User's Guide

Generates quick-look prints on color postscript printers/plotters

Function:

Reformats LAS images into postscript files and prints to the specified color postscript printer. QLP has the following features:


   Option to select printer and/or printer type
       (default is printer type claser)
   Option to select file type (default is LAS)
   
QLP has the following features for LAS images:


   Transfers and prints LAS image data 
   Allows specification of a spatial window
   Allows a band specification (1 or 3 bands only)
   Optionally rotates an image (0 or 90 degrees only)
   Option to expand the image
   Option to subsample the image
   Option to print multiple copies
   Option to specify enhancement look-up table
   Option to reverse the background value (0 or 255)
   Allows a title to be annotated at top of image
   Allows an annotation block to be annotated
   Optionally print usercode and date/time
   Optionally produces a color gray scale.   
   Optionally produces the SPOT copyright symbol.

Parameters:

Subcommand -ADD:
Adds a LAS request to the custom request file. The program places the parameters and options for each request into the custom request file. Compatibility between the parameters is checked before the request is added to the file. The program outputs the record number which identifies the request within the file. The record number is required to modify or delete a request within the custom request file.
Subcommand -GENADD:
Adds a general request to the custom request file. The program places the parameters and options for each request into the custom request file. Compatibility between the parameters is checked before the request is added to the file. The program outputs the record number which identifies the request within the file. The record number is required to modify or delete a request within the custom request file.
Subcommand -MODIFY:
Modifies a request that is already located within the custom request file. The initial parameter set consists of the record number, which identifies the request within the custom request file that is to be modified. A dynamic tutor session is initiated to modify the parameter values of the request. The default value for each parameter of the dynamic tutor is the value currently assigned to the request that is to be modified. Compatibility between the parameters are checked before the updated request is written into the custom request file. The parameter descriptions of the -MODIFY dynamic tutor are the same as the -ADD subcommand. The enhancement LUT cannot be modified.
Subcommand -DELETE:
Deletes requests within the custom request file. When the delete subcommand is run, it removes the requests identified by the record numbers from the custom request file.
Subcommand -ABORT:
Abort a currently running QLP request. The request must be owned by the user.
Subcommand -LS:
List requests within the custom request file.
Subcommand -LISTPR:
List printers available to QLP
IN
Input file. The format of IN is dependent on the file type defined by parameter FTYPE. If FTYPE is set to: LAS: - LAS image specified as a TAE name - Image may be windowed and/or sub-banded - Image must contain 1 or 3 bands - If image is 3 bands, the band sequence must be specified as RED, GREEN, BLUE.

TIF: - File specified using host file name - TIFF file must be Planar - Complete image is processed (ie. user cannot specify window or sub-band) - Image must contain 1 or 3 bands - If image is 3 bands, the band sequence must be specified as RED, GREEN, BLUE.

PS: - File specified using host file name

EWRNBR(0)
EWR number. An integer value informing Customer Services which account is to be charged for the print(s).

FTYPE(LAS)
File Type =LAS: LAS Image =TIF: TIFF Image =PS: Postscript File (GENADD)

PTYPE
Printer Type

=claser : Color Laser =phaser300: Tektronix Phaser300 =phaser220: Tektronix Phaser220 =hp755 : HP 755CM Plotter (300dpi) =hp2500 : HP 2500 Plotter (600dpi) =inkjet : Inkjet Plotters =photo : Photographic Output =bw : Black/White LaserJet

The Tektronix Phaser 780 is a color laser color printer which produces photographic quality color prints. The Phaser 780 outputs sharp text, crisp graphics, and smooth photographic shading.

The Tektronix Phaser 300 is a solid-ink color printer. The Phaser 300 can print on any paper and the wax-based solid ink is nearly waste free. The Phaser 300 is a fast, low cost printing solution.

The Tektronix Phaser 220 is a thermal transfer color printer which produces high quality prints on paper or transparencies.

PRINTER(-- )
Output Printer. Default is to print on the first available printer as specified in paramter PTYPE. If PRINTER is specified, it overrides the PTYPE parameter (QLP will automatically determine and update the printer type field).

