Plug-in Manual

Heidelberg Primesetter

Version 6.4.0.0
March, 2005
Xitron Part Number Doc-1006 04/05
Overview
Xitron's Navigator PostScript RIP and Raster Blaster TIFF Catcher rely on software modules called plug-
ins to communicate with imagesetters, platesetters, and proofers. These plug-ins are written and compiled
to a format known as Dynamic Link Libraries, or DLLs. They act as device drivers for the software and
control most actions of the output devices. Some of these actions include checking device status, device
setup, and advancing and cutting material. In addition, the plug-in relays all the physical characteristics of
an engine such as supported resolutions and imageable area.

During the launch sequence, both Navigator and Raster Blaster scan a directory called "devices" for plug-
in files. The software loads each plug-in it finds, and then queries them for a description of the
capabilities of the supported devices. In this manner the plug-in configures the RIP to output a bitmap to
these devices.

Each plug-in controls a particular family of recorders and is able to understand most messages and errors
communicated by the output device. Plug-ins for use with Windows-based platforms consist of three
software modules. The first module is the core plug-in written specifically for a particular device. This
DLL is 32-bit code and runs under Windows NT, Windows 2000 Server, Windows 2000 Professional,
Windows 2003 Server and Windows XP. The second module is a kernel mode device driver. This module
communicates with the Xitron interface boards and moves the bitmap data from the PC to the output
device's interface. The third module is a 'helper' DLL that translates calls from the plug-in to the Windows
device driver.

When a page is sent to an output device for imaging, the Xitron software loads the correct plug-in and
begins a series of steps prior to output. The plug-in first initializes the engine and checks that it is ready.
After receiving the proper signal, the plug-in will begin reading bitmap data from the platform's hard
drive into a "printer buffer." When the printer buffer is full, the plug-in starts communicating the data to
the output device. As the output device consumes the data, the plug-in relays this information to the
software, which then refills the buffer. This continues until all of the data has been communicated to the
output device. The plug-in tells the software the job is complete and waits for an indicator that the
recorder has finished. This process is repeated for each page being output.

Raster Blaster
Plug-ins used by Xitron's Raster Blaster have the same functionality as those for the Navigator RIP and
the same options are available for configuration. Therefore, unless otherwise specified, the information in
this manual will apply to both products. See the Raster Blaster Manual for specific configuration
information.

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About the Primesetter

This manual differs in scope when compared to other plug-in manuals provided by Xitron. The
Primesetter operates quite differently from most other imagesetters. Consequently, this manual will cover
more information regarding the Primesetter itself. See the Speedway Manual for specific Plug-in features.

Machine Description

Primesetter 74

The Heidelberg Primesetter is available in two formats: the Primesetter 74 and the Primesetter 102. The
difference between the two is the maximum media width, corresponding to roughly (but not exactly) 74
and 102 centimeters. They are internal drum recorders capable of imaging resolutions between 1200 and
3386 dots per inch and are configurable with a take-up cassette or an online processor, although units with
take-up are rare. Primesetters do not have control panels like Quasar and Herkules recorders. Instead, they
have a single switch and light for operator interaction at the recorder.

Interfacing with the Primesetter

Since the Primesetter has no control panel, users operate the recorder through an application called
ConPrime. Communicating via a serial RS-232 link with the recorder, ConPrime will run under Windows
NT or 2000, using one of the PC’s available COM ports to communicate with the recorder. The interface
cable required is usually supplied with the recorder. Normally, a Heidelberg-supplied RIP running on a
PC should be used to run the ConPrime application. However, Xitron PC platforms can host the
ConPrime application.

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If it is necessary to install ConPrime, use the defaults for most setup options. When asked to “Select
Interface,” use the Serial Port option instead of LVDS (which Xitron does not support) and choose the
COM port for which the cable is attached. Not reboot is necessary after installation.

The RS-232 communications link used by ConPrime is a serial cable supplied by Heidelberg - Part No.
2150-8210000. This cable is has a male connector on the recorder end and female on the ConPrime PC
end. The recorder end of the cable is attached to the port labeled “X17” in the cable connection bay
shown in Figure 2. The PC end of the cable is attached to an available serial COM port on the Rip or
Raster Blaster PC.

Figure 2: Primesetter cable connection bay (left end cap removed)

If a Heidelberg cable is not available, a simple (3-wire) null modem serial cable will work. The pin out
should be: 2 to 3, 3 to 2, and 5 to 5. All other pins in the DB-9 connector should be open (not connected).
After starting ConPrime, the following window appears:

Figure 3: ConPrime Main Menu

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On new recorders, it will be necessary to set the parameters of the loaded media in order for several
features like media tracking, auto-focus, film save mode, and punch centering to work correctly. From the
main menu displayed in figure 3, select the button in the upper left hand corner of the dialog, which opens
the material parameter menu. The following dialog will appear:

Figure 4: Material Parameter Menu

The “name” field is a mnemonic, helping the operator easily identify supply cassettes. Enter the film
width and thickness. Setting the film length will enable the interface to report remaining supply values
from the recorder.

