@node New Printer, ,ESC/P2, Appendices
@appendix Adding a new printer
@cindex adding a printer
@cindex printer, adding
@cindex new printer
This appendix covers adding a new ESCP/2, PCL, or Canon printer.
Writing a new driver module is not covered.
The three steps to adding a printer are:
@enumerate
@item Add an entry to @file{printers.xml}
@item Add the appropriate code and data to the appropriate driver module
@item Tune the printer
@end enumerate
Printer information is stored in two places: in @file{printers.xml}
(which contains the list of printer models available to the the
upper-level application), and in the appropriate driver file
(@file{print-escp2.c}, @file{print-pcl.c}, or @file{print-canon.c}).
@menu
* printers.xml:: File format description.
* Driver file:: Data structures to use.
* Epson inkjet printers:: Adding an Epson printer.
* Tuning Epson printers:: Tweaking settings.
* Canon inkjet printers:: Adding a Canon printer.
@end menu
@node printers.xml, Driver file, , New Printer
@appendixsection @file{printers.xml}
@file{printers.xml} is an XML-like file (there's no formal DTD) that
contains very simple printer definitions. A typical definition follows:
@example
<printer name="EPSON Stylus Color 1500" driver="escp2-1500">
<color>
<model value=2>
<gamma value=0.597>
<density value=1.0>
<language value=escp2>
</printer>
@end example
There are other tags that may be present. The only ones that are
mandatory are @samp{<printer>}, @samp{<color>}, @samp{<model>}, and
@samp{<language>}. The other optional parameters (gamma and density in
this case) can be used to adjust control settings. This is probably not
the right place for them; the printer drivers themselves should contain
this information. There's probably no good reason for anything but
gamma and density to be in here. Gamma refers to the printer's gamma
factor; density is the desired base ink density for the printer. The
Epson driver contains the density information for each printer at each
resolution internally. An even better driver would adjust density and
possibly even gamma for paper type. All the more reason not to have
that information here.
If you really are curious about what tags are permitted, please see
@file{printdefl.l}. I deliberately want to make this obscure.
Anyway, here's the definition of the tags that do matter:
@deffn {@file{printers.xml} tag} @code{<printer name="@var{longname}" driver="@var{drivername}">}
This starts the definition of a printer. The @var{longname} should be
something human readable; the @var{drivername} should consist of
alphanumerics and hyphens, and be fairly short. The @var{longname} is
what will appear in the GUI listing of printers; the @var{drivername} is
what is actually used to key into the list of printers. It is legal to
have multiple printers with the same driver name.
@end deffn
@deffn {@file{printers.xml} tag} @code{<color>}
@deffnx {@file{printers.xml} tag} @code{<nocolor>}
Indicates that this printer is capable of color, or is not capable of
color respectively
@end deffn
@deffn {@file{printers.xml} tag} @code{<model value=@var{int}>}
This defines a model number. This is passed into the driver, which may
do whatever it cares to with it---index into a table, compute on, or
whatever. This need not be unique.
@end deffn
@deffn {@file{printers.xml} tag} @code{<language value=@var{type}>}
This defines what driver module this printer uses. @var{type} should be
@samp{escp2}, @samp{pcl}, @samp{canon}, or @samp{ps}.
@end deffn
@deffn {@file{printers.xml} tag} @code{</printer>}
This, of course, closes off a printer definition.
@end deffn
This is handled very ad-hoc. It's ugly. But it's reasonably easy to
extend, and it's buzzword-compliant.
@node Driver file, Epson inkjet printers, printers.xml, New Printer
@appendixsection The driver file
@cindex driver file
Adding a new printer to a driver module (@file{print-escp2.c},
@file{print-pcl.c}, or @file{print-canon.c}---@file{print-ps.c} is
really ad hoc) requires a bit more planning. Each driver is somewhat
different, but they all generally have a vector of printer definitions,
and the code does some special casing based on particular printer
capabilities. The PCL and Canon drivers are quite similar; the Canon
driver was actually cribbed from the PCL driver, but it then returned
the favor.
