Ray DiBugnara, 18 Meadow Road, Bolton, MA 01740-1120
March 7, 1993
(America Online “RayDiBug”)
(Boston Computer Society “Ray DiBugnara”)
INTRODUCTION
For any Apple Macintosh computer and HP Deskwriter printer. This Greyscale Version 2.0.1 supports more drawing and graphics programs, gives several greyscale translation choices and adds specific support for perfect horizontal/vertical grey hairlines (0.25 point) in 12.5%, 25% and 50% grey values).
Greyscale is intended for QuickDraw object greyscales as found in drawing and drafting programs and programs that use text, box and line shading. Paint files (MacPaint at the like) and scanned images are bit-direct and will usually not be improved because each dot is sent directly to the printer rather than as QuickDraw instructions.
REVISION HISTORY
Version 1.0 is the original release.
Version 2.0 increased support for more applications and generated four different greyscale options.
Version 2.0.1 changes only this file (Greyscales 2.0.1 Made Easy) to address the most often asked questions (and problems). If you already have version 2.0, you do not need to update as the resources are unchanged.
REQUIREMENTS
1) Requires HP Deskwriter 2.2 or 3.1 Serial or Appletalk drivers. Please update any older driver versions before applying this patch.
2) Requires a copy of Apple's ResEdit (2.1 and 2.1.1 are the latest). If you don't have a copy, ask a friend to help you.
3) Requires that you care if you have high quality greyscales in your printer output.
INCLUDED FILES
Greyscales 2.0.1 Made Easy (The file you are reading)
DW 2.2-GS 2.0.1 rsc (Deskwriter 2.2 Normal Greyscale)
Fixes the Deskwriter's greyscale performance for Canvas™, MacDraw II, Superpaint, MacDraft, WingZ, etc. The Line Greyscale is optimized for Canvas™ but may work with many others.
Q) What's broken?
A) Nothing is really broken. Greyscales are merely black and white dot patterns arranged to approximate a grey shade. On your computer screen, these dots are arrayed in a “clunky” 72 dots per inch (DPI) pattern. Your Deskwriter, however, is capable of an elegant 300 DPI pattern. The 72 DPI greyscale needs to be translated to a 300 DPI greyscale.
Q) I thought I already had 300 DPI?
A) You do! Your fonts and all your drawing objects are sent at 300 DPI. But patterns (greyscales included) are transmitted to the printer by the application at 72 DPI to the Deskwriter because it is a QuickDraw device and that is how things are done for patterns.
Q) Then there is nothing I can really do about it, is there?
A) But yes! Hewlett Packard (HP), in their infinite wisdom, put into each of their Deskwriter drivers (Versions 2.2 and the latest 3.1) two conversion tables in a resource called “PAT#”. One table contains a list of 72 DPI greyscales and the other a list of 300 DPI greyscales. There are 21 conversions in the version 2.2 table and 15 in the version 3.1 table.
Q) So?
A) So if a 72 DPI greyscale matches one of the 15 patterns in the first table, the Deskwriter immediately substitutes the 300 DPI greyscale pattern from the second table. Clever, no?
Q) Then I already have 300 DPI greyscales covered, right?
A) Well, yes and no. Not every drawing program uses the same pattern to approximate the same grey shade. HP designed their Deskwriter 3.1 tables to make every drawing program deliver the same greyshade pattern. To make this work, however, the results come out at only 75 DPI (or 150 DPI for 4 greys, 12%, 25%, 50% and 75% grey) which isn't much of an improvement. The older Deskwriter 2.2 had a couple of 300 DPI patterns but the rest were 75 DPI.
Q) Is that why I sometimes got a really smooth grey in one shade but a spotty grey in another shade with Version 2.2?
A) That is correct!
Q) So how did you fix this?
A) I changed the PAT# table. For the 72 DPI side, I installed a much more extensive pattern list matching every drawing program I could get my hands on. There are a maximum of 64 grey patterns, not counting white.
Q) How can you substitute 64 patterns when there were only 15 to begin with? Won't the rest be ignored?
A) The HP programmers wrote their code to never assume a fixed number in their table. They always accomodate any size table. This is real programming professionalism.
Q) Was this as easy as it sounds?
A) Not really. It required examining how each drawing program established their grey patterns. Unfortunately, not everyone uses the same definitions. If I have missed anyone's drawing program, I apologize but there is a finite number of patterns that will fit in the conversion table (about 130).
Q) Why have you supplied so many greyscale resource files? I only have one printer, after all.
A) Version 2.0.1 allows several choices. When the Deskwriter squirts a black dot, the ink spreads out a bit so that a black dot is always larger than a white dot. This means that a 50% dot pattern would look more like a 75% pattern--a bit dark dark. Each file gives a different choice of grey pattern conversion to suit individual requirements.
