-- coding: UTF-8 --
README for sam2p by pts@fazekas.hu at Sun Dec 30 19:30:17 CET 2001 -- Fri Mar 22 19:25:03 CET 2002 Sat Apr 27 00:39:12 CEST 2002 Wed Jul 3 01:20:40 CEST 2002 Wed Feb 5 19:46:51 CET 2003 grammatical corrections by Steve Turner at Mon Jan 10 00:53:46 CET 2005
This is the README file for sam2p, a raster to PostScript/PDF image conversion program. This file contains a 5-minute turbo tutorial for new and impatient users (search for the phrase `Turbo tutorial' in your text editor). As of now, this README file is the only, and definitive, documentation of sam2p.
sam2p is a UNIX command line utility written in C++ (C++98) that converts many raster (bitmap) image formats into Adobe PostScript or PDF files and several other formats. The images are not vectorized. sam2p gives full control to the user to specify standards-compliance, compression, and bit depths. In some cases sam2p can compress an image 100 times smaller than the PostScript output of many other common image converters. sam2p provides ZIP, RLE and LZW (de)compression filters even on Level1 PostScript devices.
Send donations to the author of sam2p: https://flattr.com/submit/auto?user_id=pts&url=https://github.com/pts/sam2p
Do you need sam2p?
-- If you have a raster image (e.g. PNG, JPEG), and you need EPS or PDF output, then sam2p is probably very useful for you, because it can generate small EPS and PDF files quickly, outperforming many other tools (such as ImageMagick's convert) in speed and output file size. For EPS output files, the compatibility of sam2p is also better that of other tools. -- If you use any of pdftex, pdflatex, luatex, lualatex, xetex or xelatex, and you have your raster images as PNG and JPEG files, then you don't need sam2p or any other raster image converter, because \includegraphics works on PNG and JPEG files directly. -- If you want to make your JPEG files smaller, there are much better tools than sam2p for that. -- If you want to make your PNG files smaller, you can use sam2p to convert PNG to PNG, but with other tools (such as pngout, advpng and zopflipng) you can get a better compression ratio at a cost of slower compression speed. -- If you want to make your PDF files smaller, use pdfsizeopt (https://github.com/pts/pdfsizeopt). pdfsizeopt uses sam2p and other tools (such as jbig2) under the hood to make the raster images embedded in the PDF files smaller.
How small is the EPS output of sam2p?
-- A testimonial from Grant Ingram, UK: Anyway this is just a quick note to say thanks for writing the sam2p utility which I am using to create EPS figures of photographs for my thesis -- it works very well producing image sizes that are some 3% of the ones produced by ImageMagick.
-- A testimonial from Tom Schneider, US:
-rw------- 1 toms delila 88628 Mar 3 17:38 prototype-small.eps
-rw------- 1 toms delila 7979299 Feb 24 12:25 prototype.epsGood GRIEF you have written a nice program!!!! The file is 90 fold smaller than the one from ImageMagick's convert.
That image that was 90x smaller had been bugging me because it was so large that xdvi would strongly hesitate while I passed by the page. Now it just has a minor delay, thanks to you.
-- Results are not always that impressive. See the section {sam2p vs convert in 2017} for more details.
Benefits of sam2p:
-- sam2p produces much smaller output. -- sam2p gives the user complete control over the data layout of the output image. This includes Compression, SampleFormat and TransferEncoding. -- sam2p is fast. -- sam2p doesn't depend on external libraries. (But it does depend on external programs for reading JPEG, TIFF and PNG files.) -- sam2p supports the mainstream image formats of today without compromise. sam2p has many file format fine-tuning features that are missing from most other converter utilities. For example: TIFF ZIP compression, TIFF LZW compression, TIFF JPEG compression, transparent PNG files, BMP RLE-4 and RLE-8 compression, etc. -- sam2p supports all levels (versions) of the PostScript language and output images have the smallest file size allowed by the LanguageLevel. -- PostScript ZIP, RLE and LZW compression is provided for all LanguageLevels (!), even for PSL1 (which appeared in 1984). You can print your ZIP-compressed images onto your ancient printer of the 1980s. -- sam2p supports all versions of PDF, and as with PostScript, output images have the smallest file size allowed by the version. -- Output images of sam2p are always compliant to the standard selected by the user. -- Output images of sam2p are real-world compatible, i.e the author has tested them with many common image processing programs, for example: Ghostscript, pdfTeX, xpdf, Acrobat Reader, The GIMP, ImageMagick, xv, Acrobat Distiller, QuarkXPress, InDesign. The author has also tested PostScript files on HP and OkiData printers. -- sam2p converts every pixel faithfully, preserving all the 24 RGB bits intact. There is no quality or information loss unless you ask for it. -- sam2p uses only a minimal number of libraries. You don't have to install 33Mb of ballast software to use sam2p. Image libraries (libtiff etc.) are not used, the math library is not used, libstdc++ is not used, zlib is not used.
Long-term limitations of sam2p:
-- Only DeviceRGB color space, with the Indexed, Gray and RGB image types. -- Indexed images are limited to a maximum of 256 colors. -- Alpha channel and transparency supported only for Indexed images: only one color may be transparent. -- The entire input image is read into memory. During operation both the input and the output images may be held in memory.
Many thanks to Steve Turner for reviewing and making corrections to this document.
Status
sam2p is production-ready software. It is available from:
https://github.com/pts/sam2p
The documentation is incomplete, but -- together with the examples -- it is
quite useful. Please have a look at the home page to find articles and more
documentation (the PDF docs are much more eye-pleasing than this README).
The source code contains valuable comments, but they may be hard to find
unless you're deeply into developing sam2p.
The author is developing sam2p in his free time. (He is studying and
working in non-free time.)
The imaging model is complete. Image output routines are stable and
adequate. Reasonable defaults are provided for all command line options.
sam2p can usually find the best SampleFormat automatically. There is
an educated (but not perfect) default guess for the Compression.
See subsection {OutputRule combinations} about all planned formats.
