ColorJetPlotter 1977

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COLOR JET PLOTTER. Mikael Jern Lund University Computing Centre, Sweden. I n~o_du_~t~o~. From the beginning of the development of computers, communication between man and machine was dominated by numerical or alphabetical ways of expres- sion. Typed letters and numbers were presented constituting the results of data prgrams, which were laboriously written in computer assembly languages more intended for computers with their limitations than for the imagination and power of apprehension of man. People not only use letters and digits but usually also other conceptions like figures, pictures and graphs. A computer, however, operates with other con- ceptions like bits, bytes and registers. This makes the communication with a computer more difficult. Earlier man had to carry the burden. One had to transform thoughts and ideas into letters, digits and frequently also into com- puter language. The data computer processing often produced results of miles of paper filled with data, which the user piled up in a corner and later perhaps threw away after studying only a small share of all information. Computer graphics enable man to start using the computer in a more appropri- ate way. The computer keeps on using digital technique and registers. The graphical external units act like interpreters between man and computer to produce pictures. h rapid technical development during the past five years has given us a lcrge variety of possibilities of computer graphics partly by new high level compu- ter languages ,',partly by new types of automatic drawing equipment. Today dots, lines, surfaces, letters and figures in black-and-white or colour can be drawn on paper, film strips and electronic screens. A number of appli- cation fields are obvious in very different fields like shipbuilding, cartogra- phy, community planning, nature conservation, research and education. There are several types of equipment for presentation of graphical informa- tion, see examples in Fig. 1 and 2. None of these, however, can quickly draw a picture with coloured surfaces and accuratecontours. There was a chance to solve the problem in the new ink jet technique, developed at the Department of Electrical Measurements, Lund Institute of Technology. 18

Transcript of ColorJetPlotter 1977

Page 1: ColorJetPlotter 1977

COLOR JET PLOTTER.

Mikael Jern Lund U n i v e r s i t y Computing C e n t r e , Sweden .

I n~o_du_~t ~o ~.

From the beg inn ing of the d e v e l o p m e n t of c o m p u t e r s , communica t ion b e t w e e n man and mach ine was domina ted by numer ica l or a l p h a b e t i c a l ways of e x p r e s - s ion . Typed l e t t e r s and numbers were p r e s e n t e d c o n s t i t u t i n g the r e s u l t s of da ta p rgrams , which were l a b o r i o u s l y wr i t t en in compute r a s s e m b l y l anguages more i n t ended for compute rs wi th the i r l imi ta t ions than for the imag ina t ion and power of a p p r e h e n s i o n of man.

Peop le not on l y u se l e t t e r s and d ig i t s but u s u a l l y a l so o t h e r c o n c e p t i o n s l ike f i g u r e s , p i c tu re s and g r aphs . A compu te r , h o w e v e r , o p e r a t e s with o the r con- c e p t i o n s l ike b i t s , b y t e s and r e g i s t e r s . This makes the communica t ion wi th a computer more d i f f i cu l t . Ear l ier man had to ca r ry the b u r d e n . One had to t ransform though t s and i dea s into l e t t e r s , d ig i t s and f r e q u e n t l y a l so into com- puter l anguage . The da ta computer p r o c e s s i n g o f t en p r o d u c e d r e su l t s of mi les of paper f i l led wi th d a t a , which the u se r p i led up in a corner and la te r perhaps threw away a f t e r s tudy ing on ly a small share of a l l in fo rmat ion .

Computer graphics enable man to start using the computer in a more appropri- ate way. The computer keeps on using digital technique and registers. The graphical external units act like interpreters between man and computer to produce pictures.

h rapid t e c h n i c a l d e v e l o p m e n t during the pas t f ive yea r s has g iven us a lcrge v a r i e t y of p o s s i b i l i t i e s of computer g raph ics pa r t ly by new high l eve l compu- te r l anguages , ' ,part ly by new t y p e s of au tomat i c drawing equ ipmen t .

