Printing at T&N

Generating plotfiles for printing

Just about any computer program can send printed data to a file instead of directly to a printer. This allows you to create the print data exactly the way you want it on your own computer even if you do not have direct access to the printing device that the image will ultimately be output to paper on. All you need to know is what kind of printer it is and what type of file you need to create using your computer. This document details this for a few of the major programs in use.

CAD Plots from AutoCAD

1. Use the configuration command to setup a plotter device that AutoCAD will use to generate the plot data. You can choose any one of the following to plot file at T&N. Each may have slightly different results that may or may not be to your liking. See your AutoCAD documentation for details on the setup of plotting devices using the config command.
   
   
   • HPGL/2
   • HP 650C
   • Postscript
2. Use the Plot command to generate printed data. Establish paper sizes, rotations, scales, pen widths, and colors as desired for your documents.
   Remember that T&N prints only in Black and White. Colors will be patterned.
3. Select the SAVE PLOT TO A FILE check box in AutoCAD's print dialog, and Select the FILE NAME button to choose a file name for the plot file that will be saved to the location on the disk that you specify. Plot Files will usually have a .PLT extension at the end of the file name.
4. Hit OK to plot the data to the named plotfile.
5. Bring your plotfiles to T&N on floppy disk, ZIP disk, or CD-ROM.

CAD plots from MicroStation

• Use the Print/Plot command in MicroStation to invoke the plot dialog box.
• Select a plotdriver using the icon on the right (A Printer with a ?). Choose one of the following, or modify your own configuration as based on one of these:
  
  
  • HPGL/2
  • HP 650C
  • Postscript
  • OCE
  
  Note: that you may wish to create a black and white only driver for this purpose by changing the NUM PENS line in the driver file to read NUM PENS = 1. See your MicroStation documentation for details. You may alternatively use Pen Tables to override colors.
• Select Paper sizes, rotation, scales, etc. to your liking.
• Generate the plotfile using the Printer icon on the left. You will be asked to locate and name the resulting plot file. Files can have any extension but often use .PLT or .000
• Bring your plotfiles to T&N on floppy disk, ZIP disk, or CD-ROM.

Postscript Data from Desktop Publishing and Design Illustration Software

1. Use the Print command from your software to invoke the printing options.
2. Select the option to save printed data to a file.
3. Select the file type as Postscript (.ps) and give it a name.
4. Print/Save the file.
5. Bring it to T&N for printing.

Postscript data is a very robust format that incorporates both raster image data and vector drawing data into a single composite format. This makes postscript an ideal format for publishing and other imaging uses that combine these two styles of drawing information on a page. CAD software can utilize this as well for hybrids of drawings and aerial or other photography.

Common illustration and publishing programs using this method are:

• Adobe PageMaker
• Adobe Illustrator
• MacroMedia Freehand
• Quark Xpress

CAD programs that can use this hybrid method include:

• MicroStation
• AutoCAD
• ArchiCAD

TIFF image files from Imaging and 3D Rendering Software:

TIFF image files as saved from any imaging program, such as Adobe Photoshop, MacroMedia Xres, 3D renderings from CAD software, etc., can be printed directly. Please note that these image files often contain color or toned image information which will not print in color or grayscale. Pure Black and White TIFF images will print fine. Simply bring the .TIF files to T&N to be printed.