The list of configured printers can be obtained by executing QLP-LISTPR. Color order. Defines the color sequence of the bands to be written to the printer. Note that the CMY and CMYK color orders use a one to one control/calibration LUT. = BW: Black/white image = RGB: Red, green, blue image = CMY: Cyan, magenta, yellow image = CMYK: Cyan, magenta, yellow, black image Allow printer to automatically resize image to fit on single print. Note that the annotation will be resized along with the image area. = YES: Printer resizes image = NO: Printer does not resize Rotate option. The image may be rotated 90 degrees. There is no option for rotating the image by any other angle.

= YES: Rotate 90 degrees = NO: No rotation = AUTO: Rotate if this would result in a better fit of the image onto the print media.

Media size. The printer can be used to produce either 8.5 x 11 inch prints (max image size of 3682 x 3582) or 11 x 17 inch prints (max image size of 5134 x 3582). Note that the image size is reduced by the following number of lines for each type of annotation: Title Annotation: 116 lines Wedge and/or Spot Annotation: 68 lines Stretch Point Annotation: 58 lines

Selecting other than the default may result in longer turn-around time while waiting for an operator to change the media.

= SMALL: Print on 8.5 x 11 inch material = LARGE: Print on 11 x 17 inch material

Media type. There are two types of media, paper or transparancy. Selecting other than the default may result in longer turn-around time while waiting for an operator to change the media.

= PAPER: The print is to be on papar = MYLAR: The print is to be a transparancy

Option to expand the image by replicating pixels. Scaling can be performed in the line and sample directions independently. The default value specifies not to expand the image. If EXPAND=(1 1), the image will not be resized and it will be printed at full resolution. If EXPAND is set such that the image does not fit on one print, then it will be printed in panels. Option to reduce the image by deleting pixels. The image must be reduced by the same factor in the x and y direction. If REDUCE and EXPAND parameters are defaulted, the image will be reduced so that it fits on one print. If REDUCE=(1 1), the image will not be resized and it will be printed at full resolution. If REDUCE is set such that the image does not fit on one print, then it will be printed in panels.

NCOPIES(1)
Number of copies. Multiple copies of the image may be produced. Background value. The background value within the image area but surrounding the actual image can be set to either 0 or 255. = 0: A zero value is used = 255: A value of 255 is used Annotation Flag = YES: Annotate User Name and Time Stamp = NO: Do not annotate User Name and Time Stamp Title of print. A 56 character title can be printed at the top of the image. The default is not to print a title.

Note that if a title is specified, the max number of lines for the image is reduced by 116 lines. Annotation text. The annotation string can be up to 60 characters of text printed at the bottom of the image.

This annotation line is inserted at the bottom of the image after the user code and date/time annotation; therefore, it does not reduce the max number of lines of the image. Color wedge. The color bar can optionally be printed along the bottom of the image. = YES: Print the color bar = NO: Do not print the color bar

Note that if a the wedge and/or the spot copyright annoation is specified, the max number of lines for the image is reduced by 68 lines. Spot Copyright. The copyright symbol for SPOT data will be included at the bottom of the image. = YES: Print the SPOT copyright symbol = NO: Do not print the SPOT copyright symbol

Note that if a the wedge and/or the spot copyright annoation is specified, the max number of lines for the image is reduced by 68 lines. Stretch annotation is constructed by the enhancement points specified by parameter INFILE. If the annotation is too long, it will be truncated. = YES: Print stretch annotation = NO: No stretch annotation

Note that if a the stretch annoation is specified, the max number of lines for the image is reduced by 58 lines. Input enhancement file name. INFILE may be either an ASCII text file created by program SETFILES, PARMENTR, or QLP, or a display and look-up table file (DLTF) created by DMS program SAVDLTF. If no value is specified, the user is required to interactively enter the enhancement stretch point values (refer to user notes for edit options).

If it is an ASCII file created by SETFILES, PARMENTR, or QLP, the file specification should not include the extension.

If it is a DLTF file, the look-up table that is needed to map the input image is read from this file. The parameter INDLTF must contain the key field of this DLTF entry.