Today d o t s , l i n e s , s u r f a c e s , l e t t e r s and f igures in b l a c k - a n d - w h i t e or colour can be drawn on pape r , film s t r ips and e l e c t r o n i c s c r e e n s . A number of appl i - c a t i on f i e lds are obv ious in v e r y d i f f e ren t f i e ld s l ike s h i p b u i l d i n g , c a r t og ra - phy , communi ty p l ann ing , na ture c o n s e r v a t i o n , r e s e a r c h and e d u c a t i o n .

There are s e v e r a l t ypes of equ ipment for p r e s e n t a t i o n of g r aph ica l in forma- t i o n , s ee examples in Fig. 1 and 2. None of t h e s e , h o w e v e r , can q u i c k l y draw a p ic tu re wi th co lou red s u r f a c e s and a c c u r a t e c o n t o u r s . There was a c h a n c e to so lve the p rob l em in the new ink je t t e c h n i q u e , d e v e l o p e d at the Depar tmen t of E lec t r i ca l M e a s u r e m e n t s , Lund In s t i t u t e o f T e c h n o l o g y .

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Fig. I. Part of map of the south part of Lund printed by a line printer controlled by a computer. Printing time about 10 seconds. The population density of the particu- lar block is indicated by using different characters.

/ 7

Pig . 2. Same map a s in F ig . 1 d rawn b y a CALCOMP p lo t - t e r , w h e r e s h a d i n g is u s e d to i n d i c a t e the p o p u l a t i o n d e n - s i t y . P lo t t ing t ime a b o u t 1S m i n u t e s . The p l o t t e r i s c o n - t r o l l e d b y a t a p e g e n e r a t e d b y a c o m p u t e r b a s e d on in fo r - m a t i o n from Lund" s P e r s o n and Real E s t a t e R e g i s t e r .

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P r i n c i p l e .

A c r o s s - s c i e n t i f i c c o - o p e r a t i o n g r o u p w i t h m e m b e r s from t h e D e p a r t m e n t s o f Bu i ld ing F u n c t i o n A n a l y s i s , E l e c t r i c a l M e a s u r e m e n t s a n d Lund U n i v e r s i t y C o m p u t i n g C e n t r e s t a r t e d w o r k on t h i s p r o j e c t . The g r o u p d e v e l o p e d a h a r d c o p y c o l o u r d i s p l a y s y s t e m w i t h t h r e e b a s e c o l o u r s a c c o m p a n i e d b y s o f t - w a r e to g e n e r a t e c o l o u r p i c t u r e s in a c o m p u t e r .

UNIVAC IBM computer

M o t o r

. . . . . . . . . .

plotting unit

F i g . 3. C o l o r jet plotter p r i n c i p l e .

The g e n e r a t i o n of a c o l o u r p i c t u r e i s d o n e in two s t e p s . F i r s t a p i c t u r e e n - t i r e l y c o n s i s t i n g of n u m b e r s i s d e s i g n e d . A s p e c i a l p r o g r a m for t h e c o l o u r p l o t t e r m a k e s t h e c o m p u t e r c a l c u l a t e a n u m e r i c a l m o d e l o f t h e p i c t u r e . The c o m p u t e r w o r k s w i t h l o g i c a l o n e s and z e r o s i n s t e a d of p h y s i c a l d r o p l e t s , w h e r e t h e o n e s c o r r e s p o n d to d r o p l e t s on the p a p e r . The n u m b e r c o d e p i c - t u r e i s s t o r e d on a m a g n e t i c t a p e , w h i c h in t he s e c o n d s t e p i s r e a d y b y t h e c o l o u r j e t p l o t t e r . The i n f o r m a t i o n on the t a p e i s t h e n t r a n s f o r m e d i n - t o a c o l o u r p i c t u r e .

The plotting unit is based on a drum on which the picture (20 x 30 cm) is to be drawn. The paper is fastened to the drum, which is rotated by a motor with a capacity of I000 rpm. Three ink jet systems yellow, red and blue are mounted on a carriage, which is moved along the drum surface by a lead screw. When drawing takes place the drum rotates at a high speed while the ink jets slowly are moving along the drum surface. Each ink jet then draws a large number of parallel lines 0.2 mm distant from each other. The line density will then be 5 lines per millimetre.