The Epson driver is a little bit different. Canon and PCL printers
have some amount of intelligence; a lot of them have specific ink
options, and know about specific paper sizes and types, and must be
told the right thing. Epson printers have somewhat less intelligence
and will more or less do exactly what the host tells it to do in a
fairly regular fashion. I actually prefer this; it isn't materially
more work for the host to compute things like exact paper sizes and
such, it allows a lot more tweaking, and it may be why Epson has been
more open with information -- the communication protocol doesn't
really contain very much IP, so they have less reason to keep it
secret.
Someone else will have to fill in the sections about PCL and Canon
printers.
@node Epson inkjet printers, Tuning Epson printers, Driver file, New Printer
@appendixsection Epson inkjet printers
@cindex Epson inkjet printers
The @samp{model_capabilities} vector in @file{print-escp2.c} contains
one entry for each defined printer model. The @samp{model} parameter in
@file{printers.xml} is an index into this table.
In general, the new printers have fewer eccentricities than the older
printers. That doesn't mean they're simpler, just that they're more
consistent.
An @code{escp2_printer_t} is a C struct defined as follows:
@deftypevr {Data type} {} escp2_printer_t
@example
typedef struct escp2_printer
@{
model_cap_t flags; /* Bitmask of flags, see below */
/*****************************************************************************/
int nozzles; /* Number of nozzles per color */
int min_nozzles; /* Minimum number of nozzles per color */
int nozzle_separation; /* Separation between rows, in 1/360" */
int black_nozzles; /* Number of black nozzles (may be extra) */
int min_black_nozzles; /* # of black nozzles (may be extra) */
int black_nozzle_separation; /* Separation between rows */
/*****************************************************************************/
int xres; /* Normal distance between dots in */
/* softweave mode (inverse inches) */
int enhanced_xres; /* Distance between dots in highest */
/* quality modes */
int base_separation; /* Basic unit of row separation */
int base_resolution; /* Base hardware spacing (above this */
/* always requires multiple passes) */
int enhanced_resolution;/* Above this we use the */
/* enhanced_xres rather than xres */
int resolution_scale; /* Scaling factor for ESC(D command */
int max_black_resolution; /* Above this resolution, we */
/* must use color parameters */
/* rather than (faster) black */
/* only parameters*/
int max_hres;
int max_vres;
int min_hres;
int min_vres;
/*****************************************************************************/
int max_paper_width; /* Maximum paper width, in points */
int max_paper_height; /* Maximum paper height, in points */
int min_paper_width; /* Maximum paper width, in points */
int min_paper_height; /* Maximum paper height, in points */
/* Softweave: */
int left_margin; /* Left margin, points */
int right_margin; /* Right margin, points */
int top_margin; /* Absolute top margin, points */
int bottom_margin; /* Absolute bottom margin, points */
/* "Micro"weave: */
int m_left_margin; /* Left margin, points */
int m_right_margin; /* Right margin, points */
int m_top_margin; /* Absolute top margin, points */
int m_bottom_margin; /* Absolute bottom margin, points */
/*****************************************************************************/
int extra_feed; /* Extra distance the paper can be spaced */
/* beyond the bottom margin, in 1/360". */
/* (maximum useful value is */
/* nozzles * nozzle_separation) */
int separation_rows; /* Some printers require funky spacing */
/* arguments in microweave mode. */
int pseudo_separation_rows;/* Some printers require funky */
/* spacing arguments in softweave mode */
int zero_margin_offset; /* Offset to use to achieve */
/* zero-margin printing */
/*****************************************************************************/
/* The stylus 480 and 580 have an unusual arrangement of
color jets that need special handling */
const int *head_offset;
int initial_vertical_offset;
int black_initial_vertical_offset;
/*****************************************************************************/
const int *dot_sizes; /* Vector of dot sizes for resolutions */
const double *densities; /* List of densities for each printer */
const escp2_variable_inklist_t *inks; /* Choices of inks for this printer */
/*****************************************************************************/
const double *lum_adjustment;
const double *hue_adjustment;
const double *sat_adjustment;
const paperlist_t *paperlist;
@} escp2_printer_t;
@end example
@end deftypevr
The printer definition block is divided into 8 sections. The first
section is a set of miscellaneous printer options. These are
described in the code, and will not be discussed further here.
