About Virtual Pens (CalComp)

If you used Virtual Pens with a CalComp plotter in an earlier release, you simply defined "Pens" in your CDCL file. With AutoCAD, you must define "Colors" because they are used for area fills such as wide Plines and True Type text. Some CalComp devices allow you to define both Colors and Pens in CDCL. These include the TechJet Color GT and GT/PS, the TechJet Designer, the 68000 series EPPs, the DrawingMaster series, Solus 4, and the Econografix. Other CalComp plotters only allow you to define Colors at the plotter's control panel. These include the EconoPro, the TechJet Designer 720, and the TechJet color. If you have one of these plotters, don't try to define Colors in the software, as the plotter will ignore the definitions.

You must create a color (RGB_COLOR) for each pen you define. First define the color, then define a pen (COLOR_PEN) mapped to the color you just defined.

RGB_COLOR(color#, R, G, B)

color#

Same as physical pen number

R

Red value 0-100 percent saturation

G

Green value 0-100 percent saturation

B

Blue value 0-100 percent saturation

COLOR_PEN(pen#, width, color#, line type)

pen#

Virtual pen number used by AutoCAD

width

Width of pen in plotter units (pixels)

For example, for a 400 DPI raster plotter a 2mm line is 31 plotter units

(2/25.4)*400 = 31

color#

Color number to map to, as defined above

line type

MAJOR, FLAT, ROUNDED, or SQUARE

The following is an example CDCL file.

&&&&CALCOMP DEVICE CONTROL

* Universal PIN number

USER_PIN(8378)

* Color 1 is RED

RGB_COLOR(1, 100, 0, 0)

* Pen 1 is mapped to color 1, 4 pixels wide, rounded end

COLOR_PEN(1, 4, 1, ROUNDED)

* Color 2 is Yellow

RGB_COLOR(2, 100, 100, 0)

* Pen 2 is mapped to color 2, 31 pixels wide, major end

COLOR_PEN(2, 31, 2, MAJOR)

* Color 3 is a 25% gray

RGB_COLOR(3, 25, 25, 25)

* Pen 3 is mapped to color 3, 10 pixels wide, flag end

COLOR_PEN(3, 10, 3, FLAT)

^^^^END OF FILE