T o t a l l y t h e r e a r e 1450 l i n e s o f e a c h c o l o u r p r i n t e d on t h e p a p e r in o n e p i c - t u r e . In t h i s w a y t h e p i c t u r e i s g e n e r a t e d do t b y do t s i m i l a r to t h e p i c t u r e on a T V - s c r e e n . The e n t i r e p r i n t o u t o f a c o l o u r p i c t u r e t a k e s 60 s e c o n d s du r ing w h i c h t i m e 1 500 000 d o t s a r e p r i n t e d on t h e p a p e r b y e a c h of t h e t h r e e j e t s t h u s a m o u n t i n g to 4 500 000 d o t s . S i n c e t h e d o t s a r e v e r y c l o s e a r b i t r a r y c o l o u r s c a n b e o b t a i n e d b y v a r y i n g the d o t d e n s i t y for e a c h b a s e c o l o u r .

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o b c

F i g . 4 . The p r i n c i p l e for i n t e n s i t y m o d u l a t i o n o f a p l o t t i n g ink j e t .

The r e c o r d i n g h e a d in t h i s new p l o t t e r c o n s i s t s of t h r e e e l e c t r i c a l l y c o n t r o l - l ed ink j e t s w i t h s u c h b a s e c o l o u r s t h a t , b y s u i t a b l e m i x i n g , a n y c o l o u r c a n b e o b t a i n e d . A f i ne ink je t "J" (Fig . 4 a) i s f o r m e d b y f o r c i n g ink u n d e r h igh p r e s s u r e t h r o u g h t h e n o z z l e " N " . The j e t d r a w s a l i n e on the p a p e r "R" . I f t h e ink j e t p a s s e s an e l e c t r o d e " E " , w h i c h h a s a p o t e n t i a l of m o r e t h a n 100 v o l t s , t he ink d r o p l e t s w i l l r e c e i v e a n e g a t i v e c h a r g e and w i l l r e p e l e a c h o t h e r (be p u s h e d a w a y from e a c h o t h e r ) . The ink j e t i s t r a n s f o r m e d i n - to a s p r a y a n d t h e l i ne e n d s (F ig . 4 b ) . The e n t i r e p a p e r w o u l d now b e c o m e c o l e u r e d i n s t e a d , w h i c h i s p r e v e n t e d b y t h e f o l l o w i n g m e t h o d .

As t h e ink d r o p l e t s a r e e l e c t r i c a l l y c h a r g e d , t h e y c a n b e p r e v e n t e d f rom r e a c h i n g t h e p a p e r b y a p p l y i n g an e l e c t r i c f i e l d b e t w e e n t h e e l e c t r o d e s " F l " a n d "F2" Th i s i m p l i e s t h a t t h e e l e c t r i c a l l y c h a r g e d d r o p l e t s w i l l b e p u s h e d a w a y a n d the d r o p l e t s w i t h no c h a r g e w i l l t r a v e r s e t he f i e ld u n e f f e c t - e d .

I f t he v o l t a g e s o u r c e (F ig . ~4 c) i s r e p l a c e d b y a v a r i a b l e v o l t a g e , for e x a m p l e t h e o u t p u t o f an a m p l i f i e r , t h e s h a p e of t h e j e t m a y b e c o n t r o l l e d b y c o n t r o l - l ing t h e v o l t a g e , i . e . e i t h e r a s t r a i g h t j e t on to t h e p a p e r or a. s p r a y w h i c h d o e s not c o l o u r t he p a p e r , and b y t h a t t he a p p e a r a n c e o f t h e r e c o r d e d l i n e . In p r a c t i c e t h e s h a d i n g and i n t e n s i t y of t h e l i n e c a n b e c o n t r o l l e d b y t h i s v o l t a g e in a w a y s i m i l a r to t h e w a y of c o n t r o l l i n g t h e i n t e n s i t y of an e l e c t r o n b e a m in a T V - p i c t u r e t u b e . I t i s k n o w n t h a t t h i s m o d u l a t i o n c a n b e d o n e v e r y r a p i d l y a n d t h a t m o r e t h a n 100 000 d i s c r e e t d o t s c a n b e r e c o r d e d pe r s e c o n d . This f a s t m e t h o d m a k e s t h e ink j e t v e r y u s e f u l for our p u r p o s e .

