5.1.8 Verifying the Accuracy of the Unprintable-Region Values

Once your minidriver is built and installed, test the accuracy of the values which you entered in the Unprintable Regions boxes. To do this, there are two approaches that may be taken. The first is to use PRNTTEST.EXE, which is included in the Printer Compatibility Test Suite in the Microsoft Windows 3.1 Device Driver Kit, and run the printable region test provided. The other method requires a Windows graphics or desktop publishing package, and you should follow the steps listed below:

1.Open a Windows graphics or desktop publishing application that will render straight lines the entire length and width of the page.

2.Render four lines: two horizontal lines and two vertical lines.

The top horizontal line should appear one inch below the top of the page, the bottom horizontal line should appear one inch above the bottom of the page,
the left vertical line should appear one inch from the left edge of the page and the right vertical line should appear one inch from the right edge of the page.

3.Print the page.

4.Examine the intersections of the vertical and horizontal lines.

The lines in the upper-left corner should intersect one inch below the top of the page and one inch from the left edge of the page. If this is not the case, it may be necessary to adjust the cursor origin. For example, if the horizontal line at the top of the page is 1.125 inches from the top and the horizontal line at the bottom of the page is .875 inches from the bottom, it would be necessary to increment the Y cursor origin by .125 inches. (If you set the cursor origin in the Paper Sizes dialog box, you must also check the MD_USE_CURSOR_ORG box in the ModelData fGeneral dialog box.)

Diconix 150 Plus

For the Diconix 150 Plus printer, the hardware limits the printable page width to 6.875 inches. Because this limit is imposed by the model, and not by the paper size, it is expressed in the ModelData data structure and not in the paper-size data structure. (This same limit applies to any paper size, and is not specific to letter-sized paper.) This means that the left, right, top, and bottom unprintable regions on the Diconix are all set to 0. The size of the unprintable top and bottom margins vary depending upon the paper source. Therefore the sizes of the unprintable top and bottom regions are expressed in the paper-source data structure.

HP LaserJet IIP

For the HP LaserJet IIP printer, the hardware limits the printable-page width to 8.047 inches. This means that the left and right unprintable regions on this printer measure ((8.5 – 8.047)/2) inches or .2267 inches. Converted to horizontal-master units, this value is expressed as (.21875 * 300) or 68—the value entered in the Left and Right boxes of the Unprintable Regions control.

The printer hardware also limits the printable page height to 10.995 inches. This means that the top and bottom unprintable regions on this printer measure ((11 – 10.5)/2) inches or .25 inches. Converted to vertical master units, this value is expressed as (.25 * 300) or 75—the value entered in the Top and Bottom boxes of the Unprintable Regions control.