Turbo tutorialQuick compilation instructions:
sam2p' executable to your $PATH, or invoke it as./sam2p'.Quick try:
-- ./sam2p examples/pts2.pbm try.eps -- ./sam2p examples/pts2.pbm try.pdf -- ./sam2p examples/pts2.pbm try.ps -- ./sam2p examples/pts2.pbm try.png -- ./sam2p examples/pts2.pbm try.tiff -- ./sam2p examples/pts2.pbm try.xpm -- ./sam2p examples/pts2.pbm try.bmp -- ./sam2p examples/pts2.pbm try.jpg
A really short User's guide """"""""""""""""""""""""""" To convert an image, call:
./sam2p <INPUT.IMG> <OUTPUT.IMG>
Example: ./sam2p examples/pts2.pbm try.epsTo print an image as a full PostScript page, call:
./sam2p [MARGIN-SPECS] <INPUT.IMG> ps: - | lpr
Example: ./sam2p -m:1cm examples/pts2.pbm ps: - | lprTo convert an image to be included as EPS (Encapsulated PostScript) into (La)TeX documents, call:
./sam2p <INPUT.IMG> <OUTPUT.eps>
Example: ./sam2p examples/pts2.pbm test.eps
In file.tex: \usepackage{graphicx} ... \includegraphics{test}To convert an image to be included as PDF into pdf(La)TeX documents, call:
./sam2p <INPUT.IMG> <OUTPUT.pdf>
Example: ./sam2p examples/pts2.pbm test.pdf
In file.tex: \usepackage{graphicx} ... \includegraphics{test}If you have a large image file (possibly originating from dumb software), you can reduce the image size and keep the same filename. (Please note that some meta-information may be lost using this method.) This operation is DANGEROUS if you don't have a backup, because due to a software or hardware problem, sam2p might clobber time image file so the actual image gets lost. To overwrite a file in-place, call:
./sam2p <INPUT-OUTPUT.IMG> --
Example: ./sam2p test.tiff --You may specify a compression method (or supply other command line options) to make a file even smaller, call:
./sam2p [OPTIONS] <INPUT.IMG> <OUTPUT.IMG>
Example: ./sam2p -c:zip test.tiff test2.tiffSee the detailed documentation of available command-line options elsewhere in this document. You may also read section {FAQ} for more information.
Too see a list about the supported input and output image file formats, call:
./sam2pExample output:
This is sam2p v0.39.
Available Loaders: JAI PNG JPEG TIFF PNM BMP GIF LBM XPM PCX TGA.
Available Appliers: XWD Meta Empty BMP PNG TIFF6 TIFF6-JAI JPEG-JAI JPEG PNM GIF89a XPM PSL1C PSL23+PDF PDF-JAI PSL2-JAI l1fa85g P-TrOpBb.
Usage: [...]The list of ``Available Loaders'' lists the input image file formats. All except for JAI are self-explanatory. JAI is JPEG-as-is, it means reading a JPEG file and writing back the exactly same image into an other JPEG variant, without quality loss.
From the list of ``Available Appliers'' one can derive the supported output image file formats. XWD, BMP, PNG, TIFF6, JPEG, PNM, GIF89a and XPM are self-explanatory. TIFF6-JAI, JPEG-JAI, PDF-JAI and PSL2-JAI are JPEG variants into which JAI files (see above) can be saved. While the names of the remaining appliers may be quite cryptic to the beginner user; most of those appliers provide sam2p's excellent support for writing PS, EPS and PDF files.
sam2p operation modes
sam2p is a command line utility (i.e, without a graphical user
interface), so it can be used by composing a command line with the
appropriate options and parameters, and launching it. See sections ``Turbo
tutorial'' and ``One-liner mode'' for more details.
sam2p is not interactive, it doesn't ask questions; thus it is completely
suitable for batch processing and automation. sam2p doesn't log errors, but
its STDERR can be redirected to a log file quite easily.
There are three modes sam2p can operate in:
-- one-liner mode: (since sam2p 0.37)
the user, perhaps, has to type a long command line, specifying the input
and the output file name, output file format, compression options, etc.
Most of the functionality of sam2p is available in a quite intuitive way
in one-liner mode. Users of the `convert' utility from ImageMagick and
`tiff2ps' and `tiffcp' will find that one-liner mode of sam2p is very
similar to them. This mode is recommended for impatient users.
Due to the nature of sam2p development, some new functionality of job mode
might be missing from one-liner mode. Please report this as a bug.
-- job mode: the user has to write a ``job'' file (recommended extension:
.job), which specifies all conversion parameters, including the input and
output file name. The name of the job file must be passed to sam2p. This
mode is recommended for expert users who want to retain full control of
all aspects of the final output. All functionality is available in job
mode. This is especially useful in repetative but time separated jobs.
-- GUI mode: This is completely experimental, and will be very probably
dropped in the near future. Try executing sam2p.tk (TCL/Tk is required).
Please don't use GUI mode, use one-liner mode instead! The flexability
of a one-liner (or job) mode is nearly imposible to encompas in a GUI.
No more documentation is provided for GUI mode.
There might be a Micro$oft Windoze version of sam2p available in the near
future, but very probably you won't get real GUI with radio boxes, lists
and file selection dialogs. You'll have to start sam2p from the DOS
prompt...
One-liner modeThis section contains a reference-style summary for the one-liner mode. The author knows that this section is quite incomprehensible, and a bit old. He is planning to completely rewrite it to be readable for the novice user.
The order of the arguments and options is significant.
Input file extension is discarded. The file format is recognised by its magic number.
Output file extension gives a hint for /FileFormat:
.ps :\ .eps : \ where PS: implies scale to fit page .epsi : > PSL1 PSLC PSL2 PSL3 and .epsf : / EPS: implies no scale changes [E]PS::/ also see Q9 in FAQs below .pdf : \ PDF1.0 PDF1.2 (and) PDF: : / PDFB1.0 PDFB1.2 .gif : GIF89a .pnm : PNM (for use with transparency) .pbm : PNM /SampleFormat/Gray1 .pgm : PNM /SampleFormat/Gray8 .ppm : PNM /SampleForamt/Rgb8 .pam : PAM .pip : PIP .empty : Empty .meta : Meta .jpeg : JPEG .jpg : " .tiff : TIFF .tif : " .png : PNG .xpm : XPM .bmp : BMP /Compression/RLE .rle : BMP /Compression/RLE
Options (case insensitive):
-- --tmpremove {true|false} : remove temporary files after completion.
Set to false for debugging. Default: true.
