Troubleshooting Plotter Output in Pro/ENGINEER

Here are some tips on how to trouble shoot shaded EPS files and clipped plotted output:

Troubleshooting Shaded EPS Files

If a plotter is having trouble plotting a Pro/ENGINEER shaded EPS file there are several items that you should check to make sure the plotter is capable of plotting the file. 

When printing an EPS plot file, verify that the plotter in question has enough memory. This will usually be specified by an error message on the printer such as:

Memory Error

Or

Error: limitcheck

OFFENDING COMMAND:

It is good practice to place added memory in the printer to allow for file expansion and conversion. With Postscript, the entire plot file must be loaded into memory before printing. The EPS file is usually converted in printer memory into the printer’s native language. This conversion can conceivably take up to three or four times more memory than the original file. 

If the shaded postscript file is being created for a HP DesignJet series plotter with a Postscript card installed, verify that the following settings are selected on the plotter:

• If the plotter is not plotting the file, verify that Plotter Setup, Lang is set to Postscript. If postscript is not available, then there is no Postscript card installed in the plotter.
• If the plotter is plotting the file but is plotting it out on an "E" size or larger page, verify that Page Format is set to the correct paper size. For example, if the postscript file being generated was created as an "A" size plot, set Page Format equal to ANSI A.

If the resulting plot is not plotting the correct colors try using the 24 bit postscript process.

• To select 24 bit, go through the steps to create a shaded postscript file.
• In the Printer Configuration Dialog Box set Image depth to 24 Bit RGB.
• Click OK to generate the file. The 24 bit depth allows for more colors to be defined making the shading smoother but the postscript file is larger.

Troubleshooting Clipped Plotted Output

Clipping occurs when a plotter has a predetermined "hard clip limit" or "plottable region" on paper smaller than the image to be plotted. This region could be smaller due to accommodations for rollers or the pen carriage. There are several techniques that may be used to resolve this issue:

• The Offset option can specify a positive or negative offset in the X and Y direction. This allows the lower left corner of the plot to be translated to prevent clipping. 
• Plot to a larger size sheet of paper. The use of a larger sheet guarantees that the plottable region is large enough to encompass the entire plot. In this case, it is recommended that a sheet one size larger than the actual drawing size be used for the plot. For example, to accommodate an A size drawing you would plot to a B size sheet of paper. Pro/ENGINEER can be informed of the larger media by selecting B for the paper size when creating the plot file. This pick will not scale the plot file up to a B size image, it will only inform Pro/ENGINEER that a "B" size (11 inch x 17 inch) space is available to plot the image. 
• Create a new format. You may create a format that takes into account the hard clip limit of a specific plotter. By consulting the appropriate plotter's manual, you can determine the clip limit of the plotter in question. You can create an internal format border which is slightly smaller than the size of the paper to correspond with the plottable area. This method will allow you to plot a nearly B size drawing on a B size sheet and guarantee that none of the drawing items will be clipped. 

If you are not concerned about plot scale, the plot may be scaled down to better fit within the paper borders. A scale of 0.97 will usually fit the image within the plotter's plottable region.

To scale a plot:

• Select Configure from the Print dialog box then select the Model tab of the Printer Configuration dialog box and enter the desired scale in place of the default 1.0 value. 

Many pen plotters with large hard clip limits have a selection known as expand mode. Expand mode allows the pen carriage to extend beyond the boundaries normally allowed. Pro/ENGINEER does not support expand mode, and you should turn this setting off when plotting Pro/ENGINEER plot files. The use of expand mode with a Pro/ENGINEER plot file may cause the plot file to plot off center by an amount equal to the difference between the normal hard clip limit and the expanded hard clip limit. Therefore, if your plotters’ expand mode allows an extra 15 cm in the x and y direction, the resulting Pro/ENGINEER plot will be off center by 15 cm in the x and y direction.

Was this Knowledge Base Exclusive tip helpful? Let us know.