All p i c t u r e s a r e s t o r e d on m a g n e t i c t a p e . By t h a t p i c t u r e s , w h i c h a r e to b e u s e d s e v e r a l t i m e s , c a n b e s a v e d and p i c t u r e s f rom d i f f e r e n t m a g n e t i c t a p e s c a n b e c o m b i n e d to a n e w p i c t u r e , for e x a m p l e a b a c k g r o u n d m a p of a h o u s - ing a r e a c o m b i n e d w i t h a m a p of a i r p o l l u t i o n .

The plotter can also separate the colours and plot each base colour in a spe- cific picture, which very much facilitates and above all makes the produc- tion of offset plates cheaper when a great number of these pictures are wanted.

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S o f t w a r e .

A c o m p l e x s o f t w a r e i s n e e d e d to g e n e r a t e a c o l o u r p i c t u r e w i t h t h e c o l o u r j e t p l o t t e r . For t h a t r e a s o n a c o m p r e h e n s i v e p rog ram s y s t e m COLOR h a s b e e n d e v e l o p e d . The C O L O R - p r o g r a m h a s b e e n w r i t t e n p a r t i c u l a r l y for t h e c o l o u r j e t p l o t t e r a n d u s e s , a m o n g o t h e r t h i n g s , a s p e c i a l p a t t e r n t e c h n i q u e to p lo t f l a t c o l o u r e d s u r f a c e s , w h i c h o p e n s a n e w d i m e n s i o n o f a p p l i c a t i o n f i e l d s w i t h i n c o m p u t e r g r a p h i c s . The p r i n c i p l e u s e d b y t h e c o l o u r j e t p l o t t e r m a k e s a v a r i a b l e i n t e n s i t y i m p o s s i b l e . The n u m b e r o f d r o p l e t s h i t t i n g t h e p a p e r i s c o n s t a n t . H o w e v e r , d i f f e r e n t c o l o u r s h a d e s c a n b e o b t a i n e d i f t h e d r o p l e t s a r e p l a c e d w i t h v a r y i n g d i s t a n c e from e a c h o t h e r . The d a r k e s t s h a d e of a b a s e c o l o u r o c c u r s w h e n t h e n u m b e r o f d o t s p e r mm 2 r e a c h e s i t s m a x i m u m , 5 x 5 d o t s / m m 2. A l i g h t e r s h a d e i s o b t a i n e d i f t h e d o t s a r e p l a c e d l e s s d e n s e . The u s e r c a n c h o o s e b e t w e e n p a t t e r n s w h e r e t h e c o l o u r c h a n g e s f rom a l i g h t e r to d a r k e r s h a d e in v e r y s m a l l s t e p s .

There are two colour scales in COLOR:

The c o l o u r s c a l e w i t h p a t t e r n c o d e s (0 - 16) i s u s e d w h e n s m o o t h t r a n s i t i o n s b e t w e e n t h e s h a d e s a r e w a n t e d . Each b a s e c o l o u r ( y e l l o w , red and b lue) i s s p e c i f i e d w i t h a n u m b e r (0 - 16) , w h e r e 16 c o r r e s p o n d s to t h e d a r k e s t c o - l ou t s h a d e and 1 to t h e l i g h t e s t , i . e . t he ink d r o p l e t s a r e v e r y s p a r s e (0 = no c o l o u r ) . The t o t a l n u m b e r o f c o l o u r c o m b i n a t i o n s o b t a i n a b l e w i t h t h e s e p a t t e r n s = 17 x 17 x 17 = 4 9 1 3 .