Note: If material is loaded on the drum and any media parameters are changed, the film must be unloaded
and reloaded for the new values to be activated.

As mentioned, if the media width is not set correctly, a number of supported recorder features will not
function as expected, including, but not limited to: Film Save Mode (collect mode), punch centering, and
maximum imageable area exposure. The media thickness is also important for the auto-focus mechanism
to function correctly. The Primesetter uses this value to assure that the laser spot is correctly focused on
the media.

Once all values are set correctly, click the button with the floppy disk diagram and the ‘!’ to save the
parameters to disk and store them in the running recorder setup.

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During power-up, the Primesetter always rewinds the media off the drum into the supply cassette. To
image, the media must be “loaded” back onto the drum. From the main menu, use the right-most icon
(cassette outline with 2 opposing arrows) to access the Material Action menu. The following dialog
appears:

Figure 5: Material Action Menu

Click the icon with the right-arrow to load media on the drum of the recorder. Once the material loads, the
Straight-Face will be replaced by a Happy-Face, meaning the recorder is ready to image. To unload the
media from the drum, use the left-arrow icon (figure of cassette with left arrow inside) on the material
action menu (icon is grayed out in figure 5 because material was not loaded at that time).

To shut down the Primesetter, press the power switch on top of the recorder and hold it down for
approximately 5 seconds, until it beeps. After the recorder beeps, release the switch and briefly press it a
second time. This will start a shutdown sequence on the recorder and it should power off in a few
moments. Alternatively, use the “Switch Off” menu. From the main menu (figure 3), click on the left
most icon to access the “Switch Off” menu. The following dialog will appear:

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Figure 6: Switch Off Menu

Use the right-most icon to start the shutdown sequence. A second dialog will appear to verify that the
shutdown is really wanted. Once confirmed, the recorder will shutdown in a few moments.

Error Messages

From the “Switch Off” menu, messages on the recorder can be displayed using the “Recorder Messages”
button (icon with “?!” on it). This can provide a useful source of information when Navigator or Raster
Blaster fail to output and the cause is unclear. From the “Switch Off” menu, the recorder can be soft reset
to clear any errors and put the unit back in a running state after a failure. This is done with the third button
from the left (2 inward pointing arrows and the small circle).

Focus Control

Xitron’s interfaces for the Primesetter allow the user to run a focus calibration. Once the focus calibration
is complete, the system can automatically adjust the focus for different material (film) thickness. To
perform the focus calibration, temporarily disable the auto focus function from the Main Menu by
clicking the button labeled with a diagram of a right triangle. The following dialog will appear:

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Figure 7: Configuration Menu

Display the Autofocus dialog by clicking the button to the right of the word “Autofocus” and the
following dialog appears:

Figure 8: Autofocus control

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Once the autofocus is turned off, the autofocus reference and material thickness value can be set. A
detailed procedure for autofocus calibration appears later in this manual.

Parameter Editor
The parameter editor is very useful when setting up punch centering. The parameter editor is accessible
from the main configuration menu (figure 7) by clicking the button immediately to the right of the label,
“Parameter editor.” The following dialog will appear:

Figure 9: Parameter editor

All parameters are identifiable by their numeric PIDs. By clicking on either the PID or Name heading, the
list can be re-sorted to make locating parameters easier. Please refer to the Speedway Plug-in manual for
more information on punch centering and parameter information necessary for setup.

Media Position Within Supply Cassette

Media should always be centered on the supply spindle. This is necessary because slow scan start of
maximum imageable area is calculated from the media width by the recorder. It is also important to use a
supported media width, so that the supply spindle will have a fixed stop for that width. Failure to use a
supported media width will result in incorrect start of imageable area. There are ways to overcome this
limitation but it is better to simply comply with the Heidelberg’s specifications.

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After loading a supply cassette into the Primesetter, the film must be “loaded” onto the drum. This will
pull the media from the supply and wrap it around the inside of the drum. After the film is loaded, the
recorder is ready to accept image data from the Rip or Raster Blaster.

To load media, access the “Material Action Menu” (see figure 5). Use the supply cassette icon with the
right arrow to start the load material operation. Before loading film, it is wise to check several of the film
parameters. The film parameter menu is accessed using the icon in the upper left-hand corner of the
“Main Menu” (figure 3), “Material Action Menu” (figure 5) or “Switch Off menu” (figure 6). The dialog
in figure 4 will be displayed. Refer to previous sections for more information.

Discharging Media

The take-up cassette on the Primesetter uses a pair of rollers and an opaque sheet to wind the exposed
media into the cassette. The media is cut and stored in the cassette after each exposure (if Film
Saving/Collect mode is OFF). The recorder performs this cut prior to each exposure, flushing exposed
media from the drum. There is no need to select “cut after job” on the Raster Blaster or Navigator
software.

The Primesetter behaves differently when coupled with an online processor, advancing and holding the
film until the start of the next exposure. This is done to conserve film, in case exposures are smaller than
the minimum sheet size the OLP can handle. At the beginning of the next exposure, the Primesetter will
decide if it should cut and eject or simply gang the previous exposure with the next (in the case of small
exposures).

The final exposure in a series can be ejected using either the ConPrime application or the “Discharge to
OLP” option on either the Navigator Rip menu bar or the SpeedwayCut application. If Film Saving
(Collect) mode is being used on the interface, use the Xitron cut commands. Failure to use the
cut/discharge features in the Xitron interface may cause unanticipated results.

From the Navigator RIP, use the “Cut and Collect” selection from the device pull-down menu. This is the
preferred way to discharge media from the recorder (as opposed to using the manual cut from ConPrime)
because the Film Save Mode (Collect) information automatically updates when this method is used.

Similarly, the Navigator RIP has a pull down menu device option for “Discharge to Online Processor”.
This option differs from the cut in that the media is ONLY advanced. It is up to the Primesetter to
determine if the media will be cut. Use this option when using “Film Save Mode.”

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Unloading media

When necessary, use ConPrime to unload the supply cassette. Use the button labeled with the diagram of
the cassette and left arrow on the material action menu (see figure 5) to unload the media supply from the
Primesetter. Unloading media can only be done with the ConPrime utility.

Film Saving Mode

Within the Xitron plug-in, the Configure Device Dialog contains a “Film Save Mode” option. This is
equivalent to the Heidelberg “Collect Mode.” With each job, the plug-in will attempt to “pack” the image
on the drum to save film. When using the Film Save Mode, it is important to do all cuts and feeds through
the Xitron interface. Additional margins between exposures can be set in the Configure Device dialog to
add gutters between the exposures when using Film Save Mode. For proper functionality, it is correctly
set the media parameters (see figure 4).

Punch Control and Centering

Also located within the Configure Device Dialog is the ability to select and center the image to the
various punch configurations available on the Primesetter. Once a punch is selected, the center point for
that punch can be determined and the correct position set in the Fast scan and Slow scan punch positions.
The parameter values for the punch coordinate settings are accessible using the ConPrime Parameter
editor. See the Speedway plug-in manual for a more detailed discussion of Punch centering setup.

Laser Intensity Control

The Primesetter uses three parameters to affect the laser intensity: Focus, Light value, and Fine Light
value. Within Xitron’s plug-in, these values are represented as the Focus (Configure Device Dialog),
Exposure (Page Setup Dialog) and Bias (Configure Device Dialog) respectively. The Focus value in the
Configure Device dialog will be discussed in the next section.

The Exposure value on the Page Setup dialog is used to supply the recorder with its Light value. This
value, in the range of 1000 to 20,000, is used to make the exposure lighter and darker. Set this to get the
appropriate DMAX for the film being used. The Bias value in the Configure Device dialog is used to
supply the recorder with a “fine light” value but this value should always be set to 0.

Focus Calibration

The Primesetter has the ability to automatically adjust the focus value depending on film thickness,
provided the operator has correctly set the media parameters. During normal operation, when the

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autofocus is ON, the focus value in the configure device dialog has no effect. When performing Focus
Calibration and the autofocus is turned OFF, the focus value in the configure device dialog becomes
active.

Before imaging any film, it is necessary to disable the auto-focus mechanism in the Configuration menu
of ConPrime. When disabling the autofocus, also set the Material Thickness Reference to the thickness of
the media being used during the calibration. Once these values are set (autofocus OFF and Material
Thickness reference) a Focus sweep can be run by printing the PostScript file
“PrimesetterFocusSweep.ps” located in the samples folder of the RIP. Xitron recommends the “Film Save
Mode” parameter be turned on during this test to keep from outputting a separate film for each focus
exposure. Film save mode will pack a number of exposures on one sheet before advancing. The default is
for 11 blocks (bitmaps) to print with focus values of 5000 to 15000 in steps of 1000.

If another range is necessary for testing, modify the PostScript file using a text editor. Change the values
for ‘firstFocus’, ‘lastFocus’ and ‘focusStep’ at the beginning of the PostScript file and re-print the job.
After processing the film, use a densitometer to find the strip with the lowest DMAX. This will be the
desired value, strips with higher or lower focus values with show a blossom of the dot and hence read as a
higher DMAX value.

Once satisfied, enter the focus value for the correct strip (one with the lowest DMAX) into the
“Autofocus reference” field on the Autofocus dialog (Figure 8). Turn the Autofocus back on and the
recorder should be ready to operate.

Interface

Use the Speedway interface cable, part number 020-0446-030, to connect the Primesetter to the Xitron
interface card. At the recorder, use the connector labeled “Speedway Taxi” in the connector bay shown in
figure 2.

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