On 13 February 2014 13:11, Cirilo Bernardo <cirilo_berna...@yahoo.com> wrote: > ----- 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.
I am so glad that I never had to use Windows in my life :) > >> 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. Thanks. Yeah, I discovered the plot feature and that is indeed much nicer. I think we should just base the printing on that (which would be the natural thing to do on Unix or OS X, not sure about Windows though). > >> 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 _______________________________________________ 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