THE DIFFERENT GREYSCALES
1) The Normal Greyscale, as with the original version 1.0 Greyscale, corrects for ink dot bleed out with a 3:2 greyscale reduction conversion.
2) The Soft Greyscale reduces the grey intensity by 2:1 to give softer greys and less wetting of the paper. This is best for Xerox duplication, overhead projection slides, etc. It also uses less ink.
3) The Direct Greyscale gives a 1:1 grey conversion. Of course this makes a much darker copy but it replicates the original dot-for-dot pattern and is included for the purist. Also, special HP clay bearing papers produce finer dots than standard Xerox paper and some users may find it preferable.
4) The Line Greyscale is a limited Direct Greyscale plus certain horizontal, vertical and diagonal 300 DPI patterns for printing fine vertical and horizontal hairlines (or fine line fills) such as would be used to make forms, etc. These special patterns approximate 12.5% grey, 25% grey and 50% grey. (They appear as miniature diagonals or perpendicular lines which is why they make such uniform grey hairlines.) However, if your drawing program can generate fine dashed lines on its own, you may not need this feature.
Q) Why do you say that the Line Greyscale is “limited”.
A) Well, the Deskwriter driver only handles about 130 patterns which are all taken up now to service as many drawing programs as possible. To add the fine line support, I had to remove many grey interpreter patterns. I did, however, keep all of the Canvas™ patterns.
Q) Your PICT file lists greys in 1% increments _ut you 'èid there was oqüy 64 to`al shades. How is this possible?
A) It isn't. You wsll note nhat sometimes 2 side-bnside shades are identical. The 1% increments are used by Canv·s™ for ∂lection purpos| but cav only be displayed in increments of 1/64, or less.
Q) What dî.you mean by, “Or less.Ÿ
A) The Direct Greyscale uses all 64 greys buS appears, as previously Ëentioned, on the dark side because of the large ink dots. The Soft Greyscale, which uses a 2:1 reduction, only has 32 greys in increments of 1/32 because of the compression. The Noròal Greyscale is half way between Direct and Soft and has about 48 greys.
Q) Which do I use?
A) You can try them all. Up to 5 Deskwriter print driveös, the original plus 4 modified drivers, are possible. You can select which one you want at the time you pr˙nt by using the Chooserá
Q) You've mentioned Canvas™ a number of times now. I don't have Canvas™ so will G°eyscale do∂me any good?
A) More than likely, yes. I did try to accomodate as many drawing programs as I could. Give it a try and see if you like it. Use your own drawings to try it out. Man greys patterns should work well and, if you're lucky, all of them will.
Q)’ OK, let'sæcut to the bòotom line! How do I fix my Deskwriter?
A) You don't touc your printeÊ_ just the software driÍDr in the S]stem Folder. Follow the instructions.
n a >® INSTALSÇTION INæTRUCTIONS
1) Locate the Deskwriter driver (either version) inºÀour System Folder (ExtK*sions Folder inside System Folder for System 7). Make a copy($) of it…Command-D) and}name it differently from the original. For example, I use “DW 3.1 GS”. Just add the “GS” or “SGS”, etc. after the name so it is easy to identify. To simplify things, use the same name for the driver as the resource file except don't use the “ rsc” at the end of the name. The name, however, is not critical.
2) The required resources are in the corresponding 4 files (per driver type) I gave you. Launch ResEdit and open this file. A small window will reveal 4 resources: “PAT#”, “DITL”, “DLOG” and “vers”. Select all four (Command-A) and copy (Command-C). Close the window. Keep ResEdit open.
3) Open the Deskwriter driver copy you made (don't work on the original, please!). When the window opens, (lots of resources will show) just paste (Command-V). Answer “Yes” (and only Yes--you want to keep the same ID numbers) to the dialog that askes if you wish the replace the old resources. Close the window. Answer “Yes” to the dialog asking if you want to save the changes.
4) Repeat for each additional driver and then quit ResEdit. Keep the files straight if you are modifying more than one. That's all there is to it!
5) You may use the driver immediately without restarting. After you restart your computer, however, the Get Info box of that driver will now include something like “Greyscale by Ray DiBugnara” so you can always tell a converted driver. Also, “Page Setup” and “Print” will have a “Greyscale 2.0.1” (or whatever is appropriate) appended to the “Deskwriter” name.
6) If you select Chooser from the Apple Menu, you will now see all Deskwriter drivers--the original and the various greyscale versions. For version 3.1, print spooling works for all drivers (after you turn it on for each new driver). You can compare documents printed with each drivers…the stock version and the four 300 DPI greyscale versions.
