To submit a transparency using the imtekpsprint command, use the -trans option. Transparencies and any PostScript files more than 1 page in length sent to the dye sublimation printer will automatically go into special queues, known as the transparency queue and the long queue. The jobs in the transparency queue will not be printed until the graphics consultant on duty activates the queue at noon each business day. If your PostScript file is thought to be more than one page long, imtekpsprint will return a message informing you that you need to see a graphics consultant to arrange for your job to be printed. Note that our software can not determine the actual number of pages of your job and makes an educated guess. It is often fooled and we apologize if your short document gets sent to the long queue. We request payment in advance for multi-page jobs. You must see the graphics consultant within 3 business-days to have these jobs printed. All jobs left in this queue for more than the 3 business days will automatically be deleted and would then have to be resubmitted.
Using imtekpsprint, you will receive status messages in two ways. Initially, imtekpsprint will return messages to your console (see -quiet and -verbose options below). Shortly after imtekpsprint finishes, you will receive an email message back indicating what has happened to your file (generally it should tell you that your file has been printed and to pick it up from the graphics consultant). If this mail message indicates any errors with the printing process you should follow any instructions the message may give you and/or speak with the graphics consultant at the CGL.
General Options
-copies num_copies Print num_copies copies of your document. If you try
to print more than 1 copy, your job will be sent to the
long queue.
-fullhelp Display a long help message on the use of imtekpsprint
-help Display a brief help message on the use of imtekpsprint.
-quiet Suppress querying the user to quit or continue
-so Dump file to standard output, rather than printing it.
-trans Print a transparency.
-verbose Print messages to terminal at each major stage of the
printing process.
For Encapsulated PostScript (.eps) files only
-showpage Adds a command to make sure the last page of a .eps
file is printed. Use this with Encapsulated PostScript
files which do not already have a 'showpage' command in
them.
For raster image files (non-PostScript) only
-layout portrait Specify portrait orientation. Landscape is the default.
-no_resize No automatic resizing of print to fit page. Since the
resolution of this printer is 300 dots per inch (dpi), if
you print a 600x900 pixel image at it will cover an area
of 2x3 inches on the page.
-origin x y Specify where to place the lower-left corner of your
image, measured from the lower-left corner of the paper
(in inches).
-scale factor Scales height and width by factor. Width and height of
image are determined as if no_resize was used and then
multiplied by factor. (Example: -scale 2.0)
-xscale xfactor Scales width by xfactor. Width of image is determined
as if no_resize was used and then multiplied by xfactor.
-yscale yfactor Scales height by yfactor. Height of image is determined
as if no_resize was used and then multiplied by yfactor.
-xsize width Specify the width of image (in inches).
-ysize height Specify the height of image (in inches).
In all other cases, you should also receive an email message back indicating what has happened to your file (generally it should tell you that your file has been printed and to pick it up from the graphics consultant). If this mail message indicates any errors with the printing process you should follow any instructions the message may give you and/or speak with the graphics consultant at the CGL.
Since the printer only prints on the central 8.1"x8.6" portion of an 8.5"x11" sheet, be sure to leave a border of approximately 1.25" on the top and bottom of your sheet and approximately 0.25" on each side to prevent a portion of your image from being cropped off. Caution: in general, a PostScript file that has been custom laid out to be 8.1"x8.6" wide will not print correctly. You must submit a full 8.5"x11" file to the printer with the image placed in the central 8.1"x8.6" area. For raster image files, you generally do not need to be concerned about this issue as your files will by default automatically be rescaled to maximally fit in the print area.
All raster as well as PostScript files that produce any type of error messages will not be printed. If you submit a file with errors you will receive email telling you that your file contained an error. To avoid mistakes, please preview your files before submitting them. You may use ghostview to view PostScript files and ximview (or imview on SGIs) to view raster files. Note that this test is not 100% accurate as to whether your file will print but is is an excellent indicator.
Some application packages require you to explicitly specify that you want color PostScript output. If you do not select this option, the package will produce a black and white PostScript file, even though you created the document in color. Check the documentation for your package to see if you must do something special to create a color PostScript file.
Finally, be aware that the colors on the print will never exactly match the colors you see on the screen. Sample prints are available for you to look at; speak with the graphics consultant at the CGL.
Examples:
To print on the dye sublimation printer an SGI rgb file in landscape layout:
cgl% imtekpsprint filename.rgb
To print on the dye sublimation printer a transparency of a BUCGL image file in portrait layout:
cgl% imtekpsprint -trans -layout portrait img.filename
To print on the dye sublimation printer, in verbose mode, a GIF image file and
to have the output image be 3" x 4".
cgl% imtekpsprint -verbose -xsize 3 -ysize 4 filename.gif
To print on the dye sublimation printer a PostScript file using lpr:
cgl% lpr -Ptekps imagefile.ps
To print on the dye sublimation printer a BUCGL image file in portrait layout with no resizing using lpr:
cgl% lpr -Ptekps -C"-layout portrait -no_resize" img.filename
To print on the dye sublimation printer a GIF image file on a transparency
using lpr:
cgl% lpr -Ptekpsx filename.gif
or
cgl% lpr -Ptekps -C"-trans" filename.gif
Please be prepared to pay for your prints when you pick them up.
Prices: $3.50 for paper, $4.50 for transparency.
For lower quality but less expensive non-PostScript color prints you should also consider using the Tektronix 540 color laser printer or, while it is still available, the Tektronix 4693D color thermal wax printer.