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Enhancement of AFPRSC/Transform service to support CYMK color: https://ibm-power-systems.ideas.ibm.com/ideas/IBMI-I-1782
The above window shows the default Image Options settings for the AFP print driver. Use this window to affect the overall appearance of images and graphics in the output created by the AFP Printer Driver.
If your application does not send halftone data directly to the printer driver, the options you select for gray scale method, graphic options, color options, compression, intensity, and contrast determine how images and graphics are printed.
Notes:
| 1. | You might need to experiment with these options to get the best results. |
| 2. | Choose the appropriate driver for the resolution of your printer (or for the PDF device emulation type if using Infoprint Server). |
The most common settings to generate a color overlay or page segment are to select the Gray Scale Method as Photographic Dither, Graphics Options as Basic, and the Color Options as 16 Colors or Full Color.
These settings might not generate the expected output; it depends on the Microsoft Windows application used to create and design the data. For example, the above settings will generate a file with color from Microsoft Paint; however, the same settings when generating a file from a Microsoft Word document results in the colors being changed (CMYK color conversion).
Different applications can pass information to the AFP print driver in different ways. For example, Microsoft Word passes information through DrvStrokeAndFillPath, which creates GOCA (Graphics Object Content Architecture) data. Microsoft Paint passes information through DrvBitBit, which generates IOCA (Image Object Content Architecture) data. The output from these architectures is different, which accounts for the differences in the resulting overlay or page segment object.
To print color from a Microsoft Word document, test with selecting the Gray Scale Method as Photographic Dither, the Graphics Option as Enhanced, and the Color Options as Black / White.
Additional Information about the Image Options
The following information is from the help text for the different settings for the Image Options for the AFP Printer Driver for Windows 2000 Version 3.00.00. Refer to the help text of the installed version of the driver on your PC if there are questions about the information.
Gray Scale Method
Gray Scale Method is a type of pattern that is applied to printed images and graphics. Though most printers are only capable of printing black, these patterns are used to produce varying shades of gray on the printed page.
Default dither - Use this gray scale method when performance in creating the output file is important. The operating system's Graphic Driver Interface default settings are used in creating the AFP file.
For this method, the AFP Printer Driver uses a 4 x 4 bit pattern of dots to emulate up to 16 levels of gray.
Photographic dither - Use this gray scale method when you want your images and graphics to have a smooth, realistic, and photographic appearance. The Photographic dither method provides soft contrasts between various shades of gray. This method also works well for images originally designed with color.
For this method, the AFP Printer Driver uses an 8 x 8 bit pattern of dots to emulate up to 64 levels of gray.
Compressed dither - Use this gray scale method if you are creating compressed images and it is important to minimize the size of the output file created. The compressed dither method is especially tuned to create the smallest output, while still giving reasonable quality. It is not recommended for scanned photographs of full color images.
For this method, the AFP Printer Driver uses an 8 x 8 bit pattern of horizontal lines to emulate up to 64 levels of gray.
Diagonal dither - Use this gray scale method when you want your images and graphics to have a smooth, realistic appearance, without the graininess sometimes produced using the photographic dither method. The Diagonal dither method provides soft contrasts between various shades of gray. This method also works well for images originally designed with color.
For this method, the AFP Printer Driver uses an 8 x 8 bit pattern of diagonal lines to emulate up to 64 levels of gray.
Line art halftone - Use this gray scale method for images and graphics with intricate lines and fine detail, like clip art graphics. The line art halftone method provides solid lines and well-defined borders between various shades of gray.
For this method, the AFP Printer Driver uses 32 different 8 x 8 bit patterns to produce 32 distinct levels of gray.
- Graphic Options
Use the Graphic Options to select the support level of graphics the AFP Printer Driver generates.
These graphic options are provided:
None - All graphic objects will be rasterized into image. Refer to Image Options for settings.
Basic - Graphic objects generated from the Basic option comply with GOCA's DR/2V0 standards, supported by all AFP graphic printers. GOCA - (Graphic Object Content Architecture) is an architected collection of constructs used to interchange and present graphic data. The AFP Printer Driver uses constructs from the GOCA DR/2V0 and above.
Enhanced - Graphic objects generated from the Enhanced option have additional drawing orders not support by GOCA's DR/2V0 standards. Not all printers support the additional drawing orders.
- Color Options
Select the color option you want the AFP Printer Driver to use for the images in your document.
The following color options are provided:
Black/White - Use this color option to generate standard black and white images.
Color/White - Use this color option with the Select Color to generate color and white images. The selected color is used rather than black.
16 colors- 4-bit CMYK - This creates a 4-bit color image (16 Colors) in the CMYK (Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, and Black) color space. The halftone algorithm is determined by the number of bits in the RGB (Red, Green, and Blue) color space. For increased performance, use 4-bit RGB. For greater quality, use 24-bit RGB. Using the 24-bit RGB option is not recommended for large documents. The 24-bit RGB option should only be used for Page Segment and Overlay.
Full color- 32-bit CMYK - This creates a 32-bit full-page color image in the CMYK (Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, and Black) color space. Because the files for full color images are usually very large, you can choose to make them smaller by using a compression algorithm:1. Select the printer that uses the AFP Printer Driver. 2. Select File > Properties. 3. Select the Device Settings tab. 4. Select Compressed Images, select On to turn compression on, and then select OK. 5. Select File > Document Defaults. 6. Select Image Options and then select the Image Options button. 7. Select Full Color-332Bit CMYK. 8. From Compression, select the compression algorithm to use.
- Compression
This option only applies if you have image compression turned on and you select the Full color- 32Bit CMYK color option.
If you want to compress all of your full color image objects, you must choose between the LZW or the JPEG compression algorithm. If your image objects are primarily text, LZW compression is recommended. If your image objects are primarily photographic images, JPEG compression is recommended. The default value is JPEG.
- Intensity Control
This option only applies if you have image compression turned on and you select the Full color- 32Bit CMYK color option.
Use this control to increase or decrease the darkness of image and graphics in the output created by the AFP Printer Driver. Some printers print the same document darker or lighter than others. The 3935, for example, tends to print lighter than most other printers. You might need to experiment with this control to get the best results on your target printer.
Frequently Asked Questions:
| Q1. | Why does my image look fuzzy when printed? |
| A1. | Images which look fuzzy or overly pixlated when printed are usually the result of using low quality images in your overlay source. You should choose images which match the output of your AFP driver for best results. If you are going to use the 300 DPI AFP driver, use a 300 DPI image. Otherwise, your image will be scaled to fit the density of the driver and may produce poor results. |
| Q2. | How do I make my company logo or text into a watermark? |
| A2. | One way to create faded or watermarked images or text is to overlay your image or text with a solid white box which is partially transparent. A white box at 25% transparency over black text seems to produce good results; however, this will need to be adjusted to your individual needs. |
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Modified date:
11 May 2023
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