Summary of Contents for Lasergraphics Windows BLL Generator
- Page 1 Windows BLL Generator User Guide Windows BLL Generator User Guide V1.10, last modification January 26, 1999...
- Page 2 Copyright © 1988-1998 Lasergraphics, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 20 Ada Irvine, California 92618 +1-949-753-8282 Technical Support Department: +1-949-753-8292 Monday through Friday 7:30 . to 5:30 ., US Pacific Time Zone Lasergraphics BBS (949) 727-9429 Internet: http://www.lasergraphics.com LFR, LFR PLUS, Personal LFR, Personal LFR PLUS, LFR-X, LFR Mark II , LFR Mark II - Digital Photography Model, LFR Mark III , LFR Mark III - Digital Photography Model, LFR Mark V - Digital Photography Model, LFR Mark VI –...
- Page 3 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.
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Page 4: Table Of Contents
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... - Page 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...
- Page 6 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 Changing the Default Printer Settings in Windows NT ...
- Page 7 Appendix A: Specifications ... 63 Glossary Index 8 Contents...
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Page 8: Chapter 1: Introduction
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. -
Page 9: What You Need
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. -
Page 10: About This Guide
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 Microsoft Windows User’s Guide before proceeding. -
Page 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. -
Page 12: Windows Bll Generator Features
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). -
Page 13: True Color
True Color Windows BLL Generator supports 24-bit color, which enables you to produce life-like pictures with any 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. -
Page 14: 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”... -
Page 15: Installing Windows Bll Generator
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. -
Page 16: Chapter 3: Software Installation
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... -
Page 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. -
Page 18: Adding A Bll-Generator
Adding a BLL-Generator Start BLLConf in Start->WinRascol32 . Select Add/Manage BLL Generators . This dialog will appear: Select Add generator . Adding a BLL-generator 19... - Page 19 Enter the serial number of the target film recorder in the Serial number edit box. 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 .
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Page 20: Chapter 4: Printing Your First Image
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... -
Page 21: Printing From An Application
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. - Page 22 Now open the Wordpad print dialog by selecting Print... from the File menu. Select the BLL Generator in the Name field. Note: You should never check the “Print to file” check box. Printing your first Image 23...
- Page 23 Now select Properties . This will open a dialog that allows you to set film recorder print settings: 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 .
- Page 24 Now press OK in the Print dialog. A BLL will be created in the directory you designated at installation time. Printing your first Image 25...
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Page 25: Viewing A Bll
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. -
Page 26: Chapter 5: Principle Of Operation
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: WinRascol32: The queue and print manager. It queues print jobs and sends them to the film recorder. - Page 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.
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Page 28: Printing From Windows On A Pc Without Film Recorder
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. - Page 29 Here is a diagram showing how this works: NOTE: The dropbox directory can be located on a network server or on the server PC. 30 Principle of Operation ! ...
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Page 30: Important Concepts
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. -
Page 31: Resolution
The more bits per pixel, the greater the range of colors. 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. -
Page 32: Bitmaps And Objects
Bitmaps and Objects Images can contain bitmaps , objects , or both. Bitmaps consist of dots or pixels. Objects consist of 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. -
Page 33: Which Applications Create Bitmaps Or Objects
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®... -
Page 34: 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. -
Page 35: Orientation And Paper Size
Note that the time it takes to image a slide will increase with the resolution setting approximately as follows: Resolution Relative resolution Relative imaging time Approximate imaging time Relative resolution is the total number of pixels relative to a 4k slide. Relative imaging time is the time it takes to image relative to a 4k slide, on a theoretical basis. -
Page 36: Film Type
Use Polaroid 339 with: 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... -
Page 37: Lfc-Based Film Types
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. -
Page 38: Background Color
Background Color Background Color specifies the background color of the image. This setting is ignored if the 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 Scaling controls how the image is scaled for output. -
Page 39: Contrast Gamma
Contrast Gamma Contrast Gamma allows for very fine contrast adjustment. The range of valid gamma contrast values 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. -
Page 40: Using The Windows 95/98 Driver
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. - Page 41 This is the printer settings dialog in Windows 95. Choose the desired resolution in the Resolution box. Note that not all film recorders and film types support all resolutions. Up to four different resolutions are available: 2k – Fastest selection – up to 2048 x 1680 pixels 4k –...
- Page 42 Orientation selects the image 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 NOTE: Make sure to match the paper size and orientation settings of the printer driver with those of your application.
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Page 43: Color Balance And Gamma Correction
Color balance and gamma correction Color Balance controls the brightness of the three color channels. Gamma Correction controls the gamma correction. It is used to brighten or darken mid tones of an image without changing the very dark and very bright pixels. 44 Reference... -
Page 44: Miscellaneous Options
Miscellaneous options Compression selects a compression type for the BLL. Medium compression optimizes for speed, while high compression optimizes for file size. Use high compression when you want to send BLLs to a service provider using removable media or the Internet. Scale scales your image. - Page 45 Background Color 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. The options Aspect Ratio, Raster Options and AntiAlias don’t apply for non-raster operations.