7) I have included a demo file for you to open and print. It is in the PICT format so any drawing program you have can open it and print it. I think you will be pleasantly surprised. This PICT file contains greyscale assignments from 1% to 100%. As mentioned earlier, since the Mac has greyscales from 0 to 64 in steps of 1/64, sometimes two adjacent percent grey samples will appear identical. This Greyscale modification is merely interpreting the best it can.
MORE QUESTIONS
Q) Why didn't HP do this in the first place?
A) I don't know. I'm sure the courser 75 and 150 DPI patterns copy better on cheaper Xerox copiers but with the newer copiers, I prefer the finer grey patterns. Maybe someday HP will allow you the choose the greyscale resolution right from the Print dialog.
Q) How much is this gonna cost me?
A) The same price as version 1.0, zip. Greyscale is free to use and to give away. Such a deal! Just keep all the files together if you give away a copy. This package, if kept together with all 8 files, may also be freely distributed (and installed) by any organization as part of any profit or non-profit program with just a simple postcard letting me know who you are. (Postcards or EMail of encouragement from regular users are also appreciated.)
Q) Can anything go wrong?
A) The modifications are harmless and you can always switch back to the original driver. However, if you use SuperLaserSpool, you will find that SLS gets confused by the nearly identical drivers and sometimes won't change them even when you have used the Chooser. Update the drivers to version 3.1 and use HP's own spooler which not only is faster but doesn't get confused with the different drivers.
SOME ADVICE
Keep your Deskwriter clean. Dirty contacts or plugged jets on the inkjet head can cause missing dots. Also, the shiny chrome rod that the print head slides on can get dirty causing the head to shudder ever so slightly. This can cause slight irregularities or stripes in an otherwise smooth grey pattern. Consult with an HP service center on what to do if this problem should occur.
AND MORE QUESTIONS
Q) Hey, I installed your previous version of Greyscales. What should I do?
A) Just paste the aforementioned resources into the previously modified driver and everything will be automatically updated. Or make new drivers and keep the old one to compare.
Q) Your sample file prints perfectly on my drawing program but when I select my own grey patterns, a few of them are 75 DPI. Why is that?
A) The sample file uses grey patterns which are all compatible with Greyscale 2.0.1 which your program uses to print. However, to make new patterns, your program uses its own grey patterns and, apparently, a few are not covered by Greyscale 2.0.1. Sorry!
Q) Will this work on both the serial and appletalk driver?
A) Yes!
Q) What if I get a newer version of the Deskwriter driver?
A) Chances are Greyscale 2.0.1 will still work if you copy only the PAT# and vers resource. Don't copy the DITL and DLOG resource since they are version specific. If that doesn't work, send me a copy of the driver (America Online) and I'll work on it.
Q) I installed Greyscale 2.0.1 and now all my greyscales have become very clunky and worse than they were before.
A) Either you accidentally damaged the driver or you are running another print spooler besides HP Print Monitor.
Q) So, what do I do?
A) Trash the defective driver, re-read the instructions and re-create the driver. That should fix it.
Q) Well I did and it didn't. Now what?
A) Turn off your spooler. If it prints OK now, then you have a spooler problem. If the spooler is HP Print Monitor, then search in the System Folder (or Extensions Folder) for “Printer ZSM 1” and trash it. That is the temporary spooler driver copy and maybe it became corrupted. (SuperLaserSpool also makes driver copies.)
Q) My drawing program works fine for greys but when I print a gradient, the pattern doesn't look any better than before. What gives?
A) Your program isn't using a QuickDraw grey to make the gradient. Instead, it is using a Paint grey. In that case, each dot is being directed to the printer bypassing the Macintosh QuickDraw handler.
Q) So this won't work with MacPaint or SuperPaint?
A) MacPaint--no! SuperPaint--yes and no. SuperPaint prints both QuickDraw and Paint objects. When you are in the drafting mode your objects will benefit from Greyscale 2.0.1. SuperPaint paint objects are not improved. (Remember, however, that SuperPaint has a 300 dpi SuperBit editor which permits high quality greys whether you use Greyscale or not.)
Q) Will this improve my scanner printed output?
A) No since scanned material are not QuickDraw objects. However, if you scan at 300 dpi, you will get great print output anyway.
Q) I have a new HP color printer. Will Greyscales 2.0.1 work with that?
A) I don't know. Technically it should but the color printer does certain things with color blending that might be defeated with the use of Greyscale 2.0.1 resources. Try it and see. I welcome feedback as I don't even know if the color printers use the same driver as the black and white printer.
Q) Can we write to you if we have any comments?
A) Absolutely. Use either my address or the AOL address. Please include version number and where you got your copy from.
Q) You sure this is free?
A) Yup!
Q) You're a real peach for doing this for us!
A) I know.
FINALLY
Well, there you have it. Humor aside, I do hope you all enjoy this latest Greyscale effort for the Deskwriter.