1 2

10 11 12

4 5 6

~5 ~4 ~5

7 8

II 16

9

Fig. 5. Examples of colour pattern (0 - 16).

The colour scale with pattern codes (0 - 25) contains specific patterns like for example lines with varying density, squares etc. These patterns are used when the user wants to distinguish particular areas from each other.

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1

iii!iiii!iii!!iiii

10

N 19

2 3

ili!il 11 1.2

4 5 6 7 8 9

1~ 14 15 16 ~7 18

20 2~t 22 23 24

n 25

Fig . 6. E x a m p l e s of c o l o u r p a t t e r n (0 - 25) .

COLOR is a v e r y f l e x i b l e prngram s y s t e m and a l s o e n a b l e s p r o g r a m m e r s wi th l i t t l e e x p e r i e n c e to g e n e r a t e c o l o u r p i c t u r e s . COLOR i s w r i t t e n in FORTRAN and h a s b e e n i m p l e m e n t e d at a n u m b e r of c o m p u t i n g c e n t r e s in S c a n d i n a v i a .

At the Lund University Computing Centre there are two colour jet plotters in- stalled at present. COLOR generates magnetic tape, which is then sent D Lund for plotting.

COLOR consists of programs on t h r e e levels:

BASIC SOFTWARE FUNCTIONAL SOFTWARE APPLICATION SOFTWARE

(basic routines, level 1} (subroutines, level 2) ( a p p l i c a t i o n r o u t i n e s , l e v e l 3)

The lowest level (level I) consists of routines for drcrW, ing

......................................................................................................... ' ......................................................................... i

l i n e ( c o n t i n u o u s , d a s h e d or do t ted) b e t w e e n two p o i n t s in a r b i t r a r y w i d t h and c o l o u r .

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s u r f a c e in a g r e a t number of c o l o u r s and p a t t e r n s .

ABCDEFGHI JKLMNOPQRSTUVWYZO 123456789 A~C DEF GH I JKLMNOPQRSTUVWYZO 123456~89 AICI~EFCH | ~K~.MNOPQRSTUVBYZ 012345~?1~11

.texxt in a r b i t r a r y s i z e and c o l o u r .

W i t h t h e s e b a s i c r o u t i n e s a n y a r b i t r a r y p i c t u r e c an be d e s i g n e d .

The s y s t e m w h i c h is u s e d in t h i s s o f t w a r e e n a b l e s t he u s e r to " e r a s e " ( a s s i g n c e l l s in t he c o l o u r m a t r i c e s the v a l u e of z e r o ) - s u r f a c e s , l i n e s or s y m b o l s . F igu re s c a n , for e a m p l e , be d rawn on t op o f e a c h o the r and b y t he u s e of a s p e c i a l c o d e c o v e r e d s u r f a c e s c a n be " e r a s e d " . The f igu re b e l o w i l l u s t r a t e s t h i s t e c h n i q u e in p r a c t i c e . 8 s q u a r e s a re d rawn on t o p o f e a c h o t h e r . N o t e t h a t e a c h t ime a new s q u a r e is d r a w n t h e par t of t h e s q u a r e b e n e a t h , , w h i c h is c o v e r e d b y the new o n e , d i s a p p e a r s .

F ig . 7 . E x a m p l e s of the " e r a s i n g " f a c i l i t y in COLOR.

In o rder to make p rogramming for the u s e r e a s i e r t h e r e a r e a number of s u b - r o u t i n e s ( l eve l 2) for s p e c i a l f i g u r e s , among w h i c h for t h e dr a w i n g of :

c i r c l e s and r e c t a n g l e s a x e s for d i a g r a m s

c u r v e s , s t a p l e d i a g r a m s , h i s t o g r a m s and p ie c h a r t s .