-- -j -j:job : display in-memory .job file
-- -j:warn : be verbose and display warnings about impossible combinations in
the .job file
-- -j:quiet : print only error and fatal error messages, suppress
warnings, notices etc. Must be put at the beginning of the
command line to suppress initial banners, too. For example,
sam2p -j:quiet in.gif out.eps'. -- -s:Indexed1:Indexed4:Indexed8: Try /SampleFormats in this order, and try all others after these. Can be specified separately (e.g-s Indexed1 -s Indexed2:Indexed8')
-- -s:Indexed1:Indexed4:Indexed8:stop: Try only these /SampleFormats in
this order. Can be specified separately
(e.g -s Indexed1:Indexed2 -s Indexed8:stop') -- -s:Indexed1:Indexed4:Indexed8:stopq: Try only these /SampleFormats in this order, be quiet (no warnings on failures). Can be specified separately (e.g-s Indexed1:Indexed2 -s Indexed8:stop')
-- -s:tr equivalent to `-s Transparent:Opaque:Mask:Transparent2:Transparent4:Transparent8'
-- -l:... : /LoadHints(...)
-- disabled: -a: /LoadHints(asis) extra /Compression/JAI; load JPEG files (and others as-is)
-- -1 -ps:1 PSL1: : [tiff2ps] hint /FileFormat/PSL1 among /PSL -- -1c -ps:1c -ps:c PSLC: : [pts] hint /FileFormat/PSLC among /PSL -- -2 -ps:2 PSL2: EPS2: : [tiff2ps,imagemagick] default hint /FileFormat/PSL2 among /PSL -- -3 -ps:3 PSL3: : [pts] hint /FileFormat/PSL3 among /PSL -- -pdf:b0 PDFB1.0: : [pts] hint /FileFormat/PDFB1.0 among /PDF (PDF 1.0 with inline image) -- -pdf:b2 PDFB1.2: : [pts] default hint /FileFormat/PDFB1.2 among /PDF (PDF 1.2 with inline image; default because image processors usually keep inline images intact, so they wouldn't want to inefficiently recompress our image) -- -pdf:0 PDF1.0: : [pts] hint /FileFormat/PDF1.0 among /PDF (PDF 1.0 with XObject image) -- -pdf:2 PDF1.2: : [pts] hint /FileFormat/PDF1.2 among /PDF (PDF 1.2 with XObject image) -- EPS: EPSF: : [pts] hint /FileFormat/PSL2 or /FileFormat/PSL3 (for /Compression/ZIP) -- PDF: : [pts] hint /FileFormat/PDFB1.0 or /FileFormat/PDFB1.2 (for /Compression/ZIP) -- PS: : [pts] hint /Scale/RotateOK /FileFormat/PSL2 or /FileFormat/PSL3 (for /Compression/ZIP) -- PS2: : [imagemagick] hint /Scale/RotateOK /FileFormat/PSL2. Deprecated, please use PS:.
-- -e:0 -e:none -e:false : /Scale/None -- -e -e:1 -e:scale -e:true : /Scale/OK -- -e:rot -e:rotate : /Scale/RotateOK -- -e:(false-bool) : /Scale/None -- -e:(true-bool) : /Scale/OK
-- GIF: GIF89a: : [imagemagick,pts] /FileFormat/GIF89a -- JPEG: JPG: : [imagemagick,pts] /FileFormat/JPEG -- TIFF: TIF: : [imagemagick,pts] /FileFormat/TIFF -- PNG: : [imagemagick] /FileFormat/PNG -- XPM: : [imagemagick] /FileFormat/XPM -- BMP: : [imagemagick] /FileFormat/BMP -- Empty: : [pts] /FileFormat/Empty -- Meta: : [pts] /FileFormat/Meta -- PIP: : [pts] /FileFormat/PIP -- PAM: : [pts] /FileFormat/PAM -- PNM: : [imagemagick] /FileFormat/PNM (for use with transparency) -- PBM: : [imagemagick] /FileFormat/PNM /SampleFormat/Gray1 -- PGM: : [imagemagick] /FileFormat/PNM /SampleFormat/Gray8 -- PPM: : [imagemagick] /FileFormat/PNM /SampleFormat/Rgb8
-- -t:bin : [pts] hint /TransferEncoding/Binary (default unless /PS*) -- -t:hex : [pts] hint /TransferEncoding/Hex (default for /PSL1 /PSLC) -- -t:a85 : [pts] hint /TransferEncoding/A85 (default for /PSL2 /PSL3) -- -t:ascii : [pts] hint /TransferEncoding/ASCII -- -t:lsb1 -f:lsb2msb : [pts,tiffcp] hint /TransferEncoding/LSBfirst -- -t:msb1 -f:msb2lsb : [pts,tiffcp] hint /TransferEncoding/MSBfirst
-- -c:none : [pts,tiffcp] non-default hint /Compression/None -- -c:zip:25:9 : [pts,tiffcp] ZIP, maximum effort, best predictor -- -c:zip:(1..99):(-1..9) : [pts] hint /Compression/ZIP /Predictor ... /Effort ... -- -c:zip:(1..99) : [pts] same as -c:zip(1..99):5 -- -c:zip : [pts,tiffcp] same as -c:zip:1:5 -- -c:lzw:25 : [pts] LZW, best predictor -- -c:lzw:(1..99) : [pts] hint /Compression/LZW /Predictor ... -- -c:lzw : [pts,tiffcp] same as -c:lzw:1 -- -c:(rle|packbits) : [pts,tiffcp] hint /Compression/RLE -- -c:(rle|packbits):(0..) : [pts] hint /Compression/RLE /RecordSize ... -- -c:fax : [pts] hint /Compression/Fax -- -c:fax:(-1..) : [pts] hint /Compression/Fax /K ... -- -c:dct : [pts] hint /Compression/DCT /DCT<<>> -- -c:dct:... : [pts] hint /Compression/DCT /DCT<<...>> -- -c:jpeg : [pts,tiffcp] hint /Compression/JAI, /Compression/IJG -- -c:jpeg:(0..100) : [pts] hint /Compression/JAI, /Compression/IJG /Quality ... -- -c:ijgi : [pts,tiffcp] hint /Compression/IJG -- -c:ijg:(0..100) : [pts] hint /Compression/IJG /Quality ... -- -c:g4 : [pts] equivalent to -c:fax:-1 -- -c:g3 -c:g3:1d : [pts] equivalent to -c:fax:0, -c:fax -- -c:g3:2d : [pts] equivalent to -c:fax:-2 -- -c:jai : [pts] hint /Compression/JAI
-- -m:dpi:(dimen) : set /ImageDPI to dimen' -- -m:(dimen) \ : set all margins (/TopMargin,/BottomMargin, /LeftMargin, /RightMargin) todimen'
-m:all:(dimen) \ : /LeftMargin, /RightMargin) to dimen' -m:a:(dimen) : -- -m:horiz:(dimen) \ : set /LeftMargin and /RightMargin todimen'
-m:h:(dimen) \ :
-m:x:(dimen) :
-- -m:vert:(dimen) \ : set /TopMargin and /BottomMargin to dimen' -m:v:(dimen) \ : -m:y:(dimen) : -- -m:left:(dimen) \ : set /LeftMargin todimen'
-m:l:(dimen) :
-- -m:right:(dimen) \ : set /RightMargin to dimen' -m:r:(dimen) : -- -m:top:(dimen) \ : set /TopMargin todimen'
-m:t:(dimen) \ :
-m:up:(dimen) \ :
-m:u:(dimen) :
-- -m:bottom:(dimen) \ : set /BottomMargin to `dimen'
-m:b:(dimen) \ :
-m:down:(dimen) \ :
-m:d:(dimen) :
-- -- : if given as last arg, then OutputFile:=InputFile -- -- : if given earlier than last arg, then treat other args as filenames -- -transparent:(rgb) Change the all pixels having the specified RGB color to transparent. Previously transparent pixels are not changed. See FAQ answer A44 for an exampe.