An enhancement look-up table (LUT) maps gray levels to gray levels to create a contrast enhancement of the image data. Input display and look up-table file entry. The DLTF entry from a previously created look-up table stored on disk in DLTF format. The number of look-up tables in the INDLTF entry must be greater than or equal to three. The look-up tables are assumed to be in the order of red, green, blue. The maximum length for INDLTF is 12 characters.

PRIORITY(9)
Priorities range from 1-9, with one being the highest and nine being the lowest priority. This will allow flexibility in dealing with customer requests.

There must, however, be a set of guidelines that are to be adhered to when entering orders. If not the system will get bogged down and orders will not get produced as required. The intent is not to be restrictive but to have flexibility. One should consider various factors to be in place when establishing priority orders. First, we must assume that the hardware and software systems are all functional or the turnaround times may not be met. Secondly, requests within the same priority level are usually processed on a first-in/first-out basis with the producing lab having the latitude to make changes if it will aid in improving their turnaround times as a whole. In addition, there will not be any overtime automatically given to orders of priority levels 4-9. Overtime may be granted for priority orders if necessary to meet the turnaround time required. The producing labs may request and be granted overtime to work off their backlog if necessary.

In addition to the above stated priorities there are an entire set of exceptions that need to be dealt with for internal EDC customers/users. This issue primarily deals with the producing products from such devices as the colorfire, quicklook printers, and various plotters. It is readily apparent that there needs to be new definitions of what priorities mean here. The big differences here are the fact that users themselves can create these products directly as opposed to submitting orders through DORRAN and the turnaround times are considerably different here as well. Keep in mind that you are competing with other users for the same resources so please do not abuse the priorities. If this becomes a problem your Department Manager will be notified and appropriate action taken. The following priorities should be adhered to when creating such products.

Priority Order 1

Highest priority. Requires a Manager's approval.

Product orders will occur immediately and take priority over orders of priority level 2-9. Turnaround time will be as soon as possible. Support personnel will be called upon immediately, by the producing lab having problems, to fix any hardware/software problems should any arise.

If overtime is required the required the responsible Manager may give authorization for it.

The user will personally notify managers in all effected production labs as soon as possible of the pending order.

Priority Order 2

High priority order. The products will be processed ahead of priority levels 3-9. All products will be produced ASAP during shifts that are routinely staffed.

Priority 2 requires a responsible Managers' approval and authorization for overtime if necessary.

Priority Order 3

Priority order. The products will be processed ahead of priority levels 4-9. All products will be produced ASAP during shifts that are routinely staffed.

Priority 3 requires a responsible Managers' approval and authorization for overtime if necessary.

Rush Orders 4 Rush Orders. The products will be processed on a first-in/first-out (FIFO) ahead of priority level 7-9 orders.

Rush orders are intended to be used for products or intermediate products that require quick turnaround to complete the order by the due date. All orders will be produced during shifts that are normally staffed with the turnaround time normally being within 24 hours (No overtime will be utilized).

Three levels are used in order for a user working on multiple projects to prioritize them.

Standard Orders 7 Standard Orders. The products will be processed on a first-in/first-out (FIFO) basis.

These orders are intended to be used for products or intermediate products that do not require quick turnaround.

All orders will be produced during shifts that are normally staffed with no guarantee on the turnaround time (No overtime will be utilized).

Normally the products will be generated within five working days unless unforeseen problems occur such as equipment being down.

Three levels are used in order for a user working on multiple projects to prioritize them.

DELFLG(NO)
Delete flag. = YES: Delete user's image file after network transfer. = NO: Do not delete image file. Special instructions. This parameter is valid for only printers that require manual operator intervention, and is used to forward special instructions for the operator. Current printers and their locations are: Printer Location Options ---------------------------------- fuji1 photolab photoshop commands

Starting panel number. Normally the user will want to print all panels; however, if the request failed after successfully printing several panels, the user may want to skip the panels that have already printed. Queue status flag. The default is to list all entries in the queue. This parameter may be set to subset the queue entries by the status flag in some combination of the following: QUEUE -- list entries currently queued RUN -- list entries currently running SUCC -- list entries that have been printed successfully ERROR -- list entries that have been processed but encountered an error Output destination. The destination of the output. = TERM: Terminal. Output is sent to the user's terminal = LP: Line printer. Output is sent to the printer defined by $PRINTER. = Filename: User-supplied filename. Output is sent to the user-supplied file with the extension ".prt". Record number of the custom request file to process. Output format. The short format prints all requests (including requests not owned by the user) in a one line format. The long format prints only request owned by the user in long format (all fields of the request).

= SHORT: short form = LONG: long form

    1. QLP-ADD IN=[gacke.las]us ROTOPT=YES EWRNBR=6071 TITLE="United States" This example adds a request to the queue. It requests the image [gacke.las]us be printed with a title of "United States". The image is rotated 90 degrees. Since parameters PRINTER and PTYPE were not specified, the image will be printed on the first Tektronix Color Laser that becomes available.

    2. QLP-ADD IN=[gacke.las]us ROTOPT=YES EWRNBR=6071 TITLE="United States" PRINTER=colorcsb This example adds a request to the queue. It requests the image [gacke.las]us be printed with a title of "United States". The image is rotated 90 degrees. Since parameter PRINTER is specified, the image will be printed on the "colorcsb" printer. Note that if PRINTER is specified, the user does not need to update the PTYPE parameter (QLP will automatically determine and update the printer type field).

    3. QLP-LS This example lists all entries in the queue in short format. It will contain the record number, priority, user name, system name, status flag, and number of total panels.

    4. QLP-LS OUTFORM=LONG This example lists all entries in the queue that the user owns. The long listing lists all fields in the request.

    5. QLP-LS STFLAG=(RUN QUEUE) This example lists all entries in short format that have a status flag of RUN or QUEUE.

    6. QLP-MOD 1 This example will modify queue reqest number 1 (assuming it is owed by the user). A dynamic tutor session is initiated in which the default values are the fields within the request.

Description/Algorithm:

Prints files to configured color postscript printers. If the file is a LAS image, the LAS image is automatically converted to a postscript file. If necessary, the images will be sent thru the network from where they reside to the host of the printer.

Error Messages:

  1. Sequence number x does not exist User tried to modify or delete a request from the queue that does not exist. User should run QLP-LS to verify the correct sequence number.

  2. ERROR: User x is not owner of custom request xx User tried to access a request within the queue in which they are not the owner. User should run QLP-LS to verify the correct sequence number.

  3. File is on remote system x, unable to verify file This error message indicates originally added from one host, and then user tried to modify the request from another host. As long as the image name is not modified, the request can be updated but the image is not verified.

  4. ERROR: File x is on x. Cannot modify from remote system This error message indicates originally added from one host, and then user tried to modify the image name from another host. The user is required to log in on the original host and modify the request.

  5. Window sizes of input images must be the same If paramter IN specifies multiple images, each image must represent the same window size (same number of lines and samples).

  6. Image consists of x bands, and RGB requires 3 bands If parameter COLORORD is set to RGB, then parameter IN must define a 3 band image.

  7. Image consists of x bands, and BW requires 1 band If parameter COLORORD is set to BW, then parameter IN must define a single band image.

  8. ERROR: Request x is currently being processed User tried to modify or delete a request while it is in the RUN state. User should have the privileged usercode run QLPMGR-ABORT on the host of the QLP to first abort the request.

  9. INFILE parameter cannot be set to NULL if running in batch If running in batch, the user is required to specify an enhancement LUT file. Unable to initiate the interactive LUT edit session in batch.

  10. Error translating LUT name into a host file name The value specified in parameter INFILE does not translate into a valid host file name. INFILE should be specified in TAE syntax.

  11. Error setting ENH lut values from file x Error encountered setting the enhancement LUT from the file specified in parameter INFILE. The request is not added to the queue.

  12. LUT File x does not exist The specified LUT file specified by parameter INFILE does not exist.

  13. Unable to open LUT File x The specified LUT file specified by parameter INFILE exists, but program cannot open it. User should check at the file permission.

