TITLE:            Posterama 2.5

DESCRIPTION:      Print large posters from Windows BMP files
                  Copyright (c) 1999 by Thomas A. Lundin.
                  All Rights Reserved.

RELEASE DATE:     10-28-1999

AUTHOR:           Thomas A. Lundin
                  16267 Hudson Avenue
                  Lakeville, MN 55044
                  tlundin@frontiernet.net

This program is released as shareware.  You are free to try the
program for thirty days.  If at the end of that time, you wish
to keep the program on your hard disk, please send $10 to the
author in care of the address above.  If you choose not to remit
the shareware fee, you are expected to remove the program from
your system.  In order to maximize your enjoyment of the
program, this shareware has no expiration date, no missing
features, no usage count limits and no nag screens.


ABSTRACT:

   Posterama allows you to economically print large posters from
   a Windows BMP graphic image, to any installed black-and-white
   or color ink jet or laser printer.  The posters are printed
   as a series of panels on separate sheets of paper, which you
   glue or tape together to form the large composite image.  The
   program can print posters to fit a specified number of panels
   across or down. The program will scale the original image to
   whatever size is required.  A grid feature allows you to see
   how many panels your finished poster will comprise.  You can
   adjust the number of panels and instantly see how the changes
   will affect your poster.  The printing function allows you to
   print panels individually or as a complete series.

   Posterama can produce posters for a variety of uses,
   including:

      Birthday posters
      Promotional announcements
      Garage sale signs
      Text banners
      Special event posters
      Holiday decorations
      Large map displays
      School or work presentation graphics

   Hints and tips for producing various types of posters are
   given in the directions below.


REVISION HISTORY:
    1.0-2.5             Private versions
    2.52    10-28-1999  First public release

CREDITS:

   Posterama incorporates the freeware Delphi VCL component
   TBigBitmapViewer by Grahame Marsh from Torry's Delphi Pages
   (www.torry.ru).

DISCLAIMER.

   This program and its associated documentation are provided AS
   IS, without any express or implied warranty.  The program is
   not warranted as to suitability or fitness for any particular
   purpose.  The author and/or distributor of this program shall
   not be held liable for any perceived or real damages
   emanating from the use or misuse of this program.  The user
   of this program understands that operation of this program is
   undertaken at the user's own risk.

INSTALLATION:

   Copy the file POSTER.EXE into any directory.  Posterama is a
   small, self-contained program which does not modify the
   registry or touch any other Windows System files.  To
   uninstall, simply erase the program.

OPERATION:

   LOAD IMAGE button.  Use this button to select a graphic image
   to load into the program.  At this time, the program will
   accept only uncompressed Windows BMP images.  Images in other
   formats such as TIFF or JPEG will have to be saved as BMP
   images first.  (Almost every graphic program on the face of
   the earth can save to BMP format.)  Depending on the size of
   your image, it may take some time to load and display the
   image.  If you resize the program's window, the image will
   adjust to fit the new window dimensions.  For large images,
   this may take some time to redraw.

   PRINTER SETUP button.  Use this button to select a target
   printer.  If you are using the grid display feature, you must
   select your target printer before enabing the grid, otherwise
   the grid display will not be accurate.

   PRINT IMAGE button.  Use this button to print your poster.
   There are a couple of options for printing.  You can choose
   to print the entire series of panels, or select one or more
   panels separately.  You can also preview the panels without
   printing them.  As each panel is printed, the portion of the
   original image that is being used is displayed on the screen.

   VIEW GRID OVERLAY checkbox.  Checking this box will overlay a
   red-line grid that shows you how your image will be divided
   up and printed, based on the settings you have entered in the
   "Number of Fixed Panels" and "Margin Overlap %" boxes.  If
   you select a new printer, or change the panel settings, the
   grid will be redrawn.  Each panel is defined by the area up
   to the outer boundary of the double bar.

   NUMBER OF FIXED PANELS boxes.  You can select a number of
   panels that you want the program to fit horizontally or
   vertically.  Whichever orientation you select, the program
   will make the poster print to exactly that many panels, and
   the opposite dimension will be variable.

   MARGIN OVERLAP % box.  An overlap margin is necessary to fit
   adjacent panels together correctly.  This is the percentage
   of each panel's image that will be duplicated on adjacent
   panels.  The default is 5%, but the overlap can be adjusted
   up or down to suit your needs.  The overlap margin is
   displayed on the grid overlay as a double bar.  The area
   between the double bar is the overlap.


HINTS AND TIPS

   USE LARGE BMP FILES IF YOU WANT TO PRINT LARGE POSTERS.  The
   larger your original BMP file, the sharper your final poster
   will print.  Posterama can accept images with thousands of
   pixels in each dimension.  Posterama does not enhance the
   resolution of images prior to printing, so if you try to
   print large posters from smaller BMP images (e.g., Windows
   wallpaper backgrounds), the printed result may be highly
   pixelated and low in resolution.

   PREVIEW A FEW PANELS WITHOUT PRINTING FIRST.  Sometimes,
   because of mathematical imprecisions during image scaling,
   your panels might contain a one-pixel wide artifact that
   appears as a thin strip of seemingly random pixels running
   down the right edge.  If it does appear, this artifact can be
   removed by adjusting the Margin Overlap % box to a smaller or
   larger value (by trial and error), or by choosing different
   panel dimensions or orientation.

   TILING TIPS.  Lay your printed panel sheets left to right,
   top to bottom.  Trim the LEFT and TOP edges of overlapping
   panels.  A straightedge and X-Acto knife will give you the
   most accurate results, but cutting freehand with a scissors
   will also work, since the overlap will allow for a certain
   amount of slop.  Use a glue stick (available wherever school
   supplies are sold) to apply adhesive along the trimmed edges
   of your panel, on the back.  The glue swath should be wide
   enough to cover the overlap.  Carefully align the panel with
   the previous one, and burnish the edges down. With practice,
   the trimming, gluing and tiling will move along rapidly, and
   you can complete one tile every minute or two.  Let the glue
   dry completely before hanging the poster up.

   CREATING TEXT BANNERS.  Use a paint program to create a new
   image that is proportionally short and wide.  Create a line
   of text on this blank image.  Use as large a point size as
   you can, for better resolution.  Save the image as a Windows
   BMP file and load it into Posterama.  Choose FIXED PANELS
   values of "1" and "Vertical" to print a banner 1 sheet tall
   by any number of sheets wide.

   CREATING GARAGE SALE SIGNS.  Use a paint program to create a
   new image in whatever proportion you want.  Create your text
   on this blank image and add clip art graphics if you wish.
   Save the image as a Windows BMP file and load it into
   Posterama.  Print it at whatever panel dimension you want.
   Mount the completed panels on a stiff cardboard backing.

   LARGE MAP DISPLAYS.  Use a large, high-resolution BMP file as
   your original image.  Smaller images (such as those that come
   from internet maps) will appear too pixelated to be readable
   when blown up.

   HOLIDAY DECORATIONS.  Use clip art in a fun way!  Create
   life-sized Santas, Easter Bunnies, or Halloween ghosts and
   hang them up around the house.

   DORM ROOM PINUPS.  Create cheap and easy dorm room posters of
   your favorite graphic files.  Scale the images to fit on the
   wall, or cover an entire door.