Default and fallback compression types for each file format:
-- PSL1 PSLC : /RLE -- PSL2 PDFB1.0 PDF1.0 : /JAI /RLE -- PSL3 PDFB1.2 PDF1.2 : /JAI /ZIP -- GIF89a : /LZW -- XPM PNM PAM PIP Empty Meta : )/None) -- JPEG : /JAI /IJG -- TIFF : /JAI /LZW? /RLE -- PNG : /ZIP -- BMP : /RLE
Overview of job mode
In the ``job mode'' sam2p doesn't accept any command line options. It must be
controlled from the ``job'' files. In ''job mode'' sam2p expects a single command
line argument: the name of the Job file (file format described in section
{Jobs}). sam2p runs that single job, prints debug, info, notice, warning and
error messages (etc.), and creates a single output file: a PS or a PDF. For
multiple jobs and/or multiple output files, one has to run sam2p multiple
times.
The details about the output file format (including standards-compliance,
compression and transfer encoding) are specified in the Job file and other
files. Thus, in order to make use of the (basic and) advanced
features of sam2p in job mode, you have to:
1. Understand the basic concepts (i.e read through this manual, and have a
look at the examples).
2. Prepare the input raster (bitmap) graphics file in one of the supported
input formats (see section {Supported input formats}).
3. Decide the name of the output file.
4. Decide some or all details of the output format.
5. Create a Job file that describes those details.
6. Invoke the program `sam2p' with the name of the Job file as a single
command-line argument (or `-' if the Job file is fed on STDIN).
7. Read warning and error messages (printed to STDOUT and STDERR), and retry
if necessary.
Revision history, changesSee in the file debian/changelog.
Known bugs and issues
Please see pending bugs on https://github.com/pts/sam2p/issues .
Feel free to report any issue there if you encounter one! Your
bug reports and contributions are very welcome.
All of these old bugs had a follow-up elsewhere, or they don't need one:
https://code.google.com/archive/p/sam2p/issues .
If you are interested in fixed or closed bugs, please see them on
https://github.com/pts/sam2p/issues?q=is%3Aissue%20is%3Aclosed .
RequirementsExternal software required for running sam2p:
-- operting system: any of:
-- Linux
-- Mac OS X
-- Windows (any 32-bit Windows system released since 1995 will do;
for older systems, install Wordpad to get MSVCRT.DLL)
-- FreeBSD
-- any UNIX system with a fairly standard BSD or POSIX C library (C++
libraries are not required),
-- optionally: the libjpeg cjpeg' utility for /Compression/IJG -- optionally: the libjpegdjpeg' utility for reading JPEG files
-- optionally: tif22pnm (uses libtiff) for reading TIFF files
-- optionally: png22pnm (uses libpng) for reading PNG files
Installation on Linux from package
If you use Debian, Ubuntu or some other .deb-based distribution on an i386
(x86) or amd64 (x86_64) system, download the latest .deb package from:
https://github.com/pts/sam2p/releases
Install it like this:
$ sudo dpkg -i sam2p_0.49.3-1_i386.deb
The executable in the .deb file doesn't have any library dependencies, it
works on any version of Debian and Ubuntu.
sam2p used to be included in Debian and Ubuntu for all architectures, but it
isn't anymore as of 2017-07-12 (it disappeared in 2016-01-22, see
https://tanguy.ortolo.eu/blog/article143/removing-sam2p-from-debian .)
If you need PNG input support, download the latest png22pnm.exe from:
https://github.com/pts/tif22pnm/releases
Then put it to the same directory where sam2p.exe is.
If you need PNG input support, download the latest png22pnm.xstatic
executable from:
https://github.com/pts/tif22pnm/releases
Then put it to your $PATH as tif22pnm, something like this:
$ chmod 755 tif22pnm.xstatic
$ sudo mv tif22pnm.xstatic /usr/local/bin/tif22pnm
Alternatively, tif22pnm may be available as a package on your Linux
distribution.
Using it on Linux without installationIf you use any Linux on an i386 (x86) or amd64 (x86_64) system, download the latest sam2p.xstatic executable from:
https://github.com/pts/sam2p/releasesRun it like this:
$ mv sam2p.xstatic sam2p
$ chmod 755 sam2p
$ ./sam2pThe executable doesn't have any library dependencies, it works on any Linux system.
If you need PNG input support, download the latest png22pnm.xstatic executable from:
https://github.com/pts/tif22pnm/releasesThen put it to your $PATH as tif22pnm, something like this:
$ chmod 755 tif22pnm.xstatic
$ sudo mv tif22pnm.xstatic /usr/local/bin/tif22pnmUsing it on FreeBSD without installation
FreeBSD has a Linux subsystem, which is able to run sam2p. After activating
it, follow the instructions in the section {Using it on Linux without
installation}.
Using it on Windows without installationDownload the latest sam2p.exe from:
https://github.com/pts/sam2p/releasesThen copy sam2p.exe to the current directory, or to somewhere on your $PATH, and run it as `sam2p' (without the quotes).
sam2p.exe has only standard Windows DLL dependencies, it works on any Windows systems (i386 and amd64). If MSVCRT.DLL is missing, install Wordpad.