24

Page 8: ColorJetPlotter 1977

~NDEE LAGENHETER EFTER BYGIGNADSPERIOD OCH HUSTVP 60 ]

i 50 ~

so 1

I SMAHIJS

0 9'~q" [ G a HIJ:~

- 1 9 0 1 1 9 0 1 - t 9 2 I - 1 9 3 1 - 1 9 4 1 - 1 9 E 1 - 1 9 S ~ - 1 9 g 1 - [ 3 6 6 - U P P I ; I F T

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hNDEL LAGENHETER

EFTER BYGGN PEPiOD

FORE 1901 : 701

1901-I':~Z0 : 2566

19Zi- l g s o : 8 6 4

1931- 1940 : 6527

1941-1950 : ~557

I 9 5 1 . - L955 : 5 15 1 9 5 6 - 1960 : ? t

196' l - 1965 : 6 7 0

1 9 6 6 - 1970 : 5 1 9

UPPC.; SAKN~S: $4

S~MTL L~GENH : L3 12'4

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S BOENDE

BOENDE

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Fig. 8. Examples of diagrams from experimental graphical presentat ion of data from national c e n s u s .

25

Page 9: ColorJetPlotter 1977

TOT#

The h i g h e s t l e v e l w i t h a p p l i c a t i o n r o u t i n e s e n a b l e s t h e u s e r w i t h l i t t l e p rog ramming e x p e r i e n c e to d raw a p i c t u r e . T h e r e a r e , f o r i n s t a n c e , r o u - t i n e s for t h e h a n d l i n g o f t h r e e - d i m e n s i o n a l i n f o r m a t i o n :

d r a w i n g of gr id m a p s d r a w i n g o f p e r s p e c t i v e s b a s e d on gr id m ap s d r a w i n g o f c o n t o u r m ap s ( i sa r i thm maps) d r a w i n g o f t h r e e - d i m e n s i o n a l bar c h a r t s .

L POPULATION / A KIt SQUARES IN SOUTHERN SWEDEN

•,~:.

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5000

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,.00.:,0 ii~:!~!i ~,~.,---~!ili;iiiii:iiiii k

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1

~i~ ~-..- =-: :7: ~ C::i~!~;:::%'.: ~: ::: :

~ , ~ ~ . - : : ~ ._ : - ~ . , ~ . -:.~ : N~:-:~.:...~_ ~ ;

PROGRAM: IMAPI

Fig . 9 . P o p u l a t i o n d e n s i t y of S c a n i a p r e s e n t e d w i t h 3 d i f f e r e n t a p p l i c a t i o n p rog rams w i t h i n the COLOR a p p l i c a t i o n s o f t w a r e .

26

Page 10: ColorJetPlotter 1977

6~ ? t

$ I 6~ ~3

61 12 67 ~5 ~ ~g ~6 4 ~ ~ I 5 ] 50 4 e ~

/ / /

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P~.g. 10 . The COLOR-programs generate grid and contour maps of a func t ion Z=f (x ,y ) .

One of the larges t a p p l i c a t i o n f i e lds for the colour jet plotter i s genera t ion of GRID MAPS and CONTOUR MAPS (ISARITHM MAPS). Therefore comprehen- s i v e s p e c i a l programs (the IMAP-prgrams) have b een d e v e l o p e d for t h i s type of a p p l i c a t i o n s .

The GRID MAP is probably the s imples t form of map that can be g e n e r a t e d . Each v a l u e in a t w o - d i m e n s i o n a l matrix i s represented b y a square , th e s i z e of wh ich is determined by the u ser . The co lour of s u c h a square d e - pends on the v a l u e of the corresponding c e l l . The user makes a s u i t a b l e c l a s s i f i c a t i o n and l e t s each c l a s s be represented by a part icular c o l o u r .

The CONTOUR MAP represents a much more s o f i s t i c a t e d p resen ta t io n t e c h - n i q u e , s i n c e it e n t a i l s more or l e s s compl i ca ted methods of i n t e r p o l a t i o n .

Based on a number of known v a l u e s in a func t ion Z = ( x , y ) , where the p o in t s are: a) in a regular , rectangular pattern b) irregularly sca t tered n ew po ints are in terpolated with re spec t to surrounding known v a l u e s .

