----- Original Message ----- > From: Henner Zeller <h.zel...@acm.org> > To: KiCad Developers <kicad-developers@lists.launchpad.net> > Cc: > Sent: Thursday, February 13, 2014 6:10 PM > Subject: [Kicad-developers] Documentation footprint postscript/pdfs in > kicad-library are HUGE bitmap images. > > Hi, > The documentation files in > https://github.com/KiCad/kicad-library/tree/master/modules/footprints_doc > > Are very huge. In fact, this directory alone contributes to 502M out > of 580M of the whole kicad-library. Yes, almost 90% of the data > downloaded for the kicad-library is pixelated PostScript files. Which > means it takes forever to download on a slow link. > > They seem to be generated from bitmaps, which makes them so huge (and > pretty low quality on print; even on a low-resolution screen they are > already pixellated). Since they are generated from the PCB printouts > of KiCad, this indicates that at the time they were generated, the
> version of printing was broken - shouldn't it always generate vector > graphics ? > Unfortunately, no. MSWin has never implemented PostScript in a sensible way. They use their existing printer DC structure to create a bitmap (up to 1200dpi) and wrap that in PostScript. > Since I am right now working my way through the code of KiCad on other > parts, I have not entered the printing realm yet - what is the > commandline way to generate a postscript file from a *.sch or *.brd > file ? That way, these things can be automated in a Makefile. > Does KiCad generate/export PostScript directly without going through > some generic wxWidgets way of printing ? If not, I could have a stab > at it (I usually write PostScript by hand for fun). > Use the 'plot' function rather than 'print' - it will generate a PostScript file. I think the PostScript file can be made neater, but there is nothing technically wrong with it. > If this would be vector graphics, the output would be 1/100 the size > and extremely high quality. Compare the original > pcbnew > library-repos/kicad-library/modules/TO-92_Housings_06Jun2013_Part3.kicad_pcb > with the generated PostScript result: > okular > library-repos/kicad-library/modules/footprints_doc/TO-92_Housings_06Jun2013_Part3.ps > The postscript file is a 4.6MB and a pixelmess that is not worth printing. > > I'd like to write a Makefile that generates new, higher quality > postscripts, easy-updatable. What would be a commandline-call to > pcbnew to do that ? > > (I just tried printing, and it didn't work on my machine; but I > remember to have seen on the list that I need to install some gtk tool > to make it work). > > -h _______________________________________________ Mailing list: https://launchpad.net/~kicad-developers Post to : kicad-developers@lists.launchpad.net Unsubscribe : https://launchpad.net/~kicad-developers More help : https://help.launchpad.net/ListHelp