If you need PNG input support, download the latest png22pnm.exe from:
https://github.com/pts/tif22pnm/releasesThen put it to the same directory where sam2p.exe is.
Compilation on UNIX
For Win32 compilation, see later.
Software required for UNIX compilation:
-- TL;DR You need these tools on the $PATH: sh perl g++ as ld
-- a UNIX system
-- sh: a Bourne-compatible shell (preferably GNU Bash >=2.0, but can be dash,
ksh, zsh, busybox sh or others)
-- g++: a working, GNU-compatible C++ compiler (preferably GNU G++ >=2.91. Known
working compilers: g++-2.91 g++-2.95 g++-3.0 g++-3.1 g++-3.2, g++-4.0,
g++-4.4, g++-4.8, g++-6.3, g++-7.3)
-- perl: Perl >=5.004 (no external Perl modules are required)
-- (optional) make: GNU Make
-- (optional) autoconf: GNU autoconf >=2.53 (version number is important,
see AC_C_CONST)
-- (not required): the following libraries are _not_ required: libjpeg,
libtiff, libpng, libungif, PDFlib, zlib, libm
Compilation (it creates the executable file sam2p):
sh compile.sh
If it doesn't work with your sh, you may want to try bash instead.
Alternative compilation if you don't want to link against libstdc++:
sh compile_minigxx.sh
Alternative compilation for some targets, including cross-compilation: use
the ./compile_*.sh scripts.
If you want to use the ./configure script, run
#sh configure --enable-gif --enable-lzw # optional, make does it
make
# the stand-alone utility `./sam2p' is now built
make install # optional, may not work
If you have GNU Make as gmake on the $PATH, run this:
sh configure MAKE=gmake --enable-gif --enable-lzw # optional, gmake does it
gmake
# the stand-alone utility `./sam2p' is now built
gmake install # optional, may not work
If installation doesn't work, please copy the file `sam2p' to somewhere in
your $PATH, for example /usr/local/bin. Please also copy the README to a
directory like /usr/share/doc/sam2p. There is no man page -- the
documentation is the readme.
Testing:
./sam2p
./sam2p examples/ptsbanner_zip.job
./sam2p examples/pts2.pbm try.eps
gs test.ps
# try other examples: examples/*.job
On Debian systems, you'll need GNU Make, Perl, GNU Bash and any of the
following packages for compilation:
apt-get install libc6-dev gcc-2.95 g++-2.95
apt-get install libc6-dev gcc-3.0 g++-3.0
apt-get install libc6-dev gcc-3.1 g++-3.1
apt-get install libc6-dev gcc-3.2 g++-3.2
apt-get install libc6-dev gcc-3.3 g++-3.3
apt-get install libc6-dev gcc-3.4 g++-3.4
Please also run any of the following before ./configure:
export CC=gcc-2.95 CXX=g++-2.95
export CC=gcc-3.0 CXX=g++-3.0 # or g++-3.1 etc.
Optionally, you may install any of
apt-get install gccchecker
apt-get install autoconf
sam2p has been tested with a wide variety of GNU C++ compilers, including
g++-2.91, g++-2.95, g++-3.0, g++-3.1, g++-3.2, i386-uclibc-g++-2.95,
checkerg++-2.95. The program must be compilable _without_ _warnings_ with
any of g++-2.91, g++-2.95, g++-3.0, g++-3.1, g++-3.2. If there is a
compilation error, send a brief e-mail to the author immediately!
Portabilitysam2p is quite portable on UNIX systems. It runs on:
Debian GNU/Linux Slink 2.2.13 glibc-2.0.7 (development platform)
Debian GNU/Linux Potato 2.2.18 glibc-2.1.3
Debian GNU/Linux Sid 2.4.17 glibc-2.2.5
Digital OSF1 V4.0 1229 alpha
Slackware 8.0/8.1 2.4.5 libc-2.2.3 gcc-2.95.3
SunOS 5.7 Generic_106541-17 sun4u sparc SUNW,Ultra-2 gcc-2.95.2
SunOS 5.8 Generic_108528-12 sun4u sparc gcc-3.0.4Also it runs on Win32 in command line (sam2p.exe) and GUI mode (vcsam2p.exe). Command line mode is stable and it is recommended on this platform.
It should work on any Linux or BSD system without modification. Porting to other Unices should be quite easy. The author welcomes portability patches.
Porting to non-UNIX systems may be hard. Reasons:
-- Those systems might not have GNU Make, Perl or a Bourne-compatible shell
installed. So the Makefile supplied won't work, and many man hours of extra
work would be necessary.
-- sam2p uses the popen(3) library call to communicate with external
processes. This call might not be available on non-UNIX systems.
-- sam2p expects that the $PATH contains the external binaries. Some systems
tend to have empty or misconfigured $PATH. On some systems, gs' is calledgswin32c.exe' etc.
sam2p 0.38 has been compiled and run successfully on:
-- Linux 2.2.8 Debian Slink, g++-2.91
-- Linux 2.4.18-ac3 Debian SID, g++-2.95, g++-3.0, g++-3.1, g++-3.2
Executable size: 318kB.
-- Linux 2.4.2 Debian Potato, gcc version 2.95.2 20000220 (Debian GNU/Linux)
No warnings.
Compilation took 0:47, executable size: 330kB.
-- Linux 2.2.16-3 Red Hat Linux release 6.2 (Zoot), gcc version egcs-2.91.66 19990314/Linux (egcs-1.1.2 release)
No warnings.
Compilation took 0:44, executable size: 324kB.
-- OSF1 V4.0 564 alpha, gcc version 2.7.2.2
(tons of: warning: cast discards const' from pointer target type, tons of: warning: the meaning of\x' varies with -traditional
tons of: warning: cast increases required alignment of target type)
Compilation took 5 minutes, executable size: 550kB.
-- SunOS 5.7 Generic_106541-19 sun4u sparc SUNW,Ultra-2, gcc version 3.1
(some: warning: cast from char*' toint' increases required alignment of target type)
Compilation took 2:50, executable size: 437kB.
-- SunOS 5.8 Generic_108528-15 sun4u sparc, gcc version 3.1.1
(some: warning: cast from `char' to `int*' increases required alignment of target type)
Compilation took 1:26, executable size: 437kB.
