* SCCSID = "@(#)penus.txt	13.190/08/10"
Pen Characteristics


All that the driver needs to know about pens is covered in this
section.


The plotter keeps its pens in carousels.
The driver allows you to have up to 10 carousels for each plotter.
You may specify the pen characteristics for each pen in each carousel.
Thus,  you may have a carousel with paper pens,  another with transparency
pens, etc.  You can then change the carousel when you change the plotting
medium.  Note that the plotter does not know what color or type of pen
is actually installed.  You must do that,  through these menus.


When plotting is occurring,  the driver will prompt you to change
carousels,  as and when it wants to use a pen in another carousel.
So, if you have more colors than there are stalls in the carousel,
you may use 2 (or more) carousels,  and the driver will ask you to
change them when it wants a pen from another carousel.
Note that if this is likely
to happen,  you will be prompted less often if you also use Colorsorting.


Pens:


This menu is how you tell the driver the color and type of pen that
you have installed.  The number next to the check box corresponds to
the stall number in the carousel.  Make sure that the pen color in
that stall is the same as shown in this section.


To gain access to the pen Options menu, you must select one or more
pens to be modified.  This can be accomplished by either clicking
in the check box next to the pen, or if you wish to modify most or
all pens, press the Select All / Select None button.  Thereafter you
may select additional menu items to specify the full characteristics of the
pen number you have selected.  Also,  selecting one or more pens
causes the PenColor, Type and Options menu items to appear and to be
selectable.


Carousels:


This menu allows you to specify both the Current and Active carousel.
The Current carousel is the one displayed in the Pens section.
The Active carousel is the one presently installed in the plotter.
This information can also be set using the Pens section of the
main dialog.


PenColor:


Select the color of the pen installed in the (previously selected)
carousel stall.  If the stall is empty,  select None.


Type:


Lists the available pen types.  The type information is usually
specified on the top of the pen (when installed in a carousel),
and commonly consists of a letter and a number (decimal point may
not be present).  The letter indicates the type of medium the pen
should be used on (e.g. P for paper),  and the number part is the
pen thickness (in 0.1mm units).  Refillable pens are those containing
only the number part (e.g. 0.70 indicates the refillable pen with
a 0.7mm line thickness).


Options:


This section lets you specify how you want the pens used.  You
may select the Plot Speed, Force, Acceleration and Priority.
Each of these is detailed below.


Pen Force:

Determines how hard the pen is applied to the plotting
medium.  The more force,  the more ink that is supplied,  and the
shorter will be the life of the pen.  Reducing the force has the
reverse effects.  Pen force is measured in grams,
and may be set by selecting pen force from the Options menu, then
choosing the desired setting using the dialog box arrow buttons.


Pen Speed:

This controls the speed at which the plotter moves the pen when drawing.
Increasing the speed will reduce the plot time,  but will also
reduce the quality of the lines drawn.  Pen Speed is expressed
in centimeters per second.  To change the setting, select
Pen Speed from the Options menu, and set the desired value using the
arrow buttons in the dialog box displayed.


Pen Acceleration:

Controls how quickly the pen reaches its normal speed.  With heavy
media,  it may be desirable to reduce the acceleration in order to
improve the line quality,  especially with thick lines.
Pen acceleration is measured in g's (32 feet (or 9.8 meters)
per second per second).  To change the pen acceleration
select the appropriate item from the options menu, and obtain the
desired value using the dialog box arrow buttons.


Pen Priority:

Pens may be assigned priority usage for line drawing, text drawing,
area fills or none.  To change from the default settings, select
Pen Priority from the Options menu, then press the desired radio
button to indicate the usage priority for the pens shown.
For example,  if you have two red pens, one thicker than the other,
you could specify that you want the thick red pen used for area fills.
This will speed up the plot,  since fewer lines need to be drawn
to fill in the area.
