| PostScript output from iTools [message #36980] |
Mon, 10 November 2003 16:52  |
Ralph.Gailis
Messages: 2
Registered: November 2003
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Junior Member |
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Has anyone tried to produce PostScript output from iTools (in particular iPlot)?
The only way I can find is to select File->Print from the menu, and then check the
box "Print to File". This doesn't seem to produce the same quality as PostScript
generated from direct graphics using the PS device. Fonts, symbols and lines
appear somewhat blurry, much the same way as exporting a plot figure to an image
file format such as bitmap, jpeg etc.
If PostScript is not the answer, is there some other way of creating publication
quality figures (such as for a journal article) using iPlot? Exporting to some
image file format (which appears to be the only option at present) just doesn't
give acceptable results.
Are there any plans to give PostScript support to iTools, such as is currently
available for direct graphics, in a future release?
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| Re: PostScript output from iTools [message #37024 is a reply to message #36980] |
Thu, 20 November 2003 15:33  |
Ralph.Gailis
Messages: 2
Registered: November 2003
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Junior Member |
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David Fanning <david@dfanning.com> wrote in message news:<MPG.1a22a9b62448b6fc98973f@news.frii.com>...
> John Mariska writes:
>
>> I was once very excited about iTools, especially after RSI spent
>> a morning giving us a demo here at NRL. In my view, it would at
>> last provide a way to prepare figures for publication without
>> going through all the usual agony of placing labels and text at
>> various places on the figure. Thus it was a major disappointment
>> to discover that iTools are basically useless for producing
>> figures for publication. Virtually all publishers require that
>> figures be submitted as encapsulated postscript. (Color figures
>> usually need to by CMYK postscript files--another place RSI has
>> not helped much, though I hear they are working on it.)
>
> I've heard from my usual anonymous sources this morning
> that RSI is well aware of these problems and that the
> calvary is on the way. Tell your boss you want to "think
> deeply" about the problem you are working on and don't
> want to publish until you are sure you won't embarrass
> him. He'll appreciate the extra time it takes. :-)
>
> Cheers,
>
> David
Oh well, seeing the wisdom out there on PostScript from iTools,
I guess that I will just forget about using iTools for now - it
doesn't seem much use to me. I like IDL Direct Graphics for being
able to write automated programs to produce LOTS of figures
automatically when crunching through big datasets, but when it
comes to producing some final figures for publication which
require a lot of tweaking, it can be a hassle to have to spend
the time writing a program for each one (or using the command line
in a slow and iterative process). I thought that iTools might
be the answer, but no...
Cheers,
Ralph.
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| Re: PostScript output from iTools [message #37153 is a reply to message #36980] |
Mon, 17 November 2003 08:48 |
David Fanning
Messages: 11724
Registered: August 2001
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Senior Member |
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John Mariska writes:
> I was once very excited about iTools, especially after RSI spent
> a morning giving us a demo here at NRL. In my view, it would at
> last provide a way to prepare figures for publication without
> going through all the usual agony of placing labels and text at
> various places on the figure. Thus it was a major disappointment
> to discover that iTools are basically useless for producing
> figures for publication. Virtually all publishers require that
> figures be submitted as encapsulated postscript. (Color figures
> usually need to by CMYK postscript files--another place RSI has
> not helped much, though I hear they are working on it.)
I've heard from my usual anonymous sources this morning
that RSI is well aware of these problems and that the
calvary is on the way. Tell your boss you want to "think
deeply" about the problem you are working on and don't
want to publish until you are sure you won't embarrass
him. He'll appreciate the extra time it takes. :-)
Cheers,
David
--
David W. Fanning, Ph.D.
Fanning Software Consulting, Inc.
Phone: 970-221-0438, E-mail: david@dfanning.com
Coyote's Guide to IDL Programming: http://www.dfanning.com/
Toll-Free IDL Book Orders: 1-888-461-0155
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| Re: PostScript output from iTools [message #37156 is a reply to message #36980] |
Mon, 17 November 2003 06:31 |
John Mariska
Messages: 4
Registered: November 2003
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Junior Member |
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Mark Hadfield <m.hadfield@niwa.co.nz> writes:
> David Fanning wrote:
>> Ralph Gailis writes:
>>
>>> Has anyone tried to produce PostScript output from iTools (in particular iPlot)?
> ...
>> As I understand it, object graphics output to PostScript
>> can only be accomplished currently by sending an "image"
>> to PostScript.
>
> Not so. Object graphics output to Postscript can be done in
> raster or vector form, depending on the setting of the VECTOR
> keyword.
>
> However to the best of my knowledge, vector Postscript output is
> not available from iTools. There are probably two reasons for
> this:
>
> * Nobody got around to it
> * Vector renditions of object graphics have various peculiarities
> and limitations, as described in the documentation.