-- Slackware 8.0/8.1, kernel 2.4.5, libc.6.so (libc-2.2.3) gcc-2.95.3
sam2p 0.42 has been compiled and run successfully on:
-- Windows 98, Visual C++ 6.0 -- Windows 98, MSYS, MingGW, G++ 3.2
Win32 compilation instructions for command-line mode
(These instructions are outdated.)
To compile sam2p.exe, the Win32 equivalent of the UNIX utility sam2p, you
have to install these build dependencies first:
-- MinGW and MSYS, available from http://www.mingw.org
-- Perl 5.004 or newer (only perl.exe and perl5*.dll are required), available
from http://www.perl.com. Note that this will be a long download and a
bloated install, but after that, just copy perl.exe and the single
perl5*.dll to your C:\WINDOWS directory, and uninstall the rest.
To build sam2p:
1. Install all the build dependencies.
2. Open the MSYS terminal window from the start menu.
3. Run `explorer .' to figure out what is the current working directory.
Let's call this directory the MSYS home.
4. Download the sam2p sources (.tar.gz) into the MSYS home from:
https://github.com/pts/sam2p/releases
5. Unpack the sources. Run:
tar xzvf sam2p-latest.tar.gz
tar xvf sam2p-latest.tar.gz # if the previous one doesn't work
6. Run `cd sam2p-*.*' to enter the sam2p source directory. It should contain
a newer version of this README and the file sam2p_main.cpp.
7. Run `perl -edie' to check whether Perl is correctly installed. It should
print a line beginning with `Died '. If no such line appears (or you get
a `command not found' error message), go and install Perl first. Run
`echo $PATH' to find out where MSYS is searching for perl.exe. Copy
perl.exe to one of those directories.
8. Run
./configure --enable-gif --enable-lzw
make
9. The file sam2p.exe is now created in the current directory. Use it. You
may copy it to another directory right now:
cp sam2p.exe 'C:\Program Files'
10. You should invoke sam2p.exe from the command line (COMMAND.COM or
CMD.EXE) with the _appropriate_ arguments, described elsewhere in
this document. Don't put it into the Start menu, it won't work.
(a window will flash in and disappear, showing an error message that you
haven't supplied the right arguments).
11. The file bts2.tth is also created. It is an important file, because it
is required for the GUI compilation.
12. Don't forget to install tif22pnm.exe to load TIFF files, djpeg.exe to
load JPEG files, cjpeg.exe to save JPEG files, and png22pnm.exe to load
PNG files. The installation instructions for these programs are not
given here.
Win32 compilation instructions for GUI mode(These instructions are outdated.)
vcsam2p.exe is a preliminary, alpha-stage attempt to provide a Win32 GUI for sam2p.exe. Currently it can load and display images, but not cannot save them. vcsam2p.exe is not ready for production use. Feel free to enhance the code. Just remember to semd me copies.
You'll need Visual Studio 6.0 installed.
Download the sam2p sources (.tar.gz) from:
Download untarka.exe to be able to unpack the sources:
Unpack the sources. Run:
untarka.exe sam2p-latest.tar.gz
A directory sam2p-. will be created, containing a newer version of this README and the file config-vc6.h
You'll need bts2.tth. You can get an old, possibly outdated and buggy version directly:
Or, you may compile sam2p under Linux (or Win32 command-line), and copy the generated bts2.tth from there.
Copy bts2.tth to the same directory as config-vc6.h
Start the Visual C++ 6.0 environment.
File / Open Workspace / File type: Projects Filename: vcsam2p.dsp Build / Set Active Configuration: vcsam2p - Win32 Release Build / Build vcsam2p.exe Build / Execute vcsam2p.exe
Don't forget to install tif22pnm.exe to load TIFF files, djpeg.exe to load JPEG files, cjpeg.exe to save JPEG files, and png22pnm.exe to load PNG files. The installation instructions for these programs are not given here.
Please report and fix bugs in vcsam2p.exe
Copyright
sam2p is written and owned by Szabó Péter <pts@fazekas.hu>. sam2p contains
code from various people.
sam2p may be used, modified and redistributed only under the terms of the
GNU General Public License, found in the file COPYING in the distribution,
or at
http://www.fsf.org/licenses/gpl.html
Supported input formats-- PNM, PBM, PGM, PPM (preferred formats for non-transparent images)
-- PNM+PGM, PNM+PBM. The input is a concatenation of a PNM and a P[GB]M
file with the same dimensions. The second P[GB]M contains the alpha
channel.
-- XPM (preferred formats for indexed images with transparency)
-- BMP
-- GIF, with transparency
-- LBM (IFF ILBM), with transparency
-- TGA (Targa)
-- baseline JPEG JFIF (limited by /Compression/JAI)
-- PCX
-- JPEG, is supported with libjpeg/djpeg
-- TIFF, is supported with the author's tif22pnm, with transparency; also
works in a limited way with tifftopnm (Debian package libtiff-tools)
-- PNG, is supported with the author's png22pnm, with transparency
(part of the tif22pnm sources); also works in a limited way with
libpng/pngtopnm (Debian package graphics/pnmtopng); with transparency
-- PS, EPS, PDF: Ghostscript is needed (gs' orgswin32c.exe'), see also FAQ
question Q39.
Note that only the major features of these file formats are supported. sam2p is able to load most of these files, but not all of them.
Important, but unsupported input formats:
-- XBM -- XWD -- Utah RLE
Input image model
A (sampled, raster, bitmap) image is a rectangular array of pixels (dots)
plus some metadata. Each pixel is represented by an unsigned integer which
is BPC (BitsPerComponent) and CPP (ComponentsPerPixel) wide. The image
coordinate system (X,Y) is defined as: upper left corner is (0,0), upper
right corner is (Width-1,0), lower right corner is (Width-1,Height-1).
(Note that this is the natural, traditional top->down, left->right system,
and it is different from PostScript and PDF!).
Some pixels of the image may be without color: they're transparent. A
transparent pixel is not painted, so whatever was left under it on the
paper, remains visible. (On the other hand, a colored pixel overrides the
pixel below unconditionally. E.g a white pixel overrides a black pixel, a
half-gray pixel, and also another white pixel; but a transparent pixel
leaves the original one visible.). Notions referring to transparent pixels
are: transparency, opacity, transparent, opaque, alpha channel, matte
channel.
