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Scale and Rotate

As of version 5.6.0, scale and rotate are supported by PLOSSYS Output Engine. With this change, PLOSSYS Output Engine is able to handle the following use cases:

  • Output of documents to a printer although the available paper sizes of the printer and the format of the document do not match.

  • Output to large format printers.

Requirements

For large format printing and rescaling, printers need a PPD file assigned in easyPRIMA. A PPD file defines which formats a printer has available. The tray settings in easyPRIMA have no effect on this.

easyPRIMA 1.10.0 provides a variety of preconfigured PPD files. For a list of the PPD files included, refer to PPD Files.

Hint

If no large format printing and no rescaling is needed, printers do not need a PPD file assigned. PLOSSYS Output Engine is faster without.

Literature

When transitioning from PLOSSYS 4 to PLOSSYS Output Engine, nothing else needs to be done. PLOSSYS Output Engine will accept PLOSSYS 4 parameters.

When transitioning from gXnetplot to PLOSSYS Output Engine, refer to the mapping of gXnetplot to Output Engine Parameters.

For the usage of native IPP parameters, refer to IPP Attribute Mapping.

Job Parameters

This section gives a short description of all available job parameters in PLOSSYS Output Engine. For an in-depth description, refer to the PLOSSYS Job Parameter documentation.

  • mediaSize: specifies the target format for the job. The target format can be any of the formats specified in the respective PPD file, optional, default: AUTO

  • scaleFactor: specifies the manual scaling factor for the job. Only a single value is permitted, not two different ones for x and y, optional, default: 1.0

  • scaleMode: specifies the mode for the automatic scaling. It can be specified for the job and for the printer as well. If scaleMode is specified for both, the job parameter will have precedence over the printer parameter, optional, default: fitMediaSize

  • fitMediaSize: The full size of the format is being used. Content inside the margins outside the printable area will be cut off. Too large documents will be scaled down to fit the printable area of the target format. If mediaSize is set to AUTO, the largest available format will be used. Too small documents will be placed unscaled onto the target format. The parameter works similar to DINSCL in PLOSSYS 4.

  • fitPrintArea: Only the printable area will be used. The document will be downscaled accordingly. Too small documents will will be placed unscaled onto the target format. The parameter works similar to MAXSCL in PLOSSYS 4.

  • clip: There will be no scaling. Everything outside the printable area will be cut off. The parameter works similar to NOSCAL in PLOSSYS 4.

  • fillFit: Only the printable area will be used. The document will be downscaled accordingly. Too small documents will be upscaled to fill the printable area. Nothing will be cut off.

  • fill: The full size of the target format will be used so that no whitespace is left. Everything outside the printable area will be cut off. Too large documents will be downscaled to the largest available format. Too small documents will be upscaled.

  • noScale: Even if a PPD for this printer is specified, no scaling will happen. The seal-convert-pdfscale service will not be called in this case.

Printer Configuration Parameters

The output of a job can also be manipulated by printer configuration parameters. The following parameters are supported by PLOSSYS Output Engine. For a more detailed description, refer to Printer Keys.

  • alignment: specifies the alignment of the ouput job on the target format, if the target format is larger than the output job format, optional, default: center

  • rotation: specifies the counterclockwise rotation of the output job in increments of 90 degree, optional, default: 1090, i.e. rotation of 0 or 90 degree as needed

  • scaleMode: specifies the automatic scaleing type, optional, default: fitMediaSize

    scaleMode can be printer and job parameter

    scaleMode can be specified for the job and for the printer as well. If scaleMode is specified for both, the job parameter will have precedence over the printer parameter.

  • tolerance: specifies the tolerance in percent or millimeter for the selection of the target format, optional, default: '6.5'

In the printer configuration file, these parameters are located at the top level, same as ppd for example.

Example for a printer configuration file exported by PLOSSYS Output Engine

- printer: P50-ROE-HP2055-001
  connection: 'socket://10.49.31.5:9100'
  rotation: 1090
  alignment: center
  tolerance: 6.5
  ppd: small_format.ppd
  config: hp.laserjet_pcl_5
  nativeQueue: false
  adjustStapleType: true
  adjustPunchType: true
  rotateLandscapeA3: false
  pickup: false
  sapwinQueue: windows_printer
  ...

