front-panel image options
printing images in grayscale
print speeds and print mode selection
print mode settings
changing the print mode
front-panel image options
these next few pages deals with the ways you can control the overall appearance of your prints from the front-panel in terms of:
· pen width
· pen color
· treatment of overlapping lines
· overall print quality and resolution.
some front-panel selections affect the next file or job you send from your computer, but not pages already in the printer's queue. if this is the case, it is stated in the relevant part of this section.
some of the controls are available using the front-panel menus (for example) pen width, pen color, overlapping lines). print mode options are controlled from the frontpanel.
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unless you have specifically indicated in your software that the printer"s front-panel settings are to be used, (for example, printer"s default setting in a macintosh print options window), the software settings for a postscript file override the printer front-panel settings described in this section.
why use the front-panel?
by default, the printer looks to your software to provide information on all the above attributes. however, your driver or application may not provide these controls or you may want to experiment with various effects, or try a temporary change without the need to change your images or your driver settings.
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some of these settings do not affect the output generated when printing from most of the applications under windows when using a hp-gl/2 driver.
pen widths and colors in the internal palettes
the "pens" discussed throughout this section are the conceptual pens in a software palette, rather than the printer"s physical printheads.
hp designjet 5000ps
these settings have no effect on postscript files.
the printer has three pen palettes:
· factory
· palette a
· palette b.
the factory palette cannot be changed. you can, however, change the line width and color settings for each pen in the remaining two palettes (palette a and palette b). initially, all three palettes are identical. each palette has 16 pens which can include pens of different widths and any combination of the printer"s predefined 256 colors.
to select a palette
to select a palette through the front-panel menu, go to the define palette selection under hp-gl/2 settings and choose the palette you want.
the following table describes the palette choices.
palette comments
software the printer looks to your
software for pen settings and
ignores all three internal palettes.
palette a the printer assigns the attributes
defined in palette a to the pens
defined in your software as 0
through 15.
palette b the printer assigns the attributes
defined in palette b to the pens
defined in your software as 0
through 15.
factory the printer assigns the attributes
defined in the factory palette to
the pens defined in your software
as 0 through 15.
viewing current configuration settings
1. make sure either a roll or a sheet of paper is loaded.
2. print the current configuration print, by pressing the ↑ and ↓ keys simultaneously.
3. notice on the current configuration print that the 16 pens are numbered 0 through 15 and the 256 colors are numbered 0 through 255. these colors are specified in the palette print, as explained in the following sections.
viewing the colors available for a palette
go to the /demos/palette.
in the palette print, there are 256 squares, numbered 0 through 255, each showing one of the colors available for selection in the printer's internal palettes. the example below is color 7 (cyan), which is assigned to pen 7 in the factory's default palette.
note that rgb and cmyk - plus white - are assigned by default to pens 0 through 7, and that eight grayscales are included in the 256 colors.
the 256 colors shown in the palette print are not the only colors you can print with your printer! using your software, you can create many more colors and, as long as you are using the correct driver, the printer will reproduce these colors by an appropriate mix of inks from it"s cmyk ink cartridges. the palette print merely shows the 256 colors available for use in the printer"s internal palettes, should you choose to use them.
change the palette settings
you cannot change the factory palette, but you can define palettes a and b to be whatever you choose.
the following steps show how to define palette a:
1. in the front-panel menu, go to the define palette selection and choose palette a.
2. scroll to the pen number you want to change and press enter.
3. the current width assigned to this pen is displayed, for example width=0.35mm. if you want to change it:
a. press enter.
b. scroll to the width you want
c. then press enter again.
d. press back to get to the previous menu: color/ width
otherwise, scroll to color.
4. the current color assigned to the pen is displayed, for example color=110. if you want to change it:
a. press enter.
b. scroll to the color you want.
c. then press enter again.
d. press back to get to the previous menu
5. when both width and color are correct, press back.
6. scroll to the next pen number you want to change, press enter and then repeat steps 3 through 5 again.
7. when all pen definitions are correct, press top to exit the menus.
the palette you have just defined will take effect only when you select it to be the current palette, as explained on to select a palette.
changing the treatment of overlapping lines (merge)
the merge setting controls the overlapping lines in an image. there are two settings, off and on. the following illustration shows the effect of each setting.
you can set the merge setting from your software in some applications. settings in your software override the front-panel settings.
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merge settings have no effect on postscript files.
printing images in grayscale
there are times when you may want to print a color image in grayscale because it is faster. examples of this are:
· you want a draft where color is not important, for example to check that the image is not going to be clipped.
· you want a version for photocopying in black and white.
grayscale printing renders colors as grayscales rather than all colors as black. if you want all colors to be printed as black, then you should set all your colors to black in your software. for example, if supported in your software, use a pen number that is 100% black.
alternatively, you could make one of the printer's internal palettes (a or b) all black, and then select this as the current palette (see pen widths and colors in the internal palettes in this section for an explanation of palettes).
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the palette settings do not affect postscript files.
you cannot change the color/grayscale setting for pages already in the printer's queue.
hp-gl/2 drivers may override this setting.
print speeds and print mode selection
the print times shown below are for the hp designjet 5000ps 60 inch/1.57m printer.
the max. speed that can be attained on glossy media and some other types of media could be determined by the amount of drying time required.
from time to time new media types will become available and the printer will not have their media profiles. you must obtain the profiles and add them to the printer"s software using the system maintenance program. refer to media profile downloading.
heavyweight coated paper
in the front-panel there are two types of heavyweight coated paper.
· heavyweight coated paper economy is optimized for efficiency in terms of speed and ink usage.
· heavyweight coated paper is optimized for the best image quality.
print mode settings
you can set the overall print quality from the frontpanel. in general:
· choose max. speed for maximum productivity. ideal for checking prints, when image quality is not the most important.
· choose productivity to get a good combination of print quality and productivity.
· choose max. quality to get the highest possible image quality with glossy media.
you can print images in different settings to see which gives the best combination of throughput and quality for your application.
the resolution at which your print will be printed is summarized in the table below.
printing in max. quality mode with enhanced resolution setting to on is available with glossy media only.
changing the print mode
use the front-panel print mode key to toggle between the three print quality settings.
any software driver will override the front-panel setting (but it will not change the led). use your driver for setting the print quality of images sent from your computer. use the front-panel to set the print quality for internal prints.
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if your software raster imaging processor (rip) system has print quality settings, select your print mode from the rip. it will override the front-panel settings.
see print speeds and print mode selection for more information about appropriate combinations of paper type and print modes.
you cannot change the print mode setting for pages being received or already in the printer's internal queue.