Images are read from image files on disk. The file format is autodetected
(see section {Supported input formats}), and it can also be specified in the
Job file (NOT implemented yet). Not all file formats are able to specify all
pixel data and metadata, so additional hints (such as the transparent color
or the name of the image author) can be specified in Job files.
Sample formatsThe image pixels could be packed to bytes according to several sample formats. Each output file (both EPS and PDF) has its own SampleFormat (notation: capitals).
A color is either transparent or it is an opaque RGB triplet (8*3 bits).
The number of colors is the number of colors actually used. So unused palette entries, and e.g unused #555555 in gray-4 are not counted.
If PSLC is required, but the printer is only PSL1, then the color image will be printed grayscale.
When choosing the output format, sam2p doesn't degrade image quality. For example, if an image has only two colors: #000001 and #ffffff, sam2p won't allow the gray-1 sample format, but with #000000 and #ffffff, it will. The user is expected to have an image editor in which she can adjust image colors precisely (such as in the Dialogs/(Indexed palette) dialog of The GIMP).
Supported Sample Formats:
Name: Fast compatibility Slow compatibility Criteria for the image -- Comment(...)
the whole image is transparent
-- implemented with empty image bodythe whole image contains the same, opaque color
-- implemented with `setrgbcolor', `fill'a transparent and a non-transparent color (any may be missing)
-- display a Warning if the whole image is transparent or opaque,
because transparent or opaque would be a better choice
-- implemented with a single call to `imagemask'exactly 2 non-transparent colors or 1 non-transparent color
-- display a Warning if only 1 non-transparent color, because
opaque would be a better choice
-- display a Notice if colors are in black (#000000) and white
(#ffffff), beacuse gray-1 would be a better choice
-- implemented with a `setrgbcolor', `fill', and a single call to
`imagemask'indexed-2: PSL2, PDF1.0?? PSLC 3 or 4 non-transparent colors or 1..2 non-transparent colors -- display a Warning if only 1..2 non-transparent colors, because opaque or indexed-1 would be a better choice -- display a Notice if colors are in (#000000, #555555, #aaaaaa,
-- implemented with the /Indexed color space or colorimage +
manual palette lookup
-- users with a PSL1 printer without PSLC should use transparent-*indexed-4: PSL2, PDF1.0?? PSLC 5..16 non-transparent colors or 1..4 non-transparent colors -- display a Warning if only 1..4 non-transparent colors, because opaque, indexed-1 or indexed-2 would be a better choice -- display a Warning if all components are #00 or #ff, because rgb-1 would be a better choice (3 bits over 4 bits) -- display a Notice if colors are in (#000000, #111111, ...,
-- implemented with the /Indexed color space or colorimage +
manual palette lookup
-- users with a PSL1 printer without PSLC should use transparent-*0..1 transparent and 1..3 non-transparent colors
-- display a Notice that color separation was done (which can
decrease speed and compression)
-- display a Warning if no transparent color, because `indexed-2'
would be a better choice
-- display a Warning if only 1 non-transparent color, because `mask'
would be a better choice
-- implemented with multiple calls to `setrgbcolor', `imagemask'a transparent and 1..15 non-transparent colors
-- display a Notice that color separation was done (which can
seriously decrease speed and compression)
-- display a Warning if only 1..3 non-transparent colors, because
`mask' or `transparent-2' would be a better choice
-- implemented with multiple calls to `setrgbcolor', `imagemask'a transparent and 1..255 non-transparent colors
-- display a Warning that color separation was done (which can
seriously decrease speed and compression)
-- display a Warning if only 1..15 non-transparent colors, because
`mask', `transparent-2' or `transparent-4' would be a better
choice
-- implemented with multiple calls to `setrgbcolor', `imagemask'colors are in black (#000000) and white (#ffffff)
-- display a Warning if only 1 color, because opaque would be a
better choice
-- implemented with the multiple-argument `image'colors are in (#000000, #555555, #aaaaaa, #ffffff)
-- display a Warning if only 1..2 colors, because opaque,
indexed-1, or gray-1 would be a better choice
-- implemented with the multiple-argument `image'colors are in (#000000, #111111, ..., #ffffff)
-- display a Warning if only 1..4 colors, because opaque,
indexed-1, gray-1, indexed-2 or gray-2 would be a better choice
-- implemented with the multiple-argument `image'colors must be gray
-- display a Warning if only 1..16 colors, because opaque,
indexed-1, gray-1, indexed-2, gray-2, indexed-4 or gray-4
would be a better choice
-- implemented with the multiple-argument `image'color components must be #00 or #ff (8 colors max)
-- display a Warning if all colors are gray
-- display a Warning if only 1..4 colors, because opaque,
indexed-1, indexed-2 (or gray-*) would be a better choice
-- implemented with `colorimage'color components must be #00, #55, #aa or #ff (64 colors max)
-- display a Warning if all colors are gray
-- display a Warning if only 1..16 colors, because opaque,
indexed-1, indexed-2 or indexed-4 (or gray-*) would be a better choice
choice (this includes the case when color components are in
#00, #ff)
-- implemented with `colorimage'color components must be #00, #11, ... #ff (4096 colors max)
-- display a Warning if all colors are gray
-- display a Warning if only 1..256 colors, because opaque,
indexed-1, indexed-2, indexed-4 or indexed-8 (or gray-*) would be a better
choice (this includes the case when color components are in
#00, #55, #aa, #ff)
-- implemented with `colorimage'no transparency
-- display a Warning if all colors are gray
-- display a Warning if only 1..256 colors, because opaque,
indexed-1, indexed-2, indexed-4 or indexed-8 (or gray-*) would be a better
choice
-- display a Warning if all color components are in
#00, #11, ... #ff, because rgb-4 would be a better choice
-- implemented with `colorimage'The following directed (acyclic) graph represents that some formats should be tried earlier than others to avoid most Warning and Notice messages. The graph was created according to the descriptions above.