The second section describes the number of nozzles and the separation
between nozzles in base units. The base unit is 1/360" for all
currently supported printers, but future printers may support a
smaller base unit.
Many printers have more black nozzles than nozzles of other colors,
and when used in black and white mode, it's possible to use these
extra nozzles, which speeds up printing. As an example, a printer
that is specified to have 48 cyan, magenta, and yellow nozzles, and
144 black nozzles, can use all 144 black nozzles when printing black
ink only. When printing in color, only 48 nozzles of each color
(including black) can be used.
Most printers can print using either the number of nozzles available
or any smaller number. Some printers require that all of the nozzles
be used. Those printers will set @code{min_nozzles} and/or
@code{min_black_nozzles} to the same value as @code{nozzles} and/or
@code{black_nozzles}.
The third section defines basic units of measure for the printer,
including the standard separation between dots, the base nozzle
separation, and the minimum and maximum printing resolutions the
printer supports. Most of these are fairly self-explanatory, but some
are not obvious.
Most Epson printers, other than the high-end Stylus Pro models, cannot
print dots spaced more closely than 1/360" or 1/720" apart (this is
the setting for @code{xres}. This is true even for printers that
support resolutions of 1440 or 2880 DPI. In these cases, the data
must be printed in 2, 4, or 8 passes. While the printer can position
the head to a resolution of 1/1440" or 1/2880", the head cannot
deposit ink that frequently.
Some printers can only print in their very best quality (using the
smallest dots available) printing at a lower resolution. For example,
the Stylus Photo EX can normally print with a dot spacing of 1/720".
The smallest dot size cannot be printed with a dot spacing of less
than 1/360", however. In this case, we use @code{enhanced_xres}
to specify the resolution to be used in this enhanced mode, and
@code{enhanced_resolution} to specify the printing resolution above
which we use the @code{enhanced_xres}.
The @code{resolution_scale} command is used to specify scaling factors
for the dot separation on newer printers. It should always be 14400
with current printers.
The fourth section specifies the minimum and maximum paper sizes, and
the margins. Some printers allow use of narrower margins when
softweave is used; both sets of margins are specified.
There is a convenient @samp{INCH} macro defined to make specification of
the @code{max_paper_width} and @code{max_paper_height} more legible. It
multiplies 72 by the provided expression to get the appropriate number
of points. For example, to specify 8.5", @samp{INCH(17/2)} expands to
@samp{(72 * 17/2)}, which is evaluated left to right, and hence
generates the correct value.
The fifth section specifies some miscellaneous values that are
required for certain printers. For most printers, the correct values
are 1 for @code{separation_rows} and 0 for the others. Very, very few
printers require (or allow) @code{separation_rows} to be anything but
1 and @code{pseudo_separation_rows} other than zero. The Stylus Color
1520, Stylus Color 800, Stylus Color 850, and (strangely enough to my
mind, since it's a new printer) Stylus Color 660 seem to be the only
exceptions.
The @code{zero_margin_offset} is used to specify an additional
negative horizontal offset required to print to the edges of the paper
on newer Stylus Photo printers. These must be determined empirically;
good starting values are 100 for 1440 DPI and 50 for 2880 DPI
printers. The goal is to print to the edge of the page, but not over
it.
The sixth section specifies head offsets for printers that do not have
the color jets aligned. Certain printers, such as the Stylus Color
480, have an unusual head arrangement whereby instead of all of the
colors being aligned vertically, the nozzles are configured in
groups. These printers are easy to determine; if the normal head
offset of zero for each color is used, the printing will be vertically
out of alignment. Most of these printers require specification of a
negative offset for printing to the top edge of the paper; typically
these printers do not require such an offset when printing black only.
