Tech Tip: Adding Raster Printers To Zwcad 2009i

By Author: Jenny Wu
Total Articles: 5
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As a long-time user of ZWCAD, I always longed for the day when ZWCAD would be able to export more raster file formats, such as TIFF, PNG, and JPEG. ZWCAD is pretty good for my drafting purposes, except for the inconvenience of not being able to export drawings in raster formats.

This is actually a big inconvenience for those who use ZWCAD for GIS drawings (geographic information systems). I would have to use another program to convert my work to raster images, like JPEG; sometimes, I had trouble with the conversion program.

After waiting half a year, however, it's finally here: JPEG and PNG are available as plotter outputs in the Printer selection droplist. In addition, something like 16 raster formats can be output from ZWCAD 2009i, including TIFF, GIF, JPC, PMN, MNG, TGA, and PCX.

In ZWCAD 2009i, the JPEG and PNG "plotters" are added to the list of printers automatically. Beside those two formats, you can add more raster formats by following these steps:

First, start the Add-A-Plotter ...
... Wizard, and then click Next.
Choose Raster File Format, which lets you select raster formats on the right hand side. (Note that you can select only one format each time you run this wizard.)
Click Continue. Notice that a .pc5 file is added to ZWCAD. Finally, specify the plotter settings, if necessary. I usually customize the paper sizes, and change the output to monochrome.

With so many raster formats, ZWCAD provides more options than some other software packages. At present, ZWCAD can export drawings to many image programs; I am thankful that the Plot command eliminates the boring work of converting file formats. Besides, compared with DWG files, images of drawings can make your design look good, and allows you to hide parts of the design that should be kept confidential. On the whole, the new feature benefits users a lot, for it make their work easier.

Thanks to the improvements in raster support, I have no doubt that ZWCAD will be more favored by users, especially those who often work with raster images. They can use ZWCAD to create a design, and then use the raster plotter to generate the image files, which can be more convenient for reviews and delivery.

ZWCAD 2009i is now more attractive to engineers, providing them an efficient alternative.

About ZWCAD

As the flagship product of ZWCAD Software Co., Ltd., ZWCAD is a powerful CAD solution, which is highly compatible with DWG format. ZWCAD meets the needs of broad-based target groups of 2D/3D design industry, including architecture, engineering, construction, mechanics, manufacturing and electronics. So far, it has become the leading brand in China's CAD industry and now competes successfully in over 75 other countries, with more than 150,000 users throughout the world.

For more information, please visit www.zwcad.org or contact ZWCAD team at sales@zwcad.com.

(C) Copyright 2009 ZWCAD Software Co., Ltd. All rights reserved.