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Page 46: Changing The Default Printer Settings In Windows 95/98
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. -
Page 47: Using The Windows Nt Driver
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. - Page 48 The printer settings dialog looks like this: Selecting Paper Size : Select 'Paper Size' in the upper window, then choose a form in the lower window. Default is 'LFR Standard Slide 7.33x11in'. Selecting Orientation : Select 'Orientation' in the upper window, then choose 'Portrait' or 'Landscape' in the lower window.
- Page 49 Selecting Background Color : Select 'Background Color' in the upper window, then choose '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.
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Page 50: Storing Changed Settings
Selecting Gamma Correction : Select 'Gamma Correction' in the upper window, then choose a gamma value between 0.144 and 7. Default is 0.500. Selecting Color Balance : 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. Compression selects a compression type for the BLL. -
Page 51: Changing The Default Printer Settings In Windows Nt
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... -
Page 52: Managing Bll-Generators
Enter the serial number of your film recorder in the Serial number edit box. You can modify the name of the printer driver in the edit box Driver name . Windows BLL Generator will select a default name for you. -
Page 53: Changing Destination Path
Press OK to create the BLL driver. The BLL driver will now appear in the BLL-generator Administration dialog. Changing Destination Path Select Change Path in the BLL-generator administration dialog. A dialog will appear to allow you to change the destination path. The destination path points to the directory in which generated BLLs are placed. -
Page 54: Modifying Driver Options
Modifying Driver Options Open the Global driver settings dialog by selecting Start->WinRascol32->BLLConf and pressing Configure Drivers . The dialog looks like this: Disk space usage sets the amount of free disk space the driver leaves minimally before reporting Disk Full . Enable Power Smoothing Technology: This option enables a post processing feature that attempts to correct a gradient fill problem of PowerPoint 97. -
Page 55: Chapter 7: Uninstalling
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. -
Page 56: How To Use The Uninstaller
How to use the Uninstaller You can uninstall the Windows BLL Generator package by selecting Uninstall in the WinRascol32 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... -
Page 57: Chapter 8: Tips And Tricks
Chapter 8: Tips and Tricks Tips and Tricks 59... -
Page 58: Specific Applications
Specific Applications Adobe Type Manager (ATM) Windows BLL Generator is fully compatible with Adobe Type Manager ( ATM ) fonts, version 1.15 or newer. These fonts produce smooth text at any size and match text layout in your output with your image on screen. -
Page 59: Coreldraw 8
1. In the Page Setup window of Freelance, click on Color Map . 2. Select 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. -
Page 60: Photostyler
You must check the Halftone by Printer box in PhotoStyler's Page Setup window. Otherwise, PhotoStyler will limit the bitmaps to 16 colors when printing to Windows BLL Generator Driver. If you choose Scale to Fit in the PhotoStyler's Print window, PhotoStyler will resample bitmaps to the film recorder's resolution instead of letting Windows BLL Generator do the work. - Page 61 Appendix A: Specifications Specifications are subject to change without notice. Supported PCs Supported Output Devices 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.
- Page 62 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)
- Page 63 Output Problems 65...
- Page 64 Glossary antialiasing Assigning pixels at the edges of objects a graduated gray scale of values. This dramatically reduces the appearance of jaggies. Binary Lasergraphics Language (BLL) A proprietary print job format. bitmap A type of graphic composed of a rectangular group of colored dots. Bitmaps have jagged edges when output at high-resolution.
- Page 65 Software that knows how to communicate with a printer device. queue A directory on your hard disk for storing temporary Windows BLL Generator print job files. Rascol Refers to a family of high speed Lasergraphics image processors. Instead of burdening the PC, WinRascol lets the Rascol perform the time- and memory-consuming task of rasterization.
- Page 66 RISCRascol A Rascol model that offers dramatic speed increase for the Lasergraphics film recorders. For complex images, the RISCRascol is 15 times faster than the Rascol II/IV. server PC A PC connected to a film recorder . The PC can run WinRascol Network Version to share the film recorder with other network users via dropboxes .
- Page 67 Index 24-bit color, 14 35mm prints, 13 35mm slides, 13 Adobe Type Manager , 33, Application Printing from, 22 applications draw, 33 illustration, 33 paint, 33 Arts & Letters, 34, 60 ATM , 33, 60 auto deletion, 28 Background Color, 39, 50 Bitmap, 33 BLL-generator Add, 53...
- Page 68 LFC files, 38 Polachrome, 37 Polaroid 339, 37 Polaroid 669, 37 Polaroid 691, 37 Film Types , 64 font ATM , 33, 60 Freelance, 34, 61 Freelance Graphics for Windows, 61 Gamma, 51 Contrast, 44 Guided tour, 21 Hardware Required, 10...