyler............................................................................................62
Word, Write ...........................................................................................62
Contents 7
Appendix A: Specifications................................................................................. 63
Glossary
Index
67
71
8 Contents
Chapter 1: Introduction
This is the user manual for the Windows BLL Generator. This product is used to generate platform and
application independent BLL files that can be used for imaging on remote Lasergraphics film recorders.
Windows BLL Generator supports PCs running Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows NT 4.0 and
Windows NT 5.0.
This chapter explains the features of the Windows BLL Generator.
Introduction 9
What You Need
You need the following hardware and software to run Windows BLL Generator:
Required Hardware
•
•
•
Any IBM® PC compatible machine with a 486 processor or better, Pentium or better
recommended.
16 MB of memory when running Windows 95/98 and 32 MB when running Windows NT. More
memory may be required for complex images or images that contain large bitmaps.
Minimum 4 megabytes of disk space for Windows BLL Generator programs plus additional
storage for images. The amount of additional storage required depends on the type of images.
Simple presentation slides will take between 100 kilobytes to 2 megabytes, complex and high-
resolution slides run from 5 megabytes up to 630 megabytes for a true color uncompressible
16000 line resolution image. Generally, 100 megabytes free disk space will be plenty.
Required Software
•
•
Microsoft Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows NT 4.0 or Windows NT 5.0 operating system.
A Windows application that can print to a Windows printer driver.
10 Introduction
About this Guide
This guide explains how to set up and use Windows BLL Generator.
This guide assumes that you already know how to use Microsoft Windows. If you are new to Windows,
review your
before proceeding.
Microsoft Windows User’s Guide
Screen illustrations in this guide are meant to be representative, not necessarily exact duplicates of
screens that appear on your display.
About this Guide 11
What’s new
Windows BLL Generator replaces Windows BLL Generator 3.15 for Windows 95 and WinRascol 3.15
for Windows NT. Major parts of Windows BLL Generator 3.15 were rewritten to increase performance,
simplify its use, and take advantage of new features of Windows 95 and Windows NT.
Windows BLL Generator offers these advantages over previous versions:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
One package supports Windows 95/98 and Windows NT 4.0/5.0
Simple installation
Same installation and interface on Windows NT and Windows 95/98
Installation from hard drive or network
Long filenames supported
BLLs can be previewed
A new high-compression BLL format generates smaller BLLs
: Windows 3.1x is not supported by Windows BLL Generator. Windows BLL Generator
Note
3.15 is the last version to support Windows 3.1x.
LFR and LFR+ type film recorders are not supported in Windows BLL Generator.
Note:
WinRascol 4.0 will continue to service this film recorder type.
12 Introduction
Windows BLL Generator Features
Windows BLL Generator adds a new dimension to all of your visual communications by letting you
produce professional-quality presentation graphics—right at your desk.
Various Output Types
Windows BLL Generator takes images produced by any Windows application and prints the images on
a Lasergraphics LFR series film recorder to make 35mm slides, 35mm prints (negatives), Polaroid
prints, 6x7 cm or 4x5 film transparencies or prints (negatives).
Slides
Transparencies
High-Resolution
With the Lasergraphics Film Recorder (LFR ), Windows BLL Generator in combination with WinRascol
or MacRascol produces brilliant color images on film. The LFR has a maximum resolution of
Mark VI
16384 lines which produces sharp images with over 700 times the image resolution (total number of
dots in an image) of a VGA screen.
Name
Fast
Short
2k
35mm resolution
2048x1365
120/220/4x5 resolution
2048x1680
Available on
All
Fine
4k
4096x2731
4096x3360
All
Extra
Ultra
8k
8192x5461
8192x6719
Mark III and above
Mark VI
16k
16384x10923
16384x13438
Windows BLL Generator Features 13
True Color
Windows BLL Generator supports
which enables you to produce life-like pictures with any
24-bit color,
of over 16.7 million colors. 24-bit color refers to the way color information is stored in the image. 24-bit
color is sometimes called “true-color” because it reproduces the full range of color visible to the human
eye.
Easy to Use and Highly Compatible
Windows BLL Generator is compatible with all Microsoft Windows 95, Windows 98 and Windows NT
applications that provide the
command. To print images the Windows BLL Generator, you simply
Print
invoke the Print command from your Windows application. Images will be sent from your application to
Windows BLL Generator for processing.
14 Introduction
Chapter 2: Express Setup
This section explains how users with previous WinRascol experience can get Windows BLL Generator
up and running quickly. If you are new the Windows BLL Generator or don’t consider yourself a
seasoned computer user, please take the time to study the chapters beginning with “Chapter 3:
Software Installation” on page 17.
Express Setup 15
Installing Windows BLL Generator
Windows BLL Generator is freely available on the Lasergraphics web site www.lasergraphics.com. It is
also part of the WinRascol 4 distribution disks for convenience. Note that you may not distribute the
WinRascol 4 distribution disks or their contents. The Windows BLL Generator downloadable from
Lasergraphics' web site (www.lasergraphics.com) can be freely distributed. If you don’t have access to
the Internet, please ask your dealer for a copy.
Installing BLL Generator from the Web Site
Run “WinBLL.exe“. Follow the prompts of the setup program.
Click Start->Programs->WinRascol32->BLLConf and select “Add/Manage BLL Generators” to install
one or more BLL generator drivers.
Installing Windows BLL Generator using Windows BLL Generator
installation disks
Run “setup.exe“. Follow the prompts of the setup program. Start “WinRascol32->BLLConf” and select
“Add/Manage BLL Generators” to install one or more BLL generator drivers.
16 Express Setup
Chapter 3: Software Installation
This section explains how to install Windows BLL Generator on your computer. The installation is
performed in two steps, the initial installation and running BLLConf.
Software Installation 17
Running setup
These steps perform the initial installation of the Windows BLL Generator package.
•
•
Close all programs currently running.
Insert disk 1 of the Windows BLL Generator installation disk set, skip this step if you’ve
downloaded the Windows BLL Generator from the web site.
•
•
Press
on the Windows tool bar, then select
.
Run
Start
If you are using installation disks enter “a:setup“ in the “run“ dialog box as follows:
•
If you’ve downloaded the Windows BLL Generator or have received it from another source, use
the
button to point to it.
Browse
•
•
•
•
Press
Press
Press
. Setup now prepares the installation.
OK
after reading the introductory screen.
after reading the readme file.
Next
Next
You will be asked to select a destination directory at this time. It is strongly suggested that you
use the default directory offered by the installation program. Press
Next.
•
•
Setup is now ready to install Windows BLL Generator. Press
to install now.
Next
Setup will install all program files at this time. Follow setup’s instructions to insert additional
disks if needed.
•
•
Press
to exit setup.
Finish
Setup may ask you to reboot your computer in rare cases.
The Windows BLL Generator program files are now installed.
18 Software Installation
Adding a BLL-Generator
Start
in
. Select
.
Add/Manage BLL Generators
BLLConf Start->WinRascol32
This dialog will appear:
•
Select
.
Add generator
Adding a BLL-generator 19
The following dialog is displayed:
•
•
•
Select the destination film recorder type in
.
Film recorder type
Enter the serial number of the target film recorder in the
edit box.
Serial number
Windows BLL Generator will select a default name for you. You can modify the name of the
printer driver in the edit box
.
Driver name
•
Select the destination directory into which the BLL files will be placed. Windows BLL Generator
will select the default temporary file path as default. You should select the network path of a
WinRascol drop box if you intend to use a film recorder that is connected to your network.
Contact your network administrator for details. You can also select the path of a ZIP-Drive, for
example.
•
Press
to create the BLL driver.
OK
The BLL driver will now appear in the
dialog. Press
to exit.
Done
BLL-generator Administration
For technical reasons, the new BLL-generator will show
to be the selected output
LPT1:
NOTE:
port on Windows 95/98 until your computer is rebooted. After reboot, the new generator will
show . This affects appearances only, it does not impact operation of the BLL-generator in
BLL:
any way.
20 Software Installation
Chapter 4: Printing your first image
This guided tour will show you how to print from an application.
You must have completed the software installation successfully to follow this tour.
Printing your first Image 21
Printing from an Application
This section will show you how to print an image using Microsoft Wordpad. Wordpad is included in both
Windows 95/98 and Windows NT. But you can use any other Windows application instead.
Start Microsoft Wordpad. You will find it in
Start->Programs->Accessories->Wordpad.
Punch in a few letters. Wordpad should look like this now:
Feel free to format the text any way you like!
22 Printing your first Image
Now open the Wordpad print dialog by selecting
from the
menu.
File
Print...
Select the BLL Generator in the
field.
Name
You should never check the “Print to file” check box.
Note:
Printing your first Image 23
Now select
. This will open a dialog that allows you to set film recorder print settings:
Properties
This is the Windows 95 film recorder settings dialog. The Windows NT dialog is shown in “Printer
settings in Windows NT” on page 48.
•
•
•
Select the film type you intend to use in
.
Film Type
Select
as the page size in
.
Standard Slide
Output Size
. Wordpad assumes white background but doesn’t fully
Background Color
Select
as
White
paint it.
•
Press
.
OK
24 Printing your first Image
•
Now press
installation time.
in the
dialog. A BLL will be created in the directory you designated at
Print
OK
Printing your first Image 25
Viewing a BLL
You can preview the BLL you just created by using Windows Explorer to locate the file in the directory
you designated during installation and double clicking on it.
The BLL Viewer will show you the rastered file:
Note that the printer driver has automatically rotated the image because the film recorder only images in
landscape orientation.
26 Printing your first Image
Chapter 5: Principle of Operation
This section explains how the Windows BLL Generator and WinRascol work together to produce film
output.
Introduction
WinRascol consists of two software components:
•
•
The queue and print manager. It queues print jobs and sends them to the film
recorder. WinRascol32 is the same program on Windows 95, Windows 98 and Windows NT.
WinRascol32:
The printer driver is used when you
WinRascol Printer Driver, or Windows BLL Generator:
invoke the command from within a Windows application. Due to architectural differences
Print
between Windows 95/98 and Windows NT, there need to be separate printer drivers for each
type of operating system.
There are several different ways to use WinRascol:
•
The user on a PC with a film recorder attached can print by:
•
•
Printing directly from an application with the WinRascol Printer Driver, or
Adding image files directly to the queue with WinRascol32.
•
The user on a PC without a film recorder can:
•
•
Print from an application with the Windows BLL Generator to make BLL files, or
Save images in one of the formats that WinRascol supports directly.
Introduction 27
BLLs and other image files should be placed into dropbox directories that are serviced automatically by
a PC with WinRascol. If dropbox directories are not accessible, BLL and other image files can be
copied to a disk and later added to WinRascol on the PC with a film recorder.
NOTE: Image files in dropbox directories will be automatically deleted after they are printed.
28 Principle of Operation
Printing from Windows on a PC without Film Recorder
Producing slides from Windows applications on a PC without film recorder is a simple four-step
process.
•
•
•
Select a BLL-generator Driver as the output device for the Windows application on the PC.
Create the images with the application.
Print the images using the Print command from within the application on the client PC.
Introduction 29
Here is a diagram showing how this works:
ꢑꢒꢊꢓ
ꢀ ꢈꢉꢂꢊꢋꢅꢆꢇ
ꢙꢚꢚꢎꢏꢊꢉꢂꢌꢎꢛꢊꢅꢎꢓꢂ ꢜꢕꢒꢝ ꢎꢋꢊꢌꢝꢂ ꢂꢌ ꢎꢂ ꢔ!
ꢇꢒꢕꢖꢗꢕꢘ
ꢍꢂ ꢎꢏꢊꢉꢂ ꢈꢔꢅꢓ
ꢈꢉꢊꢋꢂꢌ
ꢃꢄꢅꢆꢂ
ꢇꢅ ꢅ
ꢐꢋꢋꢎꢏꢊꢉꢂ
ꢍꢂ ꢎꢏꢊꢉꢂ
ꢀꢁꢂꢁꢂ
ꢀꢁꢂꢃꢄꢂꢃꢅꢆꢇ
The dropbox directory can be located on a network server or on the server PC.
NOTE:
30 Principle of Operation
Important Concepts
This section explains resolution, color fidelity, and the differences between bitmaps and objects.
Resolution
Resolution can be defined in many ways. Dots per inch (DPI) is a common definition, but an impractical
one for slides and overhead transparencies because the DPI changes significantly when the image is
projected.
The most practical definition of
is the total number of dots (or pixels) in the image. The
resolution
following table compares the image resolution of several graphics output devices.
Device
Dots
Image Resolution
approx. DPI
VGA screen
640 by 480
307,200
58 (on 17” CRT)
Most laser printers
2400 by 3276
4096 by 2731
8192 by 5461
7,862,400
11,186,176
44,736,512
300
All LFR film recorders
2790 (on 35mm film)
5945 (on 35mm film)
11890 (on 35mm film)
LFR
Mark III, Mark V
LFR Mark VI
16384 by 13438 220,168,192
Images produced by the LFR
contain over 716 times more dots than images on a VGA screen.
Mark VI
Important Concepts 31
When discussing film recorder resolution, the terms 2000-line slide, 4000-line slide and 8000-line slide
are commonly used. The number of lines refers to the number of dots across the image. Examples:
High end Lasergraphics film recorders can image up to 16384x13448 dots. This is
NOTE:
called 16000-line resolution. Some camera backs have a different aspect ratio that enables the
film recorder to output at higher vertical resolution like 4096x3362. This is still called 4000-line
resolution.
Color Fidelity
Color fidelity refers to the range of colors that can be reproduced in an image.
The range of colors that can be represented is defined by the number of
image. The more bits per pixel, the greater the range of colors.
used to store an
bits per pixel
Windows BLL Generator supports 24-bits per pixel, 8 for each of red, green, and blue. This results in
256 shades of each primary color, which can combine to form 16.7 million colors. Each pixel in an
image can be a different color.
32 Principle of Operation
Bitmaps and Objects
Images can contain
,
, or both. Bitmaps consist of dots or pixels. Objects consist of
bitmaps objects
mathematical descriptions of a shape, such as a polygon or line. Applications that create bitmaps are
often called “paint” programs and those that create objects are often called “draw” or “illustration”
programs. Both graphics and text can be bitmaps or objects.
Graphics
At high-resolution, bitmaps look the same if the film recorder resolution exceeds the resolution of the
bitmap but objects get sharper.
You can usually tell bitmaps from objects by watching how the image is created when it is first displayed
on the screen. Bitmaps are usually drawn on the screen from top to bottom in one chunk. Objects are
assembled in pieces.
Text
Text can be a bitmap or an object, just as graphics can. Text that is part of a bitmapped graphic with
lower than film recorder resolution remains jagged at high-resolution. However, text that is an object
can get sharper when output at high-resolution.
is
fonts sharp at any size and resolution.
Text created with
(
) or
ATM Adobe Type Manager TrueType
In addition, ATM and TrueType fonts will look the same on screen as on the slides printed by
WinRascol.
Important Concepts 33
Which Applications Create Bitmaps or Objects
Most images contain either bitmaps or objects, but some images can contain both. Here are some of
the more popular applications:
Bitmaps
•
•
•
•
Adobe® Photoshop TM
Aldus® PhotoStyler TM
Microsoft® Paint
ZSoft Corp. Publisher's Paintbrush®
Objects
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Aldus® PageMaker®
Aldus® Persuasion®
Computer Support Corp. Arts & Letters®
CorelDRAW!®
Harvard® Draw
Harvard Graphics®
Lotus Freelance Graphics®
Micrografx® Charisma TM
Micrografx® Designer TM
Microsoft® PowerPoint®
Microsoft® Excel®
Images from these applications may contain bitmaps that have been imported.
Both
Deneba CanvasTM
•
CorelDRAWTM
•
PowerPointTM
•
Lotus FreelanceTM
•
34 Principle of Operation
Chapter 6: Reference
This chapter provides detailed information about how to use Windows BLL Generator.
Printer Settings
Many Windows BLL Generator components will let you modify a wide variety of imaging options. This
section explains these options in detail. Later sections will explain where these options apply and how
to access them.
Resolution
Resolution controls the number of dots in the image according to the following table:
Name
Fast
Short
2k
35mm resolution
2048x1365
120/220/4x5 resolution
2048x1680
Available on
All
Fine
4k
4096x2731
4096x3360
All
Extra
Ultra
8k
8192x5461
8192x6719
Mark III and above
Mark VI
16k
16384x10923
16384x13438
Printer Settings 35
Note that the time it takes to image a slide will increase with the resolution setting approximately as
follows:
Resolution
2k
4k
1
8k
4
16k
16
Relative resolution
Relative imaging time
Approximate imaging time
0.25
0.75
30s
1
4
16
40s
150s
600s
is the total number of pixels relative to a 4k slide.
Relative resolution
is the time it takes to image relative to a 4k slide, on a theoretical basis.
Relative imaging time
Approximate imaging time
is the time it minimally takes to image a slide in real life.
Orientation and Paper Size
Orientation specifies whether the output should be in
or
mode.
Landscape Portrait
Landscape
Portrait
Paper size determines the paper dimensions returned to the application.
Paper size does not correspond to the actual size of the film.
NOTE:
NOTE:
Make sure to match the paper size and orientation settings of the printer driver with
those of your application. Some applications will ignore paper dimensions returned by the
printer driver. Paper size and orientation mismatches can lead to badly sized images.
36 Reference
Film Type
specifies the type of film in the camera back connected to the film recorder. Windows BLL
Film Type
Generator supports two types of film, LFC-based and non-LFC based. LFC based film choices rely on
so-called LFC files that reside in the LGDATA\LFC directory. These LFC files contain transfer functions
for specific film/film recorder combinations. The transfer functions of non-LFC based films have been
pre-programmed into the film recorders.
Choose LFC-based films over non-LFC-based films when possible!
NOTE:
Non-LFC based Film Types
Use
with:
Ektachrome 100 (35mm)
•
•
•
35mm camera back
ISO daylight balanced slide film such as Ektachrome 100, Fujichrome 100 or Agfachrome 100
All film recorders except the Digital Photography Models
Use
with:
Polachrome
•
•
35mm camera back
Polachrome instant 35mm slide film. You process the slides yourself using the Polaroid 35mm
Autoprocess System. Polachrome slides are only draft quality, but are useful if time or
confidentiality is important.
•
All film recorders
Use
with:
Polaroid 339
•
•
Polaroid camera back
Polaroid Instant Print film, which produces 4"x 3" instant prints. It is convenient for making test
prints and single print images.
•
All film recorders except the Personal LFR and the Personal LFR PLUS
Use
Use
with:
Polaroid 669
•
•
•
Polaroid camera back
Polaroid Instant Pack film, which produces 3 3/4"x 2 7/8" instant transparencies
All film recorders except the Personal LFR and the Personal LFR PLUS
with:
Polaroid 691
•
Polaroid camera back
Printer Settings 37
•
•
Polaroid 691 Overhead Transparency film, which produces 3 3/4"x 2 7/8" instant transparencies
All film recorders except the Personal LFR and the Personal LFR PLUS
Use
Use
with:
Kodacolor 100
•
•
•
35mm camera back
ISO daylight balanced print film
All film recorders except Digital Photography Models
) with:
Ektachrome 100 (4x5
•
•
•
4x5 camera back
Ektachrome 100 4x5 film
All film recorders except the Personal LFR., Personal LFR PLUS, LFR-X, and the Digital
Photography Models
Use
) with:
Ektachrome 100 (120/220
•
•
•
120 or 220 camera back
Ektachrome 100 film
LFR Mark II and LFR Mark III standard film recorders only
LFC-based Film Types
In addition, Windows BLL Generator supports Lasergraphics Film Calibration (LFC) files. These LFCs
support a variety of film types such as Kodak Gold 100 Plus, Vericolor III, etc. Each Lasergraphics Film
Calibration file provides calibration data for one film on one specific film recorder model. For example,
the 35mm Vericolor III LFC file for LFR
Photography Model.
will be different from the one for LFR
- Digital
Mark III
Mark III
38 Reference
Background Color
specifies the background color of the image. This setting is ignored if the
Background Color
application explicitly sets the background color in the image. Use Background Color to set the color of
unpainted regions to white for text applications like Word. Otherwise, you might end up with black text
on black background!
Scaling
controls how the image is scaled for output. 100% keeps the image size unchanged. To
Scaling
shrink the image, set the value to less than 100%. To expand the image, set the value to greater than
100%. The range of valid scaling values is 20% to 400%.
Minimum Exposure Time
This setting applies mostly to very old film recorders that have no internal slice mark control
mechanisms. Minimum Exposure Time controls the exposure time of the film recorder to eliminate slice
marks (periodic faint horizontal lines) on the output. Normally Fastest Possible should be selected. If
there are slice marks on the output slide, set the minimum exposure time to 1.5 times the normal
processing time of the image. If slice marks are still there, increase the value and try again.
Color Balance
controls the percentages of red, green and blue used in the film recorder. Normally,
Color balance
each of the three colors is set to 100%. The range of valid color balance values is 25% to 400%.
Printer Settings 39
Contrast Gamma
allows for very fine contrast adjustment. The range of valid gamma contrast values
Contrast Gamma
is 0.14 to 7.0. However, values between 0.25 and 2.0 are usually more practical. By adjusting the
gamma contrast value you can change the midtones of the image without affecting the highlights. As
the gamma contrast value decreases, output midtones become darker. As the gamma contrast value
increases, output midtones become lighter.
The graph under the scroll bar for gamma contrast adjustment (only available in some dialogs) shows
how input intensities are mapped to output intensities. The horizontal axis represents input intensities
which increase from left to right. The vertical axis represents output intensities which increase from
bottom to top.
40 Reference
Using the Windows 95/98 driver
Printing a document or image to a film recorder from an application is just like printing to any ordinary
printer. This process will vary slightly from application to application, but generally the Print command in
the application’s File menu will do the trick.
Printer settings in Windows 95/98
The printer driver allows changing a number of print settings. Most of these settings don’t need to be
changed in many cases, but you will always need to select the film type you want to use. The
dialog generally has a button that allows you to access the printer settings dialog.
Print
Please see “Printer Settings” on page 35 for details on individual settings.
Using the Windows 95/98 Driver 41
This is the printer settings dialog in Windows 95.
