Re: MI Transparent DRG

[JCSI MAPS]

Carl,
I have been through this grinder so many times I can't count.  I finally got tired of trying to print transparent DRGs, so now I just clip them to avoid this problem.  However, I have two potential solutions for you, if you're currently in desperation.

I have checked with other folks who have experienced similar problems. One recurring suggestion is to use a print driver called "SuperPrint". It's available from a company called Zenographics. Their web site is www.zeno.com. According to the web site, it is compatible with Windows NT 3.50 and 4.0. The program ($49.95) can be purchased and downloaded directly from their site. There is a list of supported printers at the site; you probably should consult it prior to trying this option. Zenographics also has "high end" versions of Superprint that support HP plotters and large format printers, but these are considerably more expensive (i.e. hundreds of dollars) than the standard version.   A caveat: I have not used this program, but have clients who have, to varying degrees of success.  If you elect to go the high end-high dollar route, I STRONGLY recommend that you talk with Zeno's tech people and let them know exactly what you're doing (hardware/software configs, etc.) and coordinate up front (if possible) for a money-back guarantee if their software doesn't resolve your problem.

The second solution is a work-around that gets the bear fed, but it has its limitations.  Set up your maps the way you want them, and then open a layout.  Use the "Save Window As" option to save the layout window as a JPEG image file.  When you do this, set the width to some huge number (start experimenting with around 36") which creates a larger image file, which subsequently preserves most of your resolution.  The resultant JPEG can then be printed to your plotter.  Two problems with this option.  1) You can't accurately specify the scale of the final product.  2)  If you have any overlay information on the DRG (such as vector lines, symbols, text, etc.) they will be distorted.  For whatever reason, as an example, it will consistently distort text as smaller and symbols as larger.  Go figure.

Good luck.

Mike Jenne
Digital Raster Graphic (DRG) Topographic Map Exchange
www.pipeline.com/~jcsi-maps/drgs

At 09:19 PM 3/12/99 -0900, Carl Schaefer wrote:
>Hello all,
>
>Well, when it rains it pours...
>
>I'm having serious problems getting USGS Digital Raster Graphics
>(DRG) with white set as transparent to print. I'm getting these
>"monster spool files" which use up all available drive space and then
>crash. I've researched past posts to the list and have tried all
>remedies suggested with no success. In fact, I successfully printed
>a 60+mb 8bit greyscale Tiff (shaded relief image from USGS) with
>black set as transparent earlier in the week but now with these
>measly 5mb DRG's things are choking. I've tried the following:
>
>1) Converting 8 bit color DRG to 8 bit grey scale.
>2) Changing my white to black in Corel Photo-Paint, then setting
>black to transparent in MI.
>3) Setting the background window color to something other than
>white (or any color used in the DRG)
>4) Editing my registry to set my TrueColor DWORD to 0
>
>I've tried all the above and any variation on the above. In the middle
>of all this I tried resending my 60mb Tiff map and it worked....go
>figure.
>
>I'm running MI 4.1 on Win95a - 96mb RAM, 400mb free hdd space.
>HP 650C v2.5 print driver with process in computer checked on.
>
>I think I'm ready to throw the #@$%#@ computer out the window.
>
>Did I miss something?
>-Carl
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