Koala Technologies KoalaPrinter User manual

Koala Technologies
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for
Commodore 64
computers
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Technologies Corporation

^ P l i o a l a
Technologies C orporation
We make computing more personal.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
KoalaPrinter software was created and developed by
Michael B eutjer/KT oftware.
Commodore is a registered trademark of Commodore Business
Machines, Inc.
KoalaPainter, KoalaPrinter, and KoalaPad are trademarks of Koala
Technologies Corporation.
COPYRIGHT
Copyright 1984 by Koala Technologies. All rights reserved. Under
the copyright laws, this manual and its accompanying software
packages may not be copied, in whole or in part, without the
written consent of Koala Technologies. Unauthorized copying or
transmitting of this copyrighted software in or on any medium is
strictly prohibited. Under the law, copying includes translating into
another language.

Table of Contents
INTR O D UCTIO N ......................................................................................... 1
Y TEM R EQUIREM ENT ..................................................................... 1
GETTING TAR TED.................................................................................. 2
THE KOALAPRINTER MAIN M EN U..................................................... 3
DIRECTORY.................................................................................................. 4
D I PLAY ......................................................................................................... 5
PRINTER......................................................................................................... 6
To elect Your Printer......................................................................... 6
To Print A Picture.................................................................................. 7
To top Your P rin te r............................................................................ 7
H AD IN G ....................................................................................................... 7
APPENDIX — ETTING UP YOUR PRINTER .................................... 12

Introduction
KoalaPrinter is a versatile utility program that allows you to print
pictures that have been created with KoalaPainter. KoalaPrinter is
more than a “screen dump” program because you can customize
your pictures by changing your printer’s dot patterns.
This manual is written in a progression of steps to allow you quick
and easy familiarization with the many options of KoalaPrinter.
Read the manual carefully, and experiment with the commands
described in each section before going on to the next section.
System Requirements
• Commodore 64 Computer
• KoalaPrinter diskette
• One disk drive
• Color television or monitor
• KoalaPad touch tablet and stylus
• One of these dot matrix printers:
Epson FX-80
Epson RX-80
Gemini 10X
Gemini 15X
Okidata 92
C. Itoh ProWriter
Commodore MP 801
Commodore 1525
Commodore 1526
One of these printer interface cards:
BU CARD
CARD/? A
CAR D /? +G
The Connection
1

Getting Started
• Connect your KoalaPad touch tablet to Control Port 1.
• Turn on your computer.
• Turn on your disk drive and insert your KoalaPrinter diskette.
When your com puter indicates that it is READY, type:
LOAD “ * ” ,8,1
and press
RETURN .
The KoalaPrinter program will display the MAIN MENU when the
program is fully loaded.
Once the program is loaded, you can remove the KoalaPrinter
diskette and insert a diskette containing pictures you have created
using KoalaPainter.
2

The KoalaPrinter Main Menu
KoalaPrinter is divided into four sections: Display, Directory,
Printer, and hading.
• Press your stylus or finger on the surface of your KoalaPad
touch tablet. A red cursor arrow will appear on your screen.
• Position the cursor on the box of your choice and press
either button on your KoalaPad. The option you have
selected will appear on your screen.
K ALAPRINTER
PRINTER
SHADING
♦ * ♦ ♦
+ * * * ♦ ♦ * +
+ ♦ * *
+ ♦ ♦ *

Directory
• Move the red cursor arrow to the DIRECTORY box and
press either button on your KoalaPad touch tablet. Your
computer will give you a listing of all the pictures
on diskette in your disk drive. The first entry is
highlighted.
• Move the cursor down the list to the name of the picture that
you want to load and press either button on your KoalaPad.
That listing will now be highlighted.
• Move the cursor to the blue box labelled LOAD and press
either button. When the picture is loaded, the program will
return you to the MAIN MENU.
• To return to the MAIN MENU w itho ut making a choice,
move the cursor to the blue box labelled MAIN MENU and
press either button.
ome sample pictures have been included on your KoalaPrinter
program diskette to help you get started.
4

Display
To display the current picture on the screen:
• Move the red cursor arrow to the DI PLAY box and press
either button.
• The loaded picture will be displayed on the screen.
• To return to the MAIN MENU from the display, press either
button.
If you have not chosen a picture from the DIRECTORY, a blank
screen will be displayed.

Printer
To select the printer option from the MAIN MENU:
• Move the cursor to the PRINTER box and press either
button.
• The Printer Menu will appear on your screen.
• Move the cursor to the printer and print mode of your choice
and then press either button. You have a choice between
positive print mode or negative print mode.
NOTE: In positive print mode, your printer will follow your
color pattern set by printing a dot where you have called for
a dot to be printed. In negative print mode, black becomes
white and white becomes black; a dot will be printed
where your color pattern set has NOT requested a dot,
and vice versa. Negative print mode will give you a
printout of your picture similar to a photographic
negative.
• To return to the MAIN MENU without making a choice,
move the cursor to the blue box labelled MAIN MENU and
press either button.