•
Choose the desired resolution in the
types support all resolutions. Up to four different resolutions are available:
box. Note that not all film recorders and film
Resolution
•
•
•
•
2k – Fastest selection – up to 2048 x 1680 pixels
4k – Fine resolution – up to 4096 x 3360 pixels
8k – Extra fine resolution – up to 8192 x 6719 pixels
16k – Ultra fine resolution – up to 16384 x 13438 pixels
Note that the higher the resolution, the longer it will take to print the image on the film recorder. As
a rule of thumb, 2k images will take at least 30 seconds, 4k images will take at least 40 seconds,
8k images will take at least 150 seconds and 16k images will take at least 600 seconds. The exact
times will vary with the complexity of the image, the speed of the interface, the film type and the
type of film recorder used.
42 Reference
•
•
selects the image orientation.
Orientation
Output Size
selects the “paper” format to use. This should match the paper format selected in
your application. You will generally get best results with the default “Standard Slide”. You can
also select a user defined paper size
Make sure to match the paper size and orientation settings of the printer driver with
NOTE:
those of your application. Some applications will ignore paper dimensions returned by the
printer driver. Paper size and orientation mismatches can lead to badly sized images.
•
selects the film to use.
Film
Using the Windows 95/98 Driver 43
Color balance and gamma correction
•
•
controls the brightness of the three color channels.
Color Balance
controls the gamma correction. It is used to brighten or darken mid tones
Gamma Correction
of an image without changing the very dark and very bright pixels.
44 Reference
Miscellaneous options
•
selects a compression type for the BLL. Medium compression optimizes for
Compression
speed, while high compression optimizes for file size. Use
compression when you want to
high
send BLLs to a service provider using removable media or the Internet.
•
•
scales your image. The range is 25% to 400%. Note that scaling your image may result in
non-optimal use of film.
Scale
is used to lengthen the imaging time in rare cases of slice marking.
Minimum Exposure Time
Using the Windows 95/98 Driver 45
•
selects the color that is used to paint the background. This color is used in
cases where the application does not specify a background color and when the aspect ratio of
the paper selected in the application doesn’t match the aspect ratio of the film.
Background Color
The options Aspect Ratio, Raster Options and AntiAlias don’t apply for non-raster operations.
46 Reference
Changing the Default Printer Settings in Windows 95/98
The document default printer settings are used automatically when an application initializes the printer
settings of a document, usually when a document is created and when the selected printer is changed.
By setting the document defaults to the settings you normally use, you can simplify using the printer
driver.
You can find the default document settings by:
Selecting Start->Settings->Printers
right-clicking on the film recorder
selecting 'Properties’->’Details’->’Setup’
The default document settings dialog is the same as the printer settings dialog described in “Printer
settings in Windows 95/98” on page 41.
Using the Windows 95/98 Driver 47
Using the Windows NT driver
Printer settings in Windows NT
Printing a document or image to a film recorder from an application is just like printing to any ordinary
printer. This process will vary slightly from application to application, but generally the Print command
in the application’s File menu will do the trick.
The printer driver allows changing a number of print settings. Most of these settings don’t need to be
changed in many cases, but you will always need to select the film type you want to use. The ‘Print”
dialog generally has a button that allows you to access the printer settings dialog.
Please see “Printer Settings” on page 35 for details on individual settings.
48 Reference
The printer settings dialog looks like this:
•
•
: Select 'Paper Size' in the upper window, then choose a form in the lower
Selecting Paper Size
window. Default is 'LFR Standard Slide 7.33x11in'.
: Select 'Orientation' in the upper window, then choose 'Portrait' or
Selecting Orientation
'Landscape' in the lower window. The driver will rotate the rasterized image to fit the form on the
film using as much film as possible. Default is 'Portrait'.
•
•
: Select 'Copy Count' in the upper window, then choose the number of
copies in the lower window. Default is 1.
Selecting Copy Count
: Select 'Resolution' in the upper window, then choose 2k, 4k, 8k or 16k in
the lower window. Note that not all film recorders support all resolutions. Default is 4k.
Selecting Resolution
Using the Windows NT Driver 49
•
•
: Select 'Background Color' in the upper window, then choose
Selecting Background Color
'black' or 'white'. The background color determines the color imaged on film for areas that the
application decides not to rasterize on. The background color is also applied to areas that are
not imaged by the application due to the fit of the form on the film. Options are black and white.
Default is black. Select ‘White’ for text applications like Word that expect white paper.
: Select ‘Exposure Speed' in the upper window, then choose a
minimum exposure time in minutes. This setting selects the minimum time for the exposure. It is
used to slow down the film recorder in rare cases of banding. Default is 0 for maximum speed.
Selecting Exposure Speed
50 Reference
•
•
•
: Select 'Gamma Correction' in the upper window, then choose a
gamma value between 0.144 and 7. Default is 0.500.
Selecting Gamma Correction
: Select 'Red', 'Green' or 'Blue' in the upper window, then set a
balance value between 25 and 400. Default is 100 for red, green and blue.
Selecting Color Balance
selects a compression type for the BLL.
compression optimizes for
Medium
Compression
speed, while high compression optimizes for file size. Use
compression when you want to
high
send BLLs to a service provider using removable media or the Internet.
Storing Changed Settings
Press
to store changed settings. 'Cancel' will undo all changes.
OK
Using the Windows NT Driver 51
Changing the Default Printer Settings in Windows NT
The default document settings are used automatically when an application initializes the printer settings
of a document, usually when a document is created and when the selected printer is changed. By
setting the document defaults to the settings you normally use, you can make your life easier.
You can find the default document settings by:
Selecting Start->Settings->Printers
right-clicking on the film recorder
selecting 'Document Defaults…'
The default document settings dialog is the same as the printer settings dialog described in “Printer
settings in Windows NT” on page 48.
Please see “Printer Settings” on page 35 for details on individual settings.
52 Reference
Managing BLL-Generators
Open the BLL management dialog by selecting
Add/Manage BLL Generators
and pressing
Start->WinRascol32->BLLConf
. The dialog looks like this:
This is the dialog:
Adding a BLL-Generator
•
Select
. The following dialog is displayed:
Add generator
•
•
•
Select the destination film recorder type in
.
Film recorder type
Enter the serial number of your film recorder in the
edit box.
Serial number
You can modify the name of the printer driver in the edit box
will select a default name for you.
. Windows BLL Generator
Driver name
•
Select the Destination directory in which the BLL files will be placed. Windows BLL Generator will
select the default temporary file path as default. You should select the network path of a WinRascol
drop box if you intend to use a film recorder that is connected to your network.
Managing BLL Generators 53
•
Press
to create the BLL driver.
OK
The BLL driver will now appear in the
dialog.
BLL-generator Administration
Changing Destination Path
Select
in the BLL-generator administration dialog. A dialog will appear to allow you to
Change Path
change the destination path. The destination path points to the directory in which generated BLLs are
placed.
Deleting a BLL-Generator
Select a BLL driver in the BLL-generator Administration dialog by clicking on it. Press
Delete
. The BLL-generator will be deleted.
generator
54 Reference
Modifying Driver Options
Open the Global driver settings dialog by selecting
and pressing
Start->WinRascol32->BLLConf
. The dialog looks like this:
Configure Drivers
•
•
sets the amount of free disk space the driver leaves minimally before
.
Disk space usage
reporting
Disk Full
This option enables a post processing feature that
Enable Power Smoothing Technology:
attempts to correct a gradient fill problem of PowerPoint 97. Gradient fills printed from
PowerPoint 97 have very coarse steps and exhibit visible banding on high quality film recorders.
This option interpolates between bands to ease the effect.
•
This switch enables a workaround for a bug in Lotus
Enable Lotus Freelance Workaround:
Freelance 97. Freelance 97 will preview and print in black and white on true color printers.
Enabling this switch hides the fact that Lasergraphics film recorders are true color devices from
applications.
Enabling this switch may affect printing from other applications adversely.
Lotus will try to fix this problem in future releases.
Note:
Note:
Managing BLL Generators 55
Chapter 7: Uninstalling
When to use the Uninstaller
The uninstaller is used to remove all components of the Windows BLL Generator from your computer.
You will want to do this when
•
•
You do not intend to use Windows BLL Generator on your computer any longer.
The Windows BLL Generator installation has been corrupted. While you can reinstall Windows
BLL Generator over a corrupted installation of Windows BLL Generator, this is not
recommended.
You do not need to uninstall Windows BLL Generator when
•
•
•
You want to install an update of Windows BLL Generator.
You have used a Windows BLL Generator and now want to attach a film recorder directly.
You have used a film recorder directly using WinRascol but want to install a BLL-generator.
When to use the Uninstaller 57
How to use the Uninstaller
You can uninstall the Windows BLL Generator package by selecting
in the
WinRascol32
Uninstall
program group. Uninstall will do the following:
•
•
•
•
•
Remove all Windows BLL Generator printer drivers
Remove all Windows BLL Generator system drivers (NT only)
Remove all Windows BLL Generator program and data files
Remove all Windows BLL Generator related entries in the WIN.INI
Remove all Windows BLL Generator entries in program groups (Startup and WinRascol32)
It is best to run
after rebooting the computer and exiting all programs. Some
Uninstall
NOTE:
programs tend to leave printer drivers activated. Uninstall will fail in this case.
58 Uninstalling WinRascol
Chapter 8: Tips and Tricks
Tips and Tricks 59
This section gives tips and tricks on particular image types and applications.
Specific Applications
Adobe Type Manager (ATM)
Windows BLL Generator is fully compatible with
(
) fonts, version 1.15 or
Adobe Type Manager ATM
newer. These fonts produce smooth text at any size and match text layout in your output with your
image on screen.
In ATM Control Panel, make sure the
option is checked; otherwise, very
Print ATM fonts as graphics
large ATM text may be missing in your output.
Arts & Letters
The long names of Windows BLL Generator devices may cause problems with Arts & Letters. To get
around the problems, you can shorten the Windows BLL Generator device names:
1. Open
Start->Settings->Printers
2. Select the Windows BLL Generator printer
3. Use to shorten the name of the printer
File->Rename
Corel Draw
In order to get a realistic preview of the document, be sure that the color selected as the
in
Paper Color
in Windows BLL Generator
CorelDRAW's
window matches with the
Background Color
Page Setup
Driver's setup window. For example, when printing to the film recorder, Windows BLL Generator's
default background color is black. Set Paper Color in CorelDRAW's Page Setup window to black, so
that the preview of the image in CorelDRAW will be correct.
If you are using CorelDRAW 3.00 Rev B or later, adding the following entry to the
[CDrawConfig]
file will significantly improve the printing times of certain images:
section of the
CORELDRW.INI
UseClippingForFills=0
In the Print window of CorelDRAW, make sure the
box is
checked.
not
Print to File
Corel Draw 7
When using gradient fills in Corel Draw 7, make sure to select the highest number of steps at every
opportunity to avoid banding. Especially in the dialog hidden under
Print Options->Options.
Also make sure to disable color management for composite print under
will prevent the very strange discoloration caused by the default profile.
This
Tools->Color Manager.
60 Tips and Tricks
CorelDRAW 8
CorelDRAW 8 will generate erroneous output when you choose a value higher than 256 for the number
of fountain steps in the miscellaneous printer options. CorelDRAW 8 will even crash while printing
gradient fills if the number is very high, like 2000.
