Article 41858 of comp.sys.cbm: Xref: undergrad.math.uwaterloo.ca comp.sys.cbm:41858 Newsgroups: comp.sys.cbm Path: undergrad.math.uwaterloo.ca!csbruce From: csbruce@ccnga.uwaterloo.ca (Craig Bruce) Subject: Re: ACE and VBM Message-ID: Sender: news@undergrad.math.uwaterloo.ca (system PRIVILEGED account) Nntp-Posting-Host: ccnga.uwaterloo.ca Organization: University of Waterloo, Canada (eh!) Date: Mon, 4 Sep 1995 06:18:44 GMT Alan Jones writes: >I have been playing around with ACE14 VBM and VBMPR. >The VBM graphics file format is unique to ACE, yet they can't be >created on a C64/128. :( This is true. Although I don't really know what they should be created _FROM_ on the Commodores. I figured that it would be much more common to convert them on the bigger systems that you get GIFs and JPEGs from. >I expected to have difficulty getting VBMPR to print. I use a Cardco >+G interface with a Star NX-2430 24-pin printer. I simply locked the >interface in transparent mode, turned on the printer, and entered >vbmpr z:blastoff.vbm. Amazingly, the Shuttle launch picture was >nicely printed at 80 dpi. I have not checked the aspect ratio yet. I >then printed b777.vbm. The docs were sketchy but I though it would >print the first 640 horizontal pixels, followed by the second..., so >that the image could be assembled by cutting and pasting. Only the >left portion of the picture was printed. VBMPR needs to have more >options/parameters. The VBMPR program was a one-night hack. I did it just to show that it could be done. I am thinking of integrating the functionality into the VBM program so that you can pick the horizontal window that you want to have printed. > 80 dpi is realy an odd size for most printers. >Fortunatly my printer has an 8-pin 80 dpi graphics mode, and happily >VBMPR used this mode. I would like VBMPR to be able to use some of the >other modes particularly 24-pin double (120 dpi), 24-pin triple (180 >dpi), 24-pin hex (360 dpi). No doubt other users would like it to work >with 300 dpi lazer printers or the old Gemini-10X, or even old CBM >printers. I chose 80 dpi because it gives 640 pixels across, which is a very standard size for GIF images. To get a 1:1 aspect ratio for normal 9-pin printers, I would have had to have chosen 72dpi or 576 pixels across, which would cut off the standard size (of course, things would work if you had a wide carriage). >The printouts that I did produce looked quite nice. They were a bit >slow. I could try a GeoCable type interface, but I think the 8-pin 80 >dpi hardwired mode is the problem. I would also like to see a spooler >of sorts. It would be nice if VBMPR could print a file from the >ramdisk, while returning control to ACE for other tasks. My printer >has a 32K buffer so interuption of the serial buss would not interupt >printing. The printing program is actually quite fast, so it is your printer and interface that are slowing things down. The graphics mode is indeed hardwired into the program, but you can change it yourself by changing the following line of the source code: lda #4 ;graphics mode%%% Change it to whatever "ESC * n" printer mode you want to use. >It would also be great if we could plot into a VBM format file and >print them as included files with ZED. I don't want to keep putting >things in Craig Bruce's job jar. I am anxiously awaiting ACE 15 with >te new and improved ZED. I do want to say that VBM and VBMPR are very >nice utilities and share my experience with them. Printing things will be the job of an independent print-formatter program. I don't know what kinds of commands it should accept, probably something like what EasyScript accepts. Keep on Hackin'! -Craig Bruce csbruce@ccnga.uwaterloo.ca "The political message about 'working within the law' of the movie _Clear and Present Danger_ might be a bit self-defeating... At the end of the movie, all of the Columbian drug lords are dead."