>
> --
> Mark Hadfield "Ka puwaha te tai nei, Hoea tatou"
> m.hadfield@niwa.co.nz
> National Institute for Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA)
I was once very excited about iTools, especially after RSI spent
a morning giving us a demo here at NRL. In my view, it would at
last provide a way to prepare figures for publication without
going through all the usual agony of placing labels and text at
various places on the figure. Thus it was a major disappointment
to discover that iTools are basically useless for producing
figures for publication. Virtually all publishers require that
figures be submitted as encapsulated postscript. (Color figures
usually need to by CMYK postscript files--another place RSI has
not helped much, though I hear they are working on it.)
John Mariska
Naval Research Laboratory
mariska@nrl.navy.mil
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| Re: PostScript output from iTools [message #37166 is a reply to message #36980] |
Sun, 16 November 2003 17:54 |
David Fanning
Messages: 11724
Registered: August 2001
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Senior Member |
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Mark Hadfield writes:
> Not so. Object graphics output to Postscript can be done in raster or
> vector form, depending on the setting of the VECTOR keyword.
>
> However to the best of my knowledge, vector Postscript output is not
> available from iTools. There are probably two reasons for this:
>
> * Nobody got around to it
> * Vector renditions of object graphics have various peculiarities
> and limitations, as described in the documentation.
I realize the VECTOR keyword is available for
the CLIPBOARD object, but I think this is
a hacked together vector approximation rather
than a true vector engine, in the sense that
IDL writes true vector output in direct graphics
PostScript. I think they would have "gotten around
to it" if it had been any good. I suspect they
are waiting to do it right before they talk about
it.
For what it's worth, I always hear "yes, yes, yes"
whenever I bring it up with them. :-)
Cheers,
David
--
David W. Fanning, Ph.D.
Fanning Software Consulting, Inc.
Phone: 970-221-0438, E-mail: david@dfanning.com
Coyote's Guide to IDL Programming: http://www.dfanning.com/
Toll-Free IDL Book Orders: 1-888-461-0155
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| Re: PostScript output from iTools [message #37167 is a reply to message #36980] |
Sun, 16 November 2003 17:38 |
Mark Hadfield
Messages: 783
Registered: May 1995
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Senior Member |
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David Fanning wrote:
> Ralph Gailis writes:
>
>
>> Has anyone tried to produce PostScript output from iTools (in particular iPlot)?
...
>
> As I understand it, object graphics output to PostScript
> can only be accomplished currently by sending an "image"
> to PostScript.
Not so. Object graphics output to Postscript can be done in raster or
vector form, depending on the setting of the VECTOR keyword.
However to the best of my knowledge, vector Postscript output is not
available from iTools. There are probably two reasons for this:
* Nobody got around to it
* Vector renditions of object graphics have various peculiarities
and limitations, as described in the documentation.
--
Mark Hadfield "Ka puwaha te tai nei, Hoea tatou"
m.hadfield@niwa.co.nz
National Institute for Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA)
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| Re: PostScript output from iTools [message #37168 is a reply to message #36980] |
Sun, 16 November 2003 16:48 |
David Fanning
Messages: 11724
Registered: August 2001
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Senior Member |
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Ralph Gailis writes:
> Has anyone tried to produce PostScript output from iTools (in particular iPlot)?
> The only way I can find is to select File->Print from the menu, and then check the
> box "Print to File". This doesn't seem to produce the same quality as PostScript
> generated from direct graphics using the PS device. Fonts, symbols and lines
> appear somewhat blurry, much the same way as exporting a plot figure to an image
> file format such as bitmap, jpeg etc.
As I understand it, object graphics output to PostScript
can only be accomplished currently by sending an "image"
to PostScript.
> If PostScript is not the answer, is there some other way of creating publication
> quality figures (such as for a journal article) using iPlot? Exporting to some
> image file format (which appears to be the only option at present) just doesn't
> give acceptable results.
Oh, well. Back to MPI_PLOT, I guess. :-)
http://www.dfanning.com/programs/mpi_plot.zip
> Are there any plans to give PostScript support to iTools, such as is currently
> available for direct graphics, in a future release?
If RSI has been paying attention (I'm sure they have
been), then they are well aware that a vector
engine for object graphics PostScript output
would be a GOOD IDEA. :-)
Cheers,
David
--
David W. Fanning, Ph.D.
Fanning Software Consulting, Inc.
Phone: 970-221-0438, E-mail: david@dfanning.com
Coyote's Guide to IDL Programming: http://www.dfanning.com/
Toll-Free IDL Book Orders: 1-888-461-0155
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