Freelance Graphics for Windows Ver 1.0
If the text and/or objects on your slides are printed with a different color than those on your screen, do
the following:
1. In the
2. Select
window of Freelance, click on
.
Color Map
Page Setup
.
Use Window's color map
All bitmaps will appear in black and white when printed with Windows BLL Generator. This problem is
fixed in Freelance Graphics for Windows ver 2.0.
Freelance Graphics 97
Freelance Graphics 97 has a bug that makes it preview and print in black and white to true color
devices like Lasergraphics film recorders. Please enable the
outlined in
Lotus Freelance Workaround
“Modifying Driver Options” on page 55 if you experience this problem.
Persuasion
To make Persuasion print faster to Windows BLL Generator, you can modify the
file. (The
ALDUS.INI
file is usually located in the USENGLSH subdirectory under your ALDUS directory.) Use a
ALDUS.INI
text editor (such as
from MS-DOS or
from Windows) to add the following lines to
NotePad
EDIT.COM
file:
the end of the
ALDUS.INI
[
]
your_Windows BLL Generator_printer_name
NoPatternOnlySolidFill=0
ROPtype=0
StretchImage=0
Specific Applications 61
where
is the name of the
Control Panel
printer
your_Windows BLL Generator_printer_name
Windows BLL Generator
. For example, if you have an LFR, the lines
as shown in the Installed Printer List of the
you should add are:
[LFR]
NoPatternOnlySolidFill=0
ROPtype=0
StretchImage=0
If you have a
LFR, the lines you should add are:
Personal
[Personal LFR]
NoPatternOnlySolidFill=0
ROPtype=0
StretchImage=0
After you have changed the
file, restart Windows.
ALDUS.INI
CAUTION: Please make sure the lines you are adding follow
the format described
exactly
here. A spelling mistake or an extra space may cause Persuasion to ignore these lines with no
warning.
PhotoStyler
You must check the
box in PhotoStyler's
window. Otherwise,
Page Setup
Halftone by Printer
PhotoStyler will limit the bitmaps to 16 colors when printing to Windows BLL Generator Driver.
If you choose in the PhotoStyler's window, PhotoStyler will resample bitmaps to the
Scale to Fit
Print
film recorder's resolution instead of letting Windows BLL Generator do the work. This will make
Windows BLL Generator print job files very large and make the processing very slow.
Word, Write
These applications assume a white background and always print text in black. So, when printing to the
film recorder, you must explicitly select a white
in Windows BLL Generator Driver's setup
Background
window. Otherwise, you will get black text printed on a black background.
62 Tips and Tricks
Appendix A: Specifications
Specifications are subject to change without notice.
Supported PCs
Any IBM PC compatible with a 486 processor or better and at least
16 MB of memory. Note that this represents the absolute minimum.
You will need more memory if you intend to use Windows NT or
have graphics intensive images.
Supported Output Devices
All film recorders in the Lasergraphics LFR family are supported:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Personal LFR
Personal LFR PLUS
LFR-X
LFR Mark II
LFR Mark II - Digital Photography Model (DPM)
LFR Mark III
LFR Mark III - Digital Photography Model (DPM)
LFR Mark V - Digital Photography Model (DPM)
LFR Mark VI - Digital Photography Model (DPM)
Specifications 63
Supported Operating
Environment
Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows NT 4.0 and Windows NT 5.0
Image Enhancements
Fonts
Color balance
Gamma contrast
TrueType
ATM (Adobe Type Manager) ver 1.5 or later
Software Selectable
Resolution (Film Recorder)
4000 lines (4096 x 2730 pixels)
2000 lines (2048 x 1366 pixels)
On LFR
Mark III
LFR
- Digital Photography Model, LFR
Mark III
Mark III,
– Digital Photography Model and LFR Mark V – Digital
Photography model 8000 lines (8192 x 5461 pixels) are available.
On the LFR Mark VI – Digital Photography Model 16000 lines are
available
Film Types
Ektachrome 100 color slides
Kodacolor 100 color prints
Other ISO 100 films
Polachrome instant slides
Polaroid 339 Print instant prints (with optional Polaroid camera)
Polaroid 669 Print instant prints (with optional Polaroid camera)
Polaroid 691 instant transparencies (with optional Polaroid camera)
Ektachrome 100 4x5 transparencies (with optional 4x5 camera)
Ektachrome 100 Color Reversal 120/220 film (with optional 120
camera)
Lasergraphics Film Calibration (LFC) files, currently 176 film type
and film recorder combinations
64 Specifications
Output Problems 65
Glossary
Assigning pixels at the edges of objects a graduated gray scale of values. This
antialiasing
dramatically reduces the appearance of jaggies.
A proprietary print job format.
Binary Lasergraphics Language (BLL)
A type of graphic composed of a rectangular group of colored dots. Bitmaps have jagged
bitmap
edges when output at high-resolution.
An abbreviation for Binary Lasergraphics Language.
BLL
A film recorder's camera.
camera back
A computer without a film recorder. Users on client computers can put image files in
can pick up the image files and print them.
client computer
so that the WinRascol
dropboxes
server PC
Measures the range of shades between light and dark. Black and white is high contrast,
contrast
whereas two similar shades of gray is low contrast.
To trim an image prior to output.
crop
Dots per inch. Commonly used to specify printer resolution.
Digital Photography Model. A film recorder model that is customized for digital photography.
DPI
DPM
A shared directory where network users can put image files. A dropbox directory is scanned
Dropbox
by WinRascol periodically for image files to process. Dropboxes make film recorder sharing very easy.
A typeface.
font
A popular computer-aided design drawing format on PCs.