The seventh section specifies the most difficult values to tune, the
dot sizes, printing densities, and ink values (for variable dot size
enabled printers). These will be described in detail below.
The last section specifies luminosity, hue, and saturation adjustment
vectors for the printer, and the paper definitions. These are used to
adjust the color in Photograph and Solid Colors output modes. These are
each vectors of 48 (actually 49, as the first value must be duplicated)
doubles that remap the luminosity, hue, and saturation respectively.
The hue is calculated, and the value used to interpolate between the two
closest points in each vector.
The paper definitions is a set of paper definitions. The paper
definition contains the name of the paper type, special settings that
are required for printers to process the paper correctly, and a set of
adjustment values. These are not currently discussed here.
The lists of dot sizes and densities contain values for 13 printing
modes: 120/180 DPI using printer weaving (single row; incorrectly
referred to as ``microweave'') and ``soft'' weaving (the driver
determines the exact pattern of dot layout), 360 DPI microweave and
softweave, 720x360 DPI microweave and softweave, 720 DPI microweave
and softweave, 1440x720 microweave and softweave, 2880x720 microweave
and softweave, and 2880x1440 softweave only. Printer weaving is
referred to as ``microweave'' for historical reasons.
For the dot sizes, the value for each element in the vector selects
the dot size to be used when printing at this (or similar)
resolution. The dot sizes are determined by consulting the
programming manual for the printer and experimenting as described
below. Current Epson printers always use dot sizes less than
@samp{16}, or @samp{0x10}, to indicate single dot size (each dot is
represented by 1 bit, and it's either printed or not), and dot sizes
of @samp{16} or greater to indicate variable dot size (each dot is
represented by 2 bits, and it can either be not printed or take on 2
or 3 values, representing the relative size of the printed dot).
Variable dot sizes permit the use of very small dots (which would be
too small to fill the page and produce solid black) in light areas,
while allowing the page to be filled with larger dots in darker areas.
Even single dot size printers can usually produce dots of different
sizes; it's just illegal to actually try to switch dot size during a
page. These dots are also much bigger than those used in true
variable dot size printing.
A dot size of @samp{-1} indicates that this resolution is illegal for
the printer in question. Any resolutions that would use this dot size
will not be presented to the user. A dot size of @samp{-2} indicates
that this resolution is legal, but that the driver is not to attempt
to set any dot size. Some very old printers do not support the
command to set the dot size.
Most printers support a dot size of @samp{0} as a mode-specific default,
but it's often a bigger dot than necessary. Printers usually also
support some dot sizes between @samp{1} and @samp{3}. Usually @samp{1}
is the right dot size for 720 and 1440 dpi printing, and @samp{3} works
best at 360 dpi.
Variable dot size printers usually support 2 or 3 sets of variable dot
sizes. Older printers based on a 6 picolitre drop (the 480, 720, 740,
750, 900, and 1200) support two: mode 16 (0x10 in hexadecimal) for
normal variable dots at 1440 or 720 dpi, and mode 17 (0x10) for
special larger dots at 360 dpi. Newer printers based on 4 picolitre
drops normally support three sizes: @samp{0x10} for 4 pl base drops,
@samp{0x11} for 6 pl base drops, and @samp{0x12} for special large
drops. On these printers, @samp{0x10} usually works best at 1440x720
and @samp{0x11} works best at 720x720. Unfortunately, @samp{0x10}
doesn't seem to generate quite enough density at 720x720, because if
it did the output would be very smooth. Perhaps it's possible to
tweak things@enddots{}
The list of densities is a list of base density values for all of the
above listed modes. ``Density'' refers to the amount of ink deposited
when a solid color (or solid black) is printed. So if the density is
@samp{.5}, solid black actually prints only half the possible dots.
``Base density'' refers to the fact that the density value can be
scaled in the GUI or on the Ghostscript command line. The density
value specified (which is not made visible to the user) is multiplied
by the base density to obtain the effective density value. All other
things (such as ink drop size) remaining the same, doubling the
resolution requires halving the base density. The base density in the
density vector may exceed @samp{1}, as many paper types require lower
density than the base driver. The driver ensures that the actual
density never exceeds 1.
Tuning the density should be done on high quality paper (usually
glossy photo paper). The goal is to find the lowest density value
that results in solid black (no visible gaps under a fairly high power
magnifying glass or loupe). If an appropriate density value is found
for 720 DPI, it could be divided by 2 for 1440x720, by 4 for 2880x720,
and by 8 for 2880x1440.
However, for printers that offer a choice of dot size, this may not be
the best strategy. The best choice for dot size is the smallest dot
size that allows choosing a density value not greater than 1 that
gives full coverage. This dot size may be different for different
resolutions. Tuning variable dot size printers is more complicated;
the process is described below.
The last member is a pointer to a structure containing a list of ink
values for variable dot size (or 6 color) inks. We model variable dot
size inks as producing a certain "value" of ink for each available dot
size, where the largest dot size has a value of 1. 6-color inks are
handled similarly; the light cyan and light magenta inks are treated
as a fractional ink value. The combination of variable dot size and 6
color inks, of course, just creates that many more different ink
choices.
This structure is actually rather complicated; it contains entries for
each combination of physical printer resolution (180, 360, 720, and
1440 dpi), ink colors (4, 6, and 7), and single and variable dot sizes
(since some printer modes can't handle variable dot size inks). Since
there's so much data, it's actually a somewhat deeply nested
structure:
An @code{escp2_printer_t} contains a pointer (essentially, a reference
rather than a copy) to an @code{escp2_variable_inklist_t}.
An @code{escp2_variable_inklist_t} contains pointers to
@code{escp2_variable_inkset_t} structures. There is one such pointer
for each combination of resolution, dot type, and ink colors as
described above. Yes, this is rather inflexible.
An @code{escp2_variable_inkset_t} contains pointers to
@code{escp2_variable_ink_t} structures. There is one such pointer for
each of the four colors (C, M, Y, and K).
An @code{escp2_variable_ink_t} contains a pointer to the actual list of
ink values (@code{simple_dither_range_t}), the number of ink values, and
a density value to be used for computing the transitions. This density
value is actually a scaling value; it is multiplied by the effective
density to compute the density to be used for computing the transitions.
Normally, this value is @samp{1}, but in some cases it may be possible
to get smoother results with a different value (in particular, the
single dot size 6-color inks work best with the effective density scaled
to @samp{.75} for this purpose). A lower density lowers the transition
points, which results in more ink being deposited.
A @code{simple_dither_range_t} is a structure containing four values:
@enumerate
@item The value of the particular ink
@item The bit pattern used to represent the ink
@item Whether the ink is light (0) or dark (1), for inks with light and dark variants
@item The relative amount of ink actually deposited by this dot (not
currently used for much; it can be used for ink reduction purposes, to
reduce the amount of ink deposited on the paper).
@end enumerate
These things are interesting as arrays. From an array of
@code{simple_dither_range_t}'s, the dither code computes transition
values that it looks up at run time to decide what ink to print, as well
as whether to print at all.
@strong{Really} confused now? Yup. You'll probably find it easier to
simply read the code.
@node Tuning Epson printers, Canon inkjet printers, Epson inkjet printers, New Printer
@appendixsection Tuning the printer
@cindex tuning the printer
@cindex printer, tuning
Now, how do you use all this to tune a printer? There are a number of
ways to do it; this one is my personal favorite.
There's a file named @file{cyan-sweep.tif}. This consists of a thin bar
of cyan sweeping from white to almost pure cyan, and from pure cyan to
black. The first thing to do is to pick the appropriate
@code{simple_dither_range_t} (or create a whole new
@code{escp2_variable_inklist_t}) and comment out all but the darkest ink
(this means you'll be using the largest dots of dark ink). At 8.5"
width (the width of a letter-size piece of paper), the bar will be 1/8"
high. Printing it on wider or narrower paper will change the height
accordingly. Print it width-wise across a piece of photo quality paper
in line art mode using ordered or adaptive hybrid dither. Do not use
photographic mode; the colors in photographic mode vary non-linearly
depending upon the presence of the three color components, while in line
art mode the colors are much purer. Make sure that all the color
adjustments are set to defaults (1.0). Use the highest quality version
of the print mode you're testing to reduce banding and other artifacts.