  14. ERROR -- LUT File x is corrupt The specified LUT file specified by parameter INFILE cannot be read. The user may be able to edit the LUT file(s) to be in the correct format.

  15. LUT File is limited to 255 map points The specified LUT file specified by parameter INFILE consists of too many map points. The user is required to delete some of the map points.

  16. ERROR: Enhance file input values are not ascending The software requires the input brightness values to be in ascending order.

  17. ERROR: enhance file has two equal input brightness values The software requires that no two input brightness values to have an equal value.

  18. ERROR: enhance file is required to have 255 as an input map point The software requires that the enhancement LUT to end with an input brightness value of 255.

  19. Request consists of x enh map pts, max is 255 An enhancement stretch can have a maximum of 255 points specified. User is required to modify the enhancement map points prior to printing the image.

  20. Error converting DLTF TAE name to host name The value specified in parameter INFILE does not translate into a valid host file name for a DLTF file. INFILE should be specified in TAE syntax.

  21. Error accessing DLTF file x The DLTF file specified in parameter INFILE cannot be accessed.

  22. Error setting ENH lut values from file x entry x Error setting the enhancement LUT from the DLTF specified by parameters INFILE and INDLTF. The request is not added to the queue.

  23. rddltf: DLTF consists of less than x bands The DLTF entry is required to define a LUT for each of the bands specified in parameter IN.

  24. rddltf: Error allocating lut data buffer Error allocating data buffer to read the DLTF LUT entry.

User Notes:

  1. Windowing and subbanding are supported by specifying it within the input image specification. It is the same syntax as all standard LAS programs.

  2. Single-band images are actually written to film three times, once each for red, green, and blue. Identical red, green, and blue stretches result in a black/white image. This is true for both color and black/white films. Dissimilar red, green, and blue stretches result in a colored image on color film. Dissimilar three-color stretches would result in a black/white image that has incorrect densities.

  3. If INFILE is set to NULL, the user dynamically edits the LUT files. The user has the option of editing the whole file, inserting a map point, or modifying a map point.

    To edit a map point, the user is prompted for the input brightness value. The user inputs a decimal value and then presses the return key. The program then prompts the user to input the output value, which is entered similarly. If no value is entered for the input or output value (i.e., pressing the return key with no decimal value), the map point for that color is unchanged. There are special commands associated with the input brightness value. If the input brightness value is assigned:

    -2 --then the map point for that color is deleted -1 --then the edit routine is exited

    To edit the entire file, the program asks the user to input all map points for the LUT file starting at point 0 and continuing through point 31. The user can exit the editing routine at any time by inputting a -1 for the input brightness value.

    To edit a specific map point, the program queries the user for which point to modify. The user is then prompted to enter the input and output values for that map point. The edit routine continues to query the user for the next map point. The edit routine is exited when the user inputs a for the map point.

  4. The enhancement, calibration, and control look-up tables are stored in separate files for the purpose of easy maintenance. However, when a user selects the tables to be used with an image, the tables are mathematically combined into one final table. This final table is loaded out to the Color FIRE and used in the generation of the frame. The resulting effect is analogous to applying the enhancement table to the raw image data and then taking the enhanced image and forcing it to its appropriate film density.

  5. Color bar. The user has the option to include a special annotation field that consists of a color bar and/or spot copyright annotation. If WEDGE is set to YES, the color bar is annotated onto film. The color bar is a 30-step gray scale that is centered below the image.

    The red, green, and blue values for each step are defined as follows:

    STEP RED GREEN BLUE ____ ___ _____ ____

    1 118 255 255 2 255 118 255 3 255 255 118 4 255 118 118 5 118 255 118 6 118 118 255 7 1 255 255 8 255 1 255 9 255 255 1 10 255 1 1 11 1 255 1 12 1 1 255 13 168 120 80 14 195 180 144 15 255 255 255 16 239 239 239 17 221 221 221 18 205 205 205 19 187 187 187 20 171 171 171 21 153 153 153 22 137 137 137 23 118 118 118 24 102 102 102 25 84 84 84 26 68 68 68 27 50 50 50 28 34 34 34 29 16 16 16 30 1 1 1