HPGL
Within an image, steps along the edge of a shape that should be smooth. Jaggies are
and/or
jaggies
reduced by increasing
.
antialiasing
resolution
An output orientation where the width is greater than the height. Also known as horizontal
landscape
or wide format. Compare to
.
portrait
Glossary 67
A powerful graphics language that is common in the mainframe and
Lasergraphics Language
minicomputer environments.
A file that provides calibration data of a film type for a specific
Lasergraphics Film Calibration file
LFR model. Therefore, the LFC file of 35mm Vericolor for LFR
is different from the one for LFR
Mark III
- Digital Photography Model.
Mark III
See Lasergraphics Film Calibration file.
LFC file
Lasergraphics Film Recorder. Refers to a family of film recorders including the LFR, LFR PLUS,
LFR
LFR,
LFR PLUS, LFR-X, LFR LFR
Mark II and
, and the Digital Photography
Mark III
Personal
Personal
Models Mark II DPM, Mark III DPM, Mark V DPM and Mark VI DPM.
An abbreviation for Lasergraphics Language.
LL
A type of graphic composed of graphic primitives (e.g. circles, lines, polygons, etc.). The
object
graphic primitives are represented by their mathematical coordinates. Objects reproduce well at high-
resolution.
To create an image on a film recorder.
output
pixel
An acronym for picture element. A pixel is a single dot on your monitor or output device.
An output orientation where the height is greater than the width. Also known as vertical or tall
portrait
format. Compare to
.
landscape
Software that knows how to communicate with a printer device.
printer driver
A directory on your hard disk for storing temporary Windows BLL Generator print job files.
queue
Refers to a family of high speed Lasergraphics image processors. Instead of burdening the
Rascol
PC, WinRascol lets the Rascol perform the time- and memory-consuming task of rasterization. This
way you can continue to do work on your PC while the Rascol is busy rasterizing. The Rascols also
control the Lasergraphics film recorders. These days PCs have become so fast that they usually
rasterizer faster than Rascol devices.
A Rascol model that plugs into your PC and acts as a fully independent co-processor that
Rascol II
performs rasterization and controls the film recorder.
A Rascol model that plugs into your PS/2 and acts as a fully independent co-processor that
Rascol IV
performs rasterization and controls the film recorder.
A high performance communication port for connecting to RISCRascol and Internal
RascolPort
Rascol. It can emulate the standard bi-directional parallel (LPT) port to work with most third party
printers.
See bitmap.
raster
A time- and memory- consuming process for converting graphics objects into rasters for
rasterization
output.
The total number of dots in an image. Film recorder resolutions measured in lines
resolution
represents the number of dots across the image.
68 Glossary
A Rascol model that offers dramatic speed increase for the Lasergraphics film recorders.
RISCRascol
For complex images, the RISCRascol is 15 times faster than the Rascol II/IV.
A PC connected to a film recorder . The PC can run WinRascol Network Version to share
server PC
the film recorder with other network users via
.
dropboxes
A popular bitmap file format for PCs.
TARGA
A popular bitmap file format for PCs.
TIFF
Glossary 69
Index
Add, 53
CorelDRAW, 34, 60
Designer, 34
24-bit color, 14
35mm prints, 13
35mm slides, 13
Adding, 19
Change path, 54
Delete, 54
dropbox, 28
Excel, 34
Adobe Type Manager
60
, 33,
Manage, 53
Exposure Speed, 50
Exposure Time, 39, 45
Film
Canvas, 34
Application
Charisma, 34
Client Computers
printing on, 27
Color
Printing from, 22
applications
LFC based', 38
Non LFC based, 37
film transparencies, 13
Film Type, 37, 43
draw, 33
illustration, 33
paint, 33
Background, 39, 50
fidelity, 32
Ektachrome 100
(120/220), 38
Arts & Letters, 34, 60
true-color, 14
Color Balance, 39, 44, 51
Contrast
ATM
, 33, 60
Ektachrome 100 (4x5),
38
auto deletion, 28
Kodacolor 100, 38
Background Color, 39, 50
Bitmap, 33
Gamma, 40, 44
Copy count, 49
Lasergraphics Film
Calibration files, 38
BLL-generator
Index 71
LFC files, 38
PageMaker, 34
Paper Size, 36, 43, 49
Persuasion, 34, 61
Photoshop, 34
PhotoStyler, 34, 62
Polaroid prints, 13
PowerPoint, 34
Printer Driver, 27
Windows 95/98, 41
Windows NT, 48
Printing
slide
2000-line, 32
Polachrome, 37
Polaroid 339, 37
Polaroid 669, 37
Polaroid 691, 37
4000-line, 32
8000-line, 32
Specifications, 63
text
Film Types
, 64
font
bitmap, 33
ATM
, 33, 60
object, 33
Freelance, 34, 61
Uninstalling WinRascol, 57
What’s new, 12
Windows 3.1x, 12
WinRascol
Freelance Graphics for
Windows, 61
Gamma, 51
From application, 22
Reference, 35
Contrast, 44
About, 13
Guided tour, 21
Hardware
Resolution, 35, 42, 49
defined, 31
Installation, 17
Version 3.15, 12
What’s new, 12
WinRascol Driver
Required, 10
Harvard Graphics, 34
image resolution, 13
Scaling, 39, 45
Server PC
Lasergraphics Film
Calibration files, 37, 38
Lasergraphics Film
Calibration files, 38
printing on, 27
LFC files, 37, 38
LFR, 13
LFC files, 38
WinRascol32, 27
Installation, 18
Word, 62
Settings, 35
Default, 47, 52
Windows 95/98, 41
Windows NT, 48
Setup, 18
Microsoft Word, 62
objects, 33
Orientation, 36, 43, 49
Output Size, 36, 43
slice marks, 39
72 Index
|