EarlierFormat LaterFormat
transparent mask
opaque mask
opaque indexed-1
indexed-1 indexed-2
indexed-2 indexed-4
indexed-4 indexed-8
gray-1 gray-2
gray-2 gray-4
gray-4 gray-8
rgb-1 rgb-2
rgb-2 rgb-4
rgb-4 rgb-8
gray-1 indexed-1
gray-2 indexed-2
gray-4 indexed-4
gray-8 indexed-8
rgb-1 indexed-4
rgb-2 indexed-8
mask transparent-2
transparent-2 transparent-4
transparent-4 transparent-8
opaque gray-1
indexed-1 gray-2
indexed-2 gray-4
indexed-4 gray-8
opaque rgb-1
gray-1 rgb-1
gray-2 rgb-2
gray-4 rgb-4
gray-8 rgb-8
indexed-2 rgb-1
indexed-4 rgb-2
indexed-8 rgb-4
indexed-8 rgb-8Every directed acyclic graph (DAG) has a topological ordering on its nodes. Such an ordering can be computed by the UNIX (Version 7 AT&T UNIX) utility tsort(1). Its output on the author's machine:
opaque
transparent
gray-1
indexed-1
mask
transparent-2
gray-2
indexed-2
transparent-4
rgb-1
gray-4
indexed-4
transparent-8
rgb-2
gray-8
indexed-8
rgb-4
rgb-8This ordering should be taken into account when someone develops her Rule Profile. Rules having SampleFormats listed earlier should be earlier in the Rule Profile to avoid Warning and Notice messages.
The availability (and also Warnings and Notices) of a Sample Format for a particular image can be easily decided after answering the following characteristic questions:
-- Is transparency used? -- How many used non-transparent colors are there? (257 if >=257) -- Is there a non-gray color? -- How many bits are required (maximum) for each component?
Output rules
Every detail of the output file format is precisely determined by the Output
Rule. The Output Rule may be specified in the Job file, or is
automatically chosen from several pre-defined output rules in the Output
Profile (see section {Output profiles} elsewhere in this document).
Output rule entries:
-- FileFormat: enum (see section {Standards} for detailed information), no
default
/PSL1 -- PostScript Level1
/PSLC -- PostScript Level1 with the CMYK and `colorimage' extension
/PSL2 -- PostScript Level2 (default)
/PSL3 -- PostScript Level3
/PDFB1.0 -- PDF version 1.0, BI inline image, see 4.8.6 in PDFRef.pdf
/PDFB1.2 -- PDF version 1.2, BI inline image, see 4.8.6 in PDFRef.pdf
/PDF1.0 -- PDF version 1.0, XObject image, see 4.8.4 in PDFRef.pdf
/PDF1.2 -- PDF version 1.2, XObject image, see 4.8.4 in PDFRef.pdf
/GIF89a
/Empty
/Meta
/PNM
/PAM
/PIP
/TIFF
/JPEG
/PNG
/XPM
-- SampleFormat: enum, no default, see section {Sample formats}
/Opaque
/Transparent
/Gray1
/Indexed1
/Mask
/Transparent2
/Gray2
/Indexed2
/Transparent4
/Rgb1
/Gray4
/Indexed4
/Transparent8
/Rgb2
/Gray8
/Indexed8
/Rgb4
/Rgb8
/Asis -- accept contents of the JAI file
/Bbox -- no image, only bounding box information
-- WarningOK: boolean; this Output Rule is enabled iff WarningOK is true or
SampleFormat causes no warnings, default: true
-- TransferEncoding: enum, no default
/Binary -- Binary (RawBits, see pbm(5), pgm(5), ppm(5)) (Binary integers
are stored in any byte order allowed by /FileFormat)
/ASCII -- ASCII (text, chars: 9,10,13,32..126), used with transparent and opaque
/Hex /AHx -- Hex ((PSL1), PDF1.0, PSL2 ASCIIHexEncode filter)
/A85 -- A85 (PSL2 PDF1.0, ASCII85Encode filter)
/MSBfirst -- Binary data with integers stored in MSB first byte order.
If 0x41424344 is represented as "ABCD", the byte order is called: big
endian, MSB, MSB first (preferred), most significant byte first, most
significant bit first, MSB-to-LSB, network byte order, m68k byte order.
QuarkXPress 3 can read only TIFF files with MSB-to-LSB byte order.
/LSBfirst -- Binary data with integers stored in LSB first byte order.
If 0x41424344 is represented as "DCBA", the byte order is called:
little endian, LSB, LSB first (preferred), least significant byte
first, least significant bit first, LSB-to-MSB, VAX byte order, PC
(i386) byte order.
-- Compression: enum
/None -- None (default)
/LZW -- LZW (PSL2 PDF1.0 LZWEncode filter EarlyChange=true, UnitLength=8
LowBitFirst=false)
/ZIP /Flate /Fl -- ZIP (PSL3 PDF1.2 FlateEncode filter without options)
/RLE /RunLength /RunLengthEncoded /RL /PackBits -- RLE (PSL2 PDF1.0
RunLengthEncode filter, similar to TIFF PackBits)
/Fax /CCITTFax /CCF -- Fax (PSL2 PDF1.0 CCITTFaxEncode filter,
Uncompressed=true!, K=-1,0,1, EndOfLine=false, EncodedByteAlign=false,
Columns=..., Rows=0, EndOfBlock=true, BlackIs1=false,
DamagedRowsBeforeError=0)
/DCT -- DCT (PSL2 PDF1.0 DCTEncode, options in JPEG
stream)
/IJG /JPEG /JPG /JFIF -- IJG (PSL2 PDF1.0 DCTEncode, options in JPEG
stream; the IJG libjpeg library is used for compression, respecting the
quality value 0..100). This requires /SampleFormat/Rgb8 or
/SampleFormat/Gray8. This doesn't work with /SampleFormat/Asis.
/JAI -- JAI (PSL2 PDF1.0 DCTEncode, options in JPEG stream; JPEG-as-is: the
input file must be a JPEG file -- its contents are transferred
unmodified into the /DCTDecode JPEG stream). This requires
/SampleFormat/Asis, and doesn't work with any other /SampleFormats
-- Predictor: enum (see below), default is 25 (except if -c:zip or -c:lzw is
specified without more parameters, because then 1 is used), numbering is
same as PSL1 filter.
Affects PNG output, PS output (with -c:zip:... and -c:lzw:...), PDF
output (with -c:zip:... and -c:lzw:...), TIFF output (with -c:zip:... and
-c:lzw:...).
1 -- (default if -c:zip or -c:lzw is specified without more parameters)
No predictor. If FileFormat is PNG, then 10 is used instead.
2 -- TIFF predictor 2 (horizontal differencing)
10 -- PNG predictor, None function
11 -- PNG predictor, Sub function
12 -- PNG predictor, