Frequently Asked Questions

General and Setup Information

What does ZEHRaster Plus do?

ZEHRaster Plus prints TIFF, JPEG, CALS Type I raster files, as well as CGM* files, to a local or networked HP DesignJet 700 series, 1000 series, CP series, or ColorPro CAD printer.

Is ZEHRaster Plus Year 2000 Compliant?

Yes.

What hardware configuration do I need?

For Windows, you will need a Windows NT 4.0 machine which has a CD drive available, a hard disk with at least 225 MB available space, and 32 MB RAM. Also, the monitor display setting must be at least 640 x 480.

For UNIX, you will need one of the following Y2K compliant platforms (or higher):

Solaris 2.6

SGI IRIX 6.5

IBM AIX 4.3

HP HP-UX 10.2

Redhat Linux 5.2, 6

This machine should have a CD drive available, a hard disk with at least 225 MB available space, and 32 MB RAM (64 MB is optimal). Also, the monitor display setting must be at least 640 x 480.

The HP DesignJet 700 series, 1000 series, CP series, and DesignJet ColorPro CAD printers are supported. ZEHRaster Plus is intended for use with the HP DesignJet printer it accompanies, as described in the license agreement.

What resolution will I get when I print?

If printing to a 700 series printer: TIFF, JPEG, and CGM images are printed at 300 dpi. CALS files are printed at 600 dpi.

If printing to a 1000 series printer: 300 dpi in Fast mode and 600 dpi in all other modes.

If printing to a CP series printer: 600 dpi.

If printing to a ColorPro CAD printer: 600 dpi.

Does my Windows NT 4.0 machine or UNIX machine have to be connected directly to the HP DesignJet printer?

No. The HP DesignJet printer used by ZEHRaster Plus may be a networked printer, but the Windows NT 4.0 machine must have a print queue set up that corresponds to the printer. Likewise, the UNIX machine must have an LP queue (LPR queue for Linux) that will send jobs to the printer.

Does the Windows print queue or LP queue have to be set up before I install ZEHRaster Plus?

Definitely. The HP DesignJet printer must be installed and a print queue or LP queue set up for it before ZEHRaster Plus can be installed successfully. One of the main questions you must answer when installing ZEHRaster Plus is the name of the Windows print queue or LP queue (that corresponds to the HP DesignJet printer) to use.

What if I want to change the Windows print queue or LP queue associated with the HP DesignJet printer that ZEHRaster Plus prints to?

For Windows NT, you can change the Windows print queue quite simply. Put the ZEH CD into the CD drive. When offered the main installation screen, click Manage Printer to select the new Windows print queue to use and set any options for ZEHRaster Plus usage.

For UNIX, you can change the LP queue by changing directories to the /install_dir/scripts directory and running the manage_printers.sh script.

Please note that ZEHRaster Plus is intended for use with the HP DesignJet printer it accompanies, as described in the license agreement.

I purchased more than one HP DesignJet printer. Can I set up ZEHRaster Plus so it can be used with each printer?

Yes. You may set up ZEHRaster Plus for each HP DesignJet printer the software accompanies.

ZEHRaster Plus will display a list of available printers so users can select the printer of their choice when submitting a file.

Is there any way to test the setup after installation?

Yes. ZEH provides an example TIFF (zehlogo.tif in the examples directory) file that you can submit to test the ZEHRaster Plus installation. ZEH also provides an RTL file (zehlogo.rtl in the Program examples directory) that can be sent directly to the HP DesignJet printer in order to test the printer connection and installation.

Who do I call for support or assistance?

Your HP or ZEH support group. Simple troubleshooting instructions are provided in Troubleshooting. Please work through the troubleshooting steps before contacting your HP or ZEH support group.

Using ZEHRaster Plus

How do I submit a file to print?

For Windows NT:

Run the ZEHRaster Plus application by selecting Start >> Programs >> ZEHRaster Plus.

Select the file you want to print using the Browse function.

Set any options such as rotation or size.

If you want to view the file you have selected, click Preview. When you are done, select File >> Exit to close the window.

On the main ZEHRaster Plus window, click Print.

ZEHRaster Plus provides print status messages so you can track the progress of the file. Once the file has been processed and sent to the print queue for printing, you may select and submit another file.

For UNIX:

Run the ZEHRaster Plus application by keying in on the command line:

/install_dir/zplus.exe

Select the file you want to print using the Browse function.

Set any options such as rotation or size.

On the main ZEHRaster Plus window, click Print.

What if my selected file does not print?

There are a few reasons why a file may not print:

Processing the file may require more disk space than is currently available (ZEH recommends 200 MB available disk space for its temp directory where temporary files are created).
Processing the file may require more RAM than is currently available (ZEH recommends 64 MB RAM as optimal, 32 MB RAM as minimum).
ZEHRaster Plus may be unable to run a processing application due to circumstances beyond its control.
The file itself may be corrupted or non-conforming. If the file is a CGM, it may be a non-conforming CGM, meaning that it does not comply with the NIST CGM-ATA standard.

If the file cannot be printed, an error message is displayed. Check this message against the Messages for a complete description of the problem and any possible troubleshooting steps.

My printer is 36 inches wide, but when I try to submit a job that is 35.8 inches wide, ZEHRaster Plus pops up a warning message that my image will be clipped. Why?

Every printer has a "printable area", which does not include the entire width of the printer. In other words, the printer has default margins on either side. ZEHRaster Plus takes these margins into account when it warns users that the image will be clipped.

My image previews slightly differently than it prints.

Keep in mind that the previewed image is displayed at the resolution, or dpi, of your screen (usually 72 or 96 dpi), while it is printed at the resolution of the HP DesignJet printer (either 300 or 600 dpi). This difference in resolution can cause the differences you see between the screen display and the printed page.

My CGM's background is black. Can I change it so that it uses fewer printer resources?

ZEHRaster Plus allows you to reverse the black and white elements of the CGM. In this case, the black background will be printed as white, and white primitives will be printed as black.

Set the submittal tool's Reverse Black-White option to on (so that the box is checked) before submitting the file.

File Format Information

What is a CGM?

A CGM (Computer Graphics Metafile) is a file that contains vector information, such as lines and text, and may include raster data in the form of cell arrays. CGMs are output from many applications; the format is used primarily for the interchange of graphical information between various applications.

CGMs may contain seismic data in the form of a GDP (Generalized Drawing Primitive). Please note that ZEHRaster Plus does not support seismic data. It will print and preview all of the CGM except those areas that contain seismic data.

What is CGM-ATA?

CGM-ATA is a profile, or extension, of the original CGM standard that was established by the Air Transport Association. This profile extends the original CGM:1992 standard (e.g., by defining extra line styles that may be used) and includes its own test suite of files that must be created or printed correctly before a software application can be said to be compliant.

What is a non-conforming CGM?

A non-conforming CGM does not conform to the CGM standard. The latest version of the standard is CGM:1992.

The standard lays out basic rules about the structure of the file and how it should handle simple graphical primitives (such as lines and polygons), more complex graphical primitives (such as closed figures), and extremely complex graphical primitives (such as Bezier curves and parabolic arcs).

While ZEH software is adept at handling most non-conforming CGMs, it naturally cannot handle every aberration that can be created within a file. If your CGM will not print and you suspect that it is non-conforming, check the application that created the file for information on its conformance policy.

How can I print CGMs with seismic data?

ZEH's standard CGM software package gives you the ability to print seismic data. Contact your nearest ZEH sales office for information on pricing and availability.

My CGM does not preview as expected. What's wrong?

This may be due to any of the following reasons:

The ZEHRaster Plus preview window does not support CGM transparency, so a portion of the image may be "concealed" onscreen but will print as specified in the file.
Seismic data is not supported by ZEHRaster Plus, and will be neither previewed nor printed.
The preview window is not NIST-compliant. If your CGM contains NIST-specific characteristics, such as additional line styles, it may preview incorrectly. However, the CGM will print correctly. The preview window's purpose is only to allow you to view the file in order to verify that it is the file you want to print.
The preview window displays the image at a much lower resolution (usually 72 dpi) than that of the print output (either 300 or 600 dpi). The image onscreen may be slightly different since there is less information that can be displayed (e.g., dashed lines on the printed image may appear to be solid lines in the preview window).

Do I have to set the size for an abstract CGM?

No. ZEHRaster Plus assumes that you will want to print an abstract scaling mode CGM at the maximum size allowed by your printer, and so will default to the greatest width possible and the equivalent length (keeping the aspect ratio, or proportions, of the original image). However, you can set the size if you wish.

Abstract scaling mode CGMs are designed not to have a physical size. Instead, they have an abstract size in VDCs (Virtual Device Coordinates) that may be mapped to any physical measurements, such as inches, centimeters, meters, or feet.

My CGM contains multiple images. Can I print all of them?

ZEHRaster Plus prints only the first image in the CGM.

If printing other images in the CGM is a priority, contact your nearest ZEH sales office for information on pricing and availability of its standard CGM software package.

What is CCITT Group 4?

CCITT Group 4 is a lossless encoding scheme that was designed specifically for encoding 1-bit (monochrome) data. CCITT was originally designed for use with fax machines and data networks.

What's the difference between TIFF and JPEG?

TIFF and JPEG are both raster formats, but JPEG supports very high compression and as a result is popular for World Wide Web usage. TIFF is supported by most scanners, image manipulation applications, and word processing applications.

Support for the CGM format is available as a licensable option. To license ZEHRaster Plus CGM viewing and printing capabilities, visit our website at http://www.zeh.com/zplus/.