printing to a bmp file with Canon printer??

On Mon, 11 Aug 2003 14:15:11 GMT, Jacob Jackson wrote:

=Guys,
=
=Thanks for the reply. Let me try to clarify. You know how Canon (and
=probably other software too) allows you to print to a .prn file instead of
=printing out a page?

....snip...

The *.prn file is just the printer data. The driver actually generates this
file every time you print, and the spooler captures it, and controls the
feeding of the data to the printer. Saving the *.prn file is just one of the
options, is all. Why it's called "rpint to file", I don'rt know - probably
harks back to the days of mainframes. A *.prn has some uses, I suppose, such
as sharing the file instead of the printed page. But since all modern word
and image processor will save the file with whatever priner options you set
before printing it, it's hardly worth the trouble.

So what you are trying to do? Generate a *.bmp file of the page? (I don't
really see why., but never mind.) Now that's tricky, to put it mildly, since
a *.bmp file is just the bytes that make up your image on the screen. ("bmp"
= "bitmap"; 8 bits = 1 byte). To make the conversion, the software would have
to capture the _screen_ image of the page you want to print _before_ it's
converted to a *.prn file. The *.prn file is generated from the *.doc file
(or whatever) that is being created when you use the word processor. (The
wordprocessor actually converts that document data to a form that the video
display can use, which is the reason it sometimes a couple blinks of an eye
to display inserted text at the beginning of a long document.)

You say " I found an application that will print to bmp, however since it
doesn't use the Canon printer driver file and its own file instead, I can no
longer make the same pre-printing adjustments like I do in the Canon
software." What is this application? "Printing to *.bmp" doesn't sound right
to me - it doesn't make sense to "print" to an image file. Are you sure it's
not just _saving_ a *.bmp file?

You also say "The only solution for me seems a direct print to bmp, and still
allowing me to use features of the Canon pre-printing software." I'm not sure
what you mean by "pre-printing software." Is it the Print Setup that you can
change whenever you print a page? Also, what features of the Canon software
do you want? Why?

It seems to me that the solution to your problem is plain image-processing
software, as has already been suggested. You can print directly from this
software, and what's more, you can change all the options from within the
software, either by formatting the page before you click on Print, or by
using Print Sertup or Page Setup (usually under Options in the Pirnt window)
after you have clicked on Print.

IOW, tell us why you want to "print to *.bmp" and we may be able to offer you
an alternative solution (and probably one that will do more than you imagine
possible.)

HTH

--
Wolf Kirchmeir
If you didn't want to go to Chicago, why did you get on the train?
(Garrison Keillor)
just one w and plain ca for correct e-mail address

HTH,

The print to bmp utility I was using is the Alphatronics Bitmap Driver at
http://www.alphatronics.com
After installed and I enable the driver, my printer will now print to a bmp
file. However, the approach I was trying is no longer necessary. I
downloaded demos of Paint Shop Pro and Photoshop today and with either one
of the programs, I should be able to do what I want. I appreciate you guys
causing me to rethink my initial intentions and coming up with a better
solution.

JJ

"Wolf Kirchmeir" wrote in message
mpatico.ca...
On Mon, 11 Aug 2003 14:15:11 GMT, Jacob Jackson wrote:

=Guys,
=
=Thanks for the reply. Let me try to clarify. You know how Canon (and
=probably other software too) allows you to print to a .prn file instead
of
=printing out a page?

...snip...

The *.prn file is just the printer data. The driver actually generates
this
file every time you print, and the spooler captures it, and controls the
feeding of the data to the printer. Saving the *.prn file is just one of
the
options, is all. Why it's called "rpint to file", I don'rt know - probably
harks back to the days of mainframes. A *.prn has some uses, I suppose,
such
as sharing the file instead of the printed page. But since all modern word
and image processor will save the file with whatever priner options you
set
before printing it, it's hardly worth the trouble.

So what you are trying to do? Generate a *.bmp file of the page? (I don't
really see why., but never mind.) Now that's tricky, to put it mildly,
since
a *.bmp file is just the bytes that make up your image on the screen.
("bmp"
= "bitmap"; 8 bits = 1 byte). To make the conversion, the software would
have
to capture the _screen_ image of the page you want to print _before_ it's
converted to a *.prn file. The *.prn file is generated from the *.doc file
(or whatever) that is being created when you use the word processor. (The
wordprocessor actually converts that document data to a form that the
video
display can use, which is the reason it sometimes a couple blinks of an
eye
to display inserted text at the beginning of a long document.)

You say " I found an application that will print to bmp, however since it
doesn't use the Canon printer driver file and its own file instead, I can
no
longer make the same pre-printing adjustments like I do in the Canon
software." What is this application? "Printing to *.bmp" doesn't sound
right
to me - it doesn't make sense to "print" to an image file. Are you sure
it's
not just _saving_ a *.bmp file?

You also say "The only solution for me seems a direct print to bmp, and
still
allowing me to use features of the Canon pre-printing software." I'm not
sure
what you mean by "pre-printing software." Is it the Print Setup that you
can
change whenever you print a page? Also, what features of the Canon
software
do you want? Why?

It seems to me that the solution to your problem is plain image-processing
software, as has already been suggested. You can print directly from this
software, and what's more, you can change all the options from within the
software, either by formatting the page before you click on Print, or by
using Print Sertup or Page Setup (usually under Options in the Pirnt
window)
after you have clicked on Print.

IOW, tell us why you want to "print to *.bmp" and we may be able to offer
you
an alternative solution (and probably one that will do more than you
imagine
possible.)

HTH

--
Wolf Kirchmeir
If you didn't want to go to Chicago, why did you get on the train?
(Garrison Keillor)
just one w and plain ca for correct e-mail address