Use the commands in the PRINT menu when you want to print a picture that you have drawn with PEP. With these commands, you can control the size and proportions of the printed image, and its position on the page. Only the open object can be printed; so, before you print, you may need to use the OBJECT/OPEN command <[7.1]> to display the object you want to print.

The PRINT/GO command prints the open object according to the parameters displayed in the PRINT menu. All previously requested printing is completed before the new print task is begun. The number of print jobs pending is shown in the PRINT/GO menu item. The print task makes its own copy of the open object, so that you can continue to edit while printing is in progress. The size of the print image is determined by a combination of factors: the native object size, the printer resolution, the magnification shown in the PRINT/STRETCHES command, and other parameters set in the PRINT menu as described below. If the print image would be too large to fit on one page, a new menu is displayed offering four options for printing such oversize images.

The PRINT/GO/SHRINK command prints at a smaller size than requested so that the entire image will fit on a single page. The orientation of the image and the ratio of its height and width are not altered. To print an object as large as possible on a single page, simply specify large values in the PRINT/STRETCHES command and then choose the SHRINK option when you print.

The PRINT/GO/MULTI-PAGE command will use as many pages as required to print at the requested size. Each page will be completely filled, ignoring margin requests. Pages are printed in the following order. First, the top row of pages is printed, beginning with the upper left corner of the image and proceeding to the right. Then, the second row is printed, then the third and so on.

The PRINT/GO/TRUNCATE command prints as much of the requested image as will fit on a single page, and ignores the parts of the image that will not fit. In effect, it prints the first page of a multi-page image, and then stops.

The PRINT/GO/CANCEL command kills the requested print of the oversized image, and returns to the main PRINT menu. Choose this option if you want to readjust the printer parameters before printing.

The PRINT/KILL command aborts all printing activity (active or pending). There is an equivalent single keystroke command: ALT-P <[14.3.12]>.

The PRINT/ASPECT command changes the printing aspect mode. There are four choices: SQUARE, EQUAL, SCREEN, and OFF. When SQUARE aspect is turned on, the Y stretch factor changes to produce square aspect in printed images. When EQUAL aspect is turned on, the Y stretch factor changes to be equal to the X stretch factor. When SCREEN aspect is turned on, the Y stretch factor changes to give you a printout with the same aspect ratio as the screen. Subsequently, in each case, if either stretch factor is changed, the other is adjusted to preserve the chosen aspect. If aspect is OFF, the stretch factors can be changed independently of each other.

The PRINT/DEVICE command displays a menu that depends on the printer driver that you are using (in other words, on the printer you specified when you ran the PEP installation utility). Some printers can print at more than one resolution, some support printing of multiple copies, and some have other parameters that you can control via this menu. Since these commands vary from printer to printer and are reasonably self-explanatory, they will not be described here. Information on the PRINT/DEVICE commands for Postscript printers can be found in the section on Postscript output <[16.10]>.

PRINT/CENTER is a multiple choice command governing the centering of the printed image on the page. The modes are: NO (no centering is performed), X (the image is centered horizontally on the page), Y (the image is centered vertically on the page), and XY (the image is centered both horizontally and vertically).

PRINT/FORM is a multiple choice command. The choices govern printer formfeeds. The choices are: NONE (no formfeeds are output), LAST (a formfeed is output after the image is printed), and FIRST (a formfeed is output before the image is printed). Note: certain printers always eject a page after each picture printed. For these printers, the PRINT/FORM setting has no effect.

Use the PRINT/ROTATION command to rotate the printed image. Press the command letter to display a menu with eight choices: 0, 90, 180, 270 (degrees clockwise), \, -, /, | (mirror images).

Use the PRINT/STRETCHES command to set the magnification applied to the picture during printing. This XY input command allows you to set either or both of the X and Y stretch factors. These numbers may be integers, decimals or fractions. The maximum stretch is 255. Note: if you use the PRINT/IMAGE command (described below) to request a particular output image size, then the current stretch factor values will be ignored during printing. If you subsequently execute the PRINT/STRETCHES command, then the PRINT/IMAGE mode will be automatically turned OFF, and the stretch factors will control the image size.

The open object can be printed larger or smaller by changing the PRINT/STRETCHES values as described above. You can also tell PEP directly how large you want the printed image to be. Using the PRINT/IMAGE command, you can explicitly set the desired printed image size. There are two modes: ON and OFF. If the mode is ON, the output image is forced to be a specified size. When the open object is printed, PEP will ignore the stretch factors displayed in the PRINT menu and calculate new ones. The new stretches are chosen so that the printed object will have the required size. If the mode is OFF, the output image size is determined implicitly. It is the product of the stretch factors set in the PRINT/STRETCHES command and the open object maximum coordinates. The PRINT/IMAGE command toggles the image mode ON and OFF. When you turn IMAGE ON, the command becomes an XY input command so that you can set the horizontal (X) and vertical (Y) image size that you want PEP to produce. Note: executing the PRINT/STRETCHES command automatically turns the image mode OFF.

The PRINT/MARGINS command is an XY input command. Use it to set the left (X) and/or top (Y) margins. If X centering is in force the left margin is ignored. If Y centering is in force the top margin is ignored.

The PRINT/PAGESIZE command is an XY input command. Use it to specify the printer page size. This information is used by PEP only if centering is in force.

If you do not want to print the entire open object, you can use the PRINT/WINDOW command to print the contents of a rectangular sub-area that you specify. There are two windowing modes: OFF and ON. Press the command letter to toggle between these modes. The window boundary is given by four coordinates in two sets of XY input lines under the command name in the menu. You can type in these numbers, using PRINT/WINDOW as an XY input command. To set the window graphically using the cursor, press the command letter to turn windowing ON. Then position the cross-hair cursor at one corner of the desired window and press RETURN. The cross-hair is replaced by a stretchable box cursor. Position the mobile corner of that cursor at the opposite corner of the desired window and press RETURN again. The area outlined by the box cursor becomes the print window.