| Re: IDL generates PS file that prints slow [message #3302 is a reply to message #3298] |
Mon, 19 December 1994 08:51  |
ryba
Messages: 33
Registered: October 1992
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In article <1994Dec18.175308.15356@Princeton.EDU>, xu@bessel.Princeton.EDU (Guohong Xu) writes:
|> I am frustrated with IDL because it generates PostScript files that
|> prints out very slow. Are there anybody having the same experience?
|> x = randomu(s, 20000)
|> y = randomu(s, 20000)
|> PLOT, x, y, PSYM=1
|> This script will generate a PS file of about 200KB, but it will take
|> more than 30 minutes to print it out in a Sparc Printer. Normally,
|> the Sparc printer will take only 2 minutes to print out a file of 200 KB.
|>
|> Can any one tell me what could be the problem? Could it be that IDL
|> generates low effeciency PostScript files?
Actually, I'd say IDL generates fairly HIGH efficiency PS
code...you just plotted 20,000 little plusses. By high efficiency, I
mean I've seen plotting software PS drivers that would generate a 1MB
file for a similar plot. Either way, such a plot will take a while to
print, since vector graphics are a lot more complicated than simple
text files. Now, there is maybe one efficiency that could be
done...all these routines generate plot symbols by collections of
lines (if you look at the IDL driver code, you'll see what I mean).
It is conceivable to have PSYM first generate a PostScript symbol and
then place it in multiple locations. There's no guarantee that it
will be any faster on your typical PS printer (and especially no
guarantee for NEWSprint). I guess if you defined some kind of font
and downloaded it you could get it to work, but coding the driver
software would be non-trivial.
--
Dr. Marty Ryba | Generation X:
MIT Lincoln Laboratory | Too young to be cynical,
ryba@ll.mit.edu | too old to be optimistic.
Of course nothing I say here is official policy, and Laboratory affiliation is
for identification purposes only, blah, blah, blah....
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