27

Page 11: ColorJetPlotter 1977

The transformatior~ of an i r regu la r da ta ne t to a r e g u l a r , r e c t a n g u l a r grid of po in ts is f r equen t ly needed in c a r t og raphy when i sar i thm maps (contour maps) are w a n t e d .

In m e t e o r o l o g y , for exam p l e , th is method is o f ten u sed to draw isar i thm maps of t e m p e r a t u r e , a i r p r e s s u r e and p r e c i p i t a t i o n , where input da ta come from s c a t t e r e d w e a t h e r s t a t i o n s . Also for g raph ica l p r e s e n t a t i o n of air and w a t e r po l l u t i on . A large a p p l i c a t i o n f ie ld is communi ty p l a n n i n g . Isar i thm maps are drawn of , for e x a m p l e , popu la t ion d e n s i t y on pa r i sh l e v e l , where the par i sh is o f t en c o n n e c t e d with the po in t , on which the c h u r c h is found.

28

Page 12: ColorJetPlotter 1977

' /

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, - (f~

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L n ~u C, nZ

~d

-,~ r : .? , :;: 7 . g, ~ ¢~

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C9 : .......... ;iit

t D \ " \ . C~. ~: ~,~ "\ ,, ......

._ ........ _ ........ ~;..

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" - ', , ,. ., ,.:,:~-i..'.. ~ ~; .... i~..-... '.-.:..,~ ~[

• ' • " , ' . ~ r < ~ . . - . , ~ ' , " " ~ ' : , ' " . " . " ~ " ~ ' : - : ~ ' , , i

. . ' , . , . ' . . . . . < < c. f : ' i : ; o : , ' .. :~,'.-', " ' . : ' . : ~<- . ' i . , : . '~ c ~ i

"'~ / '..-~. ' ' , '.~ff "-".';'b' -:1,'" , ": .~ "~ ""

Fig. Ii exemplifies a transformation of an irregular data net

(PGrlsh points) to a regular grid of points. The programs for generating grid maps and contour maps can then be used.

29

Page 13: ColorJetPlotter 1977

:I'h.e _or_g~zn£z~tj.o~ ~o~rt¢l _the _co_louE Letplotter.

The p r i n c i p l e of c o n t r o l l i n g an ink j e t w i t h e l e c t r i c a l v o l t a g e h a s b e e n s t u d i e d for s e v e r a l y e a r s a t t h e d e p a r t m e n t of E l e c t r i c a l M e a s u r e m e n t s , Lund I n s t i t u t e of T e c h n o l o g y , w i t h t h e a im a t p r a c t i c a l u s e . One a p p l i - c a t i o n h a s b e c o m e t h e c o l o u r j e t p l o t t e r .

A p r o t o t y p e w a s b u i l t and put to w o r k in 1 9 7 2 . B a s e d o n e x p e r i e n c e f rom t h i s p r o t o t y p e two m o r e p l o t t e r s h a v e b e e n b u i l t , w h i c h t o d a y a re p l a c e d a t t he Lund U n i v e r s i t y C o m p u t i n g C e n t r e . T h e s e p l o t t e r s a r e u s e d to g i v e t h e p i c t u r e p l o t t i n g s e r v i c e o f f e r e d b y t h e C o m p u t i n g C e n t r e .

This plotting service was organized in cooperation with the department of Electrical Measurements. It has expanded and now amounts to some 20 000 pictures annually.

The s o f t w a r e for t h e c o l o u r j e t p l o t t e r w a s d e v e l o p e d a t t h e Lund U n i v e r s i - t y C o m p u t i n g C e n t r e p a r t l y g r a n t e d b y t h e S w e d i s h Board for T e c h n i c a l D e v e l o p m e n t STU. From t h e b e g i n n i n g the s o f t w a r e w a s p l a n n e d in s u c h a w a y t h a t i n s t a l l a t i o n in d i f f e r e n t t y p e s of c o m p u t e r s w o u l d b e p o s s i b l e .