To print a picture
• You must have already selected a picture from the directory
and loaded it into your computer. If you have not done so,
return to the MAIN MENU.
• Move the cursor to the PRINT box and press either button.
• The selected picture will be displayed on your screen as the
picture is being printed. KoalaPrinter will return you to the
MAIN MENU when the picture is completely printed.
To stop your printer while it is printing a picture
• Press and hold down the TOP key on your computer.
• Continue to hold down the TOP key until printing stops
and the MAIN MENU is displayed.
Shading
SHADING
* * * *
* * * * * * + ♦
+ * + *
4 + + *
KoalaPrinter uses the programmability of your printer to create dot
patterns that simulate the colors on your screen. The patterns are
based on either a2x4ora4x4 matrix. ee the Appendix for the
print matrix used by your printer.
7

To use the Shading Options
• Move the cursor to the box corresponding to your printer’s
dot patterns (the 8-dot box for a 2 x 4 printer, the 16-dot
box for a 4 x 4 printer. ee the Appendix).
• Press either button. The COLOR PATTERN MENU will
appear on your screen.
• To return to the MAIN MENU, move the cursor to the MAIN
MENU box and press either button.
To see the dot pattern used for specific colors
• Move the cursor to the color you want to see and press
either button.
• The chosen color will be highlighted and the print pattern,
represented by black dots, will be displayed on your
screen.
You can find the occurrence of a particular color in your picture.
For example, suppose you are not sure if the grey used in your
picture is a dark grey or a medium grey. To find medium grey:
• Move the cursor to M GREY (medium grey) and press either
button. M GREY will be highlighted.
• Move the cursor to the blue box labelled FIND and press
either button.
• Your picture will be displayed on your screen. The areas that
blink contain the chosen color, (in this example, medium
grey). If no areas are blinking, then the picture does
not contain that color.
• Return to the COLOR PATTERN MENU by pressing either
button.
8

uppose your picture has a blue background. It looks great on the
screen, but is much too dark when the picture is printed. You can
modify the color patterns to print your picture.
To delete a dot:
• Move the tip of the cursor arrow to the dot you wish to
delete and press either button.
• That dot will disappear from the screen and will not be used
by KoalaPrinter for that color picture.
uppose you decide that your light grey pattern is not dark enough.
You can add dots to your color patterns:
• Notice the black arrows at the right and bottom of the color
pattern area of your screen display. These arrows denote the
edges of the dot pattern matrix.
• Move the tip of the cursor arrow to the area where you want
to place a dot and press either button.
• A dot will be added to the color pattern at that point.
Modified color patterns are retained in your computer’s memory
and will be used when you print the picture.
You can save a particular set of color patterns:
• Move the cursor to the blue box labelled AVE and press
either button.
• You will be asked to enter the name of the file in which you
want to save that color pattern set. Enter the name of the
file and press RETURN. You can use no more than
16 characters in your file name.
• KoalaPrinter will save that color pattern set for you and then
return you to the COLOR PATTERN MENU.
9

You can load a set of color patterns into your computer’s memory:
• Move the cursor to the blue box labelled LOAD and press
either button.
• You will be asked to enter the name of the file in which you
have saved the color pattern set. Enter the name of the file
and press RETURN
• KoalaPrinter will enter that color pattern set for you and then
return you to the COLOR PATTERN MENU.
Note: If you change your mind after selecting LOAD or AVE,
press RETURN and you will automatically return to the
COLOR PATTERN MENU.
10

,
11

Appendix
The auto linefeed on your printer must be OFF. et the switch
on the interface card to "transparent mode.”
On the Cardco CARD/7+G, all switches should be ON
(except 2 and 6 for Epson and Gemini printers).
Print Modes
Printer Mode et Format
Epson RX-80 Regular 2 x 4 ee Fig.
Epson FX-80 Regular 2 x 4 ee Fig.
Epson RX-80 High Density 4 x 4 ee Fig.
Epson FX-80 High Density 4 x 4 ee Fig.
Gemini 10X Regular 4 x 4 ee Fig.
Okidata 92 Regular 2 x 4 ee Fig.
ProWriter Regular 2 x 4 ee Fig.
MP 801 Regular 2 x 3 ee Fig.
1525 Regular 2 x 3 ee Fig.
1526 Regular 2 x 4 ee Fig.
NOTE: The 1525/MP 801 printers ignore the right column of dots
in the 2 x 4 character set. The minimum number of dots which may
be printed on any line of graphics for these printers is 480. In order
to achieve the best possible compromise between the correct
length to width ratio and shading control, the dot pattern used is
2 x 3. To control the shading, follow the procedures for adjusting
the 2 x 4 dot patterns, but remember that the right most column of
dots is ignored. ome shading control is lost, but there are still six
levels available. ee Figure 4.
12

Fig. 1 Fig. 2
-640 dots-
T
O
O
a
0
CO
1
i-----640 dots
----
I
(A
0
VPICTURE
§
1
Fig. 3 Fig. 4
i
---- 640 dots ---- »
T
IS)
0
V
o
PICTURE
o
I.
>B lack W hite
YY YN YYYN
YY YN YYYN
Red C yan
YY YN Y Y YN
YY YN YYYN
Dots marked with a Y are
printed by the 1525/MP 801 and
those marked with an N
are ignored.
13

Koala Technologies Corporation will replace this diskette or cartridge product free of charge if it is
found defective in materials or workmanship within 90 days from the date of purchase. imply send
it prepaid to Koala Technologies Corporation, 3100 Patrick Henry Drive, anta Clara, CA 95052-
I 00. who will replace the product.
Koala Technologies Corporation neither assumes nor authorizes any representative or other
person to assume for us any other liability in connection with the sale or any shipment of our
products.
The rights specified within this warranty shall be the sole and exclusive remedy of the purchaser for
any claim under the warranty. IMPLIED WARRANTIE , INCLUDING THE IMPLIED WARRANTIE
OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNE ARE LIMITED IN DURATION TO A 90-DAY PERIOD FROM
THE DATE OF PURCHA E. THE PURCHA ER MAY MAKE NO CLAIM FOR INCIDENTAL OR
CON EQUENTIAL DAMAGE FOR ANY DEFECT.
ome states do not allow limitations on how long an implied warranty lasts or the exclusion or
limitation of incidental or consequential damages, so the above limitations or exclusions may not
apply to you. This warranty gives you specific legal rights, and you may also have other legal rights
that vary from state to state.
There is a two year time limit on exchanging a damaged diskette.
LIMITED 90 DAY WARRANTY