This is much easier to do with the Gimp than with Ghostscript.
At this stage, you want to look for four things:
@enumerate
@item
The black near the center of the line is solid, but not more so than
that.
@item
The cyan immediately to the left of the black is @emph{almost} solid.
@item
The dark cyan at the far right of the page is solid, but not more so.
You can try tuning the density so that it isn't quite solid, then
nudging up the density until it is.
@item
Both sweeps sweep smoothly from light to dark. In particular, the dark
half of the bar shouldn't visibly change color; it should go smoothly
from cyan to black.
@end enumerate
Repeat this stage until you have everything just right. Use the
positioning entry boxes in the dialog to position each bar exactly
1/8" further down the page. Adjacent bars will be touching.
The next step is to uncomment out the second darkest dot size. If
you're using variable dots, use the second largest dot size of the
dark ink rather than the largest dot size of the light ink. This will
give you two inks.
When you recompile the plugin, you simply need to copy the new
executable into the correct place. You do not need to exit and
restart the Gimp.
Print another bar adjacent to the first one. Your goal is to match
the bar using a single dot size as closely as possible. You'll find
that the dark region of the bar shouldn't change to any great degree,
but the light half probably will. If the lighter part of the light
half is too dark, you need to increase the value of the smaller dot;
if it's too light, you need to decrease the value. The reasoning is
that if the value is too low, the ink isn't being given enough credit
for its contribution to the darkness of the ink, and vice versa.
Repeat until you have a good match. Make sure you let the ink dry
fully, which will take a few minutes. Wet ink will look too dark.
Don't look at the paper too closely; hold it at a distance. The extra
graininess of the largest dot size will probably make it look lighter
than it should; if you hold it far enough away so that you can't see
the dots, you'll get a more accurate picture of what's going on.
After you have what looks like a good match, print another bar using
only the largest dot size (or dark ink, for single dot size 6-color
printers). You want to ensure that the bars touching each other look
identical, or as close as possible to it; your eye won't give you a
good reading if the bars are separated from each other. You'll
probably have to repeat the procedure.
The next step is to comment out all but the largest and third-largest
dot size, and repeat the procedure. When they match, use all three
dot sizes of dark ink. Again, the goal is to match the single dot
size.
You'll probably find the match is imperfect. Now you have to figure
out what region isn't right, which takes some experimentation. Even
small adjustments can make a noticeable difference in what you see.
At this stage, it's very important to hold the page far enough from
your eye; when you use all three dot sizes, the texture will be much
more even, which sometimes makes it look darker and sometimes lighter.
After this is calibrated, it's time to calibrate the light ink against
the dark ink. To do this, comment out all but the large dot version
of the two inks, and repeat the procedure. This is trickier, because
the hues of the inks might not be quite identical. Look at the dark
half of the bar as well as the light half to see that the hue really
doesn't change as you sweep from cyan to black. Sometimes it's easier
to judge that way. You may find that it looks blotchy, in which case
you should switch from ordered dither to adaptive hybrid.
After you have the light and dark inks calibrated against each other,
it's time to add everything back in. Usually you don't want to use
the largest dot size of light ink. These dots will be much larger
than the small dots of dark ink, but they'll still be lighter. This
will cause problems when printing mixed colors, since you'll be
depositing more ink on lighter regions of the page, and you'll
probably get strange color casts that you can't get rid of in neutral
tones. I normally use only the smallest one or two dot sizes of light
ink.
After you've tweaked everything, print the color bar with saturation
set to zero. This will print neutral tones using color inks. Your
goal here is to look for neutral tonality. If you're using a 6-color
printer and get a yellow cast, it means that the values for your light
inks are too high (remember, that means they're getting too much
credit, so you're not depositing enough cyan and magenta ink, and the
yellow dominates). If you get a bluish or bluish-purple cast, your
light inks are too low (you're not giving them enough credit, so too
much cyan and magenta is deposited, which overwhelms the yellow).
