Our Day Has Come


Printing in OS X

 

Epson 1520 solutions - it's Not Obsolete yet.

The solutions I worked out and posted in this forum are rock solid, I'm up running in both OS's. And finally having some fun working with PowerCADD 6. (I upgraded from PowerDraw 3 - 1989)

Hope this helps someone else postpone unnecessary expenses.

David Mousley - December 01, 2003

 
 

Printing with Epson Stylus Color 1520 in Mac OS X


A lot of users, including me, have had trouble getting answers to how to get PowerCADD 6 to print in OS 9 and OS X with the Epson 1520. Epson is no longer supporting the 1520 for either OS. Drivers called "Gimp-Print" are available from SourceForge. Getting the quality and performance accustomed to requires some tips not readily available, (See Printing with Epson Stylus Color 1520 in Mac OS 9.2.2 for PrintToPDF tips)

Solution for OS X . . .
Get a copy of Gimp-Print 4.2.5.
Get a copy of GhostScript v7.05.6 too.
(in case get a copy of Gimp-Print uninstaller v1.1)
You can get these from here.

Startup OS X with the 1520 printer turned on and connected.

Run Disk Utility in Utilities folder and select "Repair Permissions"
(Just in case, this should be routine after new system software installs)

Open the GhostScript disk image and run the installer.
Restart OS X
Open the Gimp-Print disk image and run the installer.
Restart OS X

Follow the preview doc's install instruction.

I initially had trouble establishing printing management services, similar to Epson Print Monitor. It appears that while in the Printer Setup double clicking the new printer item activates it. Try creating a desktop printer or look for "Print Center" in the Utilities folder. If either are missing then this problem exists. If this tip is bogus and you can't get it established email me.

I would do "Repair Permissions" again just to be sure all is well before trying to print.

Open a PCD drawing.

How to Print . . .
Getting printing speed and quality you are accustomed to requires two settings. For line weights, set lines to 25 to 50% smaller sizes. For hairline, i.e. .25 points, create a custom size set at .0625 points. For the best speed and quality for line drawings (plans), set "Printer Features" in the Print Dialog as follows . . .
Media : Plain Paper
Resolution : 360 DPI
(360 DPI Microweave is lot slower)
Dithering : Very Fast

If you have any Grayscales in the drawings set ColorSync to Gray Tone.

Help . . .
If you need help getting the drivers working, email me at artisan@backland.net. I may be able to Script changing lines to smaller widths, but that's a PowerCADD 6 expolaration for another day.

The Gimp-Print drivers are still being improved, so check for updates and read if they are applicable to the 1520 before installing.

The Espon 1520 isn't obsolete yet.

 

 

Printing with Epson Stylus Color 1520 in Mac OS 9.2.2


A lot of users, including me, have had trouble getting answers to how to get PowerCADD 6 to print in OS 9 and OS X with the Epson 1520. In OS 9 PCD6 crashes on quitting, even though it prints OK. (See Printing with Epson Stylus Color 1520 in Mac OS X for Gimp-Print tips)

Solution for OS 9.2.2 . . .
Get a copy of PrintToPDF v2.4.4 from : James W. Walker
Copy the PrintToPDF extension to the Extensions folder.
Restart your Mac.

Open a PCD drawing.
(Make a list of the page sizes you use, i.e. Tabloid : 16.31" x 10.75")

Open Chooser and select PrintToPDF.
Open Page Setup.
Setup custom page sizes in Preferences > Sizes.
Set DPI to 600 in Preferences > Misc.
If you use a Font that is not True Type or PostScript select it in Fonts.
(if not sure do a test print, if the font is different set it)
Setup a location to save files, in Preferences > Output.

In PCD > Drawing Setup, Set DPI to 600 in Print pane.

IMPORTANT
Matching DPI in PrintToPDF and PowerCADD 6 are essential. If DPI it's not the same PCD will crash on quitting. You also have to set the DPI to 600 every time you open a document because it's not saved with them. (Would be nice if engsw would change this). 600 DPI will output the quality you are used too.

How to Print . . .
(You will need a copy of Adobe Acrobat to print)
PrintToPDF saves PDF files instead of printing. A tabloid size file is less than 100k. To print to the Epson 1520 open a file (in Adobe Acrobat). Set Chooser to SC1520. Set Page Setup and Print. In the Epson Print Dialog select 360 DPI and color, even if you always use B&W. The color setting eliminates speckling in the background of the print, a problem also reported by users printing PDF's from OS X and using other printers (Acrobat bug).

Batch Print . . .
Once you have set one you can batch print the rest by selecting all the file icons and selecting Print while in the Finder (or press Command P).

Help . . .
If you need help or would like a more automated print procedure email me at artisan@backland.net. I have an AppleScript App that will batch print a whole folder of files. It reminds you to reset the chooser and page setup. You can also do multiple collated print jobs and reprint the job any time later (if you archive the PDF's). The AppleScript is free to PCD6 users, it will only run if you have PowerCADD 6, the Epson 1520 Drivers and Adobe Acrobat installed.

The Espon 1520 isn't obsolete yet.