I t h a s a l r e a d y b e e n i n s t a l l e d in m a n y c o m p u t i n g c e n t r e s in S w e d e n a n d D e n - m a r k : In t h i s w a y t h e c o l o u r p i c t u r e t e c h n i q u e c a n b e t e s t e d b e f o r e a l o c a l c o l o u r j e t p l o t t e r i s p r o c u r e d .

W h e n c a l c u l a t e d in t h e c o m p u t e r t h e p i c t u r e i s g e n e r a t e d l i k e a p a t t e r n o f o n e s a n d z e r o s . Th i s c a n b e d o n e a t e a c h c o m p u t i n g c e n t r e , w h e r e t h e s o f t w a r e i s i n s t a l l e d . The p i c t u r e i s s t o r e d on m a g n e t i c t a p e and s e n t to t h e ~und U n i v e r s i t y C o m p u t i n g C e n t r e for p l o t t i n g . The c o l o u r j e t p l o t t e r d r a w s a p i c t u r e a c c o r d i n g to t h e p a t t e r n on t h e m a g n e t i c t a p e . T a p e a n d p i c t u r e a r e r e t u r n e d to t h e c u s t o m e r .

30

Page 14: ColorJetPlotter 1977

The co lour jet p lo t te r t e c h n i q u e is a l r e a d y used by u s e r s in a number of app- l i c a t i on f i e l d s . The l a rges t app l i c a t i on f i e lds are in c o m m u n i t y p l ann ing . Loc a l , r eg iona l and na t iona l au tho r i t i e s have for a long per iod t e s t e d the t e c h n i q u e in p r a c t i c e wi th in the current a c t i v i t i e s of the publ ic s e c t o r . The DeparLment of Agr icu l ture , the Nat iona l Swed i sh Envi ronment P ro t ec t ion Board, the Na t iona l Board of Urban P lann ing , the Swed i sh Board for Real Es ta t e Data CFD, the Cent ra l Bureau of S t a t i s t i c s SCB, the Swedish M e t e o r o - log ica l and Hydro log i ca l I n s t i t u t e , the G e o l o g i c a l Su rvey of Sweden SGU, Hal land and Malm6 County C o u n c i l s , Go thenburg , Malta6 and Stockholm M u n i c i p a l i t i e s are some e x a m p l e s .

Examples of some cur rent p ro j ec t s are:

g raph ica l p r e s e n t a t i o n of envi ronment da ta with the c o l o u r je t p lo t te r in co - ope ra t ion wi th the envi ronment p ro t ec t ion depar tment of Malta6 County in c o n n e c t i o n wiLh the i r expe r imen ta l work for the Envi ronment Pro tec t ion In- format ion Sys tem (MI-01) ,

de ve lopmen t of sof tware for map and diagram accoun t i ng for the r e s u l t s of the c e n s u s 1975 FoB 75, c o - o p e r a t i o n b e t w e e n the Cen t r a l Bureau of S ta t i s - t i c s , Malta5 M u n i c i p l a i t y and Lund Computing C e n t r e ,

d i s p l a y of g rav ime t r i c m e a s u r e m e n t s in c o - o p e r a t i o n wi th Boliden AB, Sweden ,

g r aph ica l p r e s e n t a t i o n of popu la t ion s t a t i s t i c s , c o - o p e r a t i o n be tween Maim5 and Gothenburg M u n i c i p a l i t i e s , the Cent ra l Bureau of S t a t i s t i c s , Mun ic ipa - l i ty Data and Lund Computing Cen t r e ,

g raph ica l p r e s e n t a t i o n of air po l lu t ion , c o - o p e r a t i o n b e t w e e n SMHI, the En- v i ronment Data Project in Lund and Lund Computing C e n t r e .

References.

Hertz, C.H. and M6nsson, A. , Color Plotter for Computer Graphics using three electrically controlled ink jets. Information Processing 74 vol i, 1974, 85-88.

fern, M., Color jet software users manual.

Jem, M., IMAP-manuel, contour plotting with the color jet plotter.

Smeds, B., A 3-colour ink jet plotter for computer graphics, Bit, vol 13, No 2, 1973, 181-195.

31