Make sure you do this on very white, very high grade inkjet paper
that's designed for 1440x720 dpi or higher; otherwise the ink will
spread on contact and you'll get values that aren't really true for
high grade paper. You can, of course, calibrate for low grade paper
if that's what you're going to use, but that shouldn't be put into the
distribution.
You can also fully desaturate this bar inside the Gimp and print it as
monochrome (don't print the cyan as monochrome; the driver does funny
things with luminance), for comparison. You'll find it very hard to
get rid of all color casts.
There are other ways of tuning printers, but this one works pretty
well for me.
@node Canon inkjet printers, , Tuning Epson printers, New Printer
@appendixsection Canon inkjet printers
Basically, a new Canon printer can be added to @file{print-canon.c} in a
similar way as described above for the epson inkjet printers. The main
differences are noted here:
In general, Canon printers have more ``built-in intelligence'' than Epson
printers which results in the fact that the driver only has to tell the
printing conditions like resolutions, dot sizes, etc. to the printer and
afterwards transfer the raster data line by line for each color used.
@code{canon_cap_t} is a C struct defined as follows:
@deftypevr {Data type} {} canon_cap_t
@example
typedef struct canon_caps @{
int model; /* model number as used in printers.xml */
int max_width; /* maximum printable paper size */
int max_height;
int base_res; /* base resolution - shall be 150 or 180 */
int max_xdpi; /* maximum horizontal resolution */
int max_ydpi; /* maximum vertical resolution */
int max_quality;
int border_left; /* left margin, points */
int border_right; /* right margin, points */
int border_top; /* absolute top margin, points */
int border_bottom; /* absolute bottom margin, points */
int inks; /* installable cartridges (CANON_INK_*) */
int slots; /* available paperslots */
int features; /* special bjl settings */
canon_dot_size_t dot_sizes; /* Vector of dot sizes for resolutions */
canon_densities_t densities; /* List of densities for each printer */
canon_variable_inklist_t *inxs; /* Choices of inks for this printer */
@} canon_cap_t;
@end example
@end deftypevr
Since there are Canon printers which print in resolutions of
@math{2^n*150} dpi (e.g. 300, 600, 1200) and others which support
resolutions of @math{2^n*180} dpi (e.g. 360, 720, 1440), there's a base
resolution (150 or 180, respectively) given in the
@code{canon_cap_t}. The structs @code{canon_dot_size_t},
@code{canon_densities_t} and @code{canon_variable_inklist_t} refer to
resolutions being multiples of the base resolution.
For the Canon driver, the struct @code{canon_dot_size_t} holds values
for a model's capabilities at a given resolution: @samp{-1} if the
resolution is not supported. @samp{0} if it can be used and @samp{1} if
the resolution can be used for variable dot size printing.
In @code{canon_densities_t} the base densities for each resolution can
be specified like for an epson printer, the same holds true for
@code{canon_variable_inklist_t}. See the descriptions above to learn
about how to adjust your model's output to yield nice results.
There's a slight difference though in the way the Canon driver and the escp2
driver define their variable inklists: In the Canon driver, you need to define
an inklist like this:
@example
static const canon_variable_inklist_t canon_ink_myinks[] =
@{
@{
1,4, /* 1bit/pixel, 4 colors */
&ci_CMYK_1, &ci_CMYK_1, &ci_CMYK_1,
&ci_CMYK_1, &ci_CMYK_1, &ci_CMYK_1,
@},
@{
3,4, /* 3bit/pixel, 4 colors */
&ci_CMYK_3, &ci_CMYK_3, &ci_CMYK_3,
&ci_CMYK_3, &ci_CMYK_3, &ci_CMYK_3,
@},
@};
@end example
@noindent
where the @samp{&ci_CMYK_1} and @samp{&ci_CMYK_3} entries are references
to a previously defined const of type @code{canon_variable_inkset_t}.