Scaling and Format Differences Between PLOSSYS 4 and PLOSSYS Output Engine

For the mapping of PLOSSYS 4 to Output Engine parameters, refer to Mapping of Output Engine Parameters.

  • If a target format is given, PLOSSYS 4 will do the needed scaling and then print onto the available media. PLOSSYS Output Engine will scale too but only output on a suitable media.

    Example - target format A5 but the printer has only A4 paper

    With PLOSSYS 4, if the printer has only A4 paper, PLOSSYS 4 will place the scaled document bottom left onto the A4 paper.

    With PLOSSYS Output Engine, if the printer has only A4 in the PPD listed, PLOSSYS Output Engine will do the scaling and try to print it. Since the printer has no A5 paper, it will stop and ask for the needed paper.

    If you want the same behavior as in PLOSSYS 4, use a scaleFactor instead or scaleMode fillFit. The latter happens automatically, if PLOSSYS 4 parameters are used for the job, i.e. PLS_PLOTSCALE instead of mediaSize.

  • By default, PLOSSYS 4 will print A4 onto Letter and vice versa. PLOSSYS Output Engine will not do that. It will use the next bigger media if available. If no bigger format is available, PLOSSYS Output Engine will act as PLOSSYS 4 does.

    Hint - output A4 onto Letter and vice versa

    For many printers you can specify in their settings, if Letter and A4 formats should be treated as the same. If your printer has this option, no additional changes have to be made in PLOSSYS Output Engine. If this option is not available, you can do the following:

    Increase the printer parameter tolerance value to 7.5 to always output Letter onto A4 even if larger formats are available.

    Increase the tolerance value to 13.3 to always output A4 onto Letter even if larger formats are available. When doing so, the scaleMode should be set to fitPrintArea, otherwise too much content will be lost.

  • If the document size is smaller than the media size, PLOSSYS 4 places the document on the bottom left whereas PLOSSYS Output Engine will center the output.

    Hint - printer parameter alignment

    To achieve the same result as with PLOSSYS 4, set the printer parameter alignment to leftbottom.

  • When working with /NOSCAL in PLOSSYS 4, PLOSSYS 4 will execute the requested rotation and then place the document bottom left at the output media. When working with scaleMode set to clip in PLOSSYS Output Engine – the equivalent of /NOSCAL –, PLOSSYS Output Engine will not always rotate, if the document does not fit onto the target format.

    Example - putting A3 in landscape orientation onto A4

    PLOSSYS 4 will rotate the A3 document to portrait orientation and place it bottom left in the printable area. PLOSSYS Output Engine will not rotate the A3 document and place it by default centered in the printable area.

  • In PLOSSYS 4, when using PLS_PLOTSCALE with a target format, PLOSSYS 4 will scale to the target format using the specified scaling type, for example /DINSCL. In PLOSSYS Output Engine, the result will always be scaled using fillFit which equals /MAXSCL in PLOSSYS 4. To achieve the same result as in PLOSSYS 4 use a suitable scaleFactor instead.

  • PLOSSYS 4 can scale to the format associated with a tray, if SCALE_TO_TRAY is activated in the plossys.cfg and a tray number has been set in the job parameters. This is not possible with PLOSSYS Output Engine.

  • Contrary to PLOSSYS 4, PLOSSYS Output Engine does not know which tray contains which medium as specified in easyPRIMA.

    Example - trays and medium

    With PLOSSYS 4, depending on the paper size or the given medium, by using PAPER_SELECT set to DRAWER PLOSSYS 4 can select the tray to use and dictate it to the printer.

    With PLOSSYS Output Engine, if a tray is specified in the job parameters, this information will be sent to the printer. Same if a medium has been specified, it will be requested at the printer. This equals PAPER SELECT on AUTO in PLOSSYS 4. A translation from medium to tray wil not happen.

  • If a document contains no page size information PLOSSYS Output Engine will not calculate the page size but use the default page size.

    Example - printing an eps file

    eps files normally do not contain any page size information. PLOSSYS 4 would calculate the image size and output it to a suitable format, maybe A5. Whereas PLOSSYS Output Engine will not do any calculations but output it to A4, which is the default page size in Ghostscript.

Error Handling

If the client sents a parameter value that isn't supportet

  • the default value will be used instead

  • a warning message will be added to the log file

  • a return message to the IPP client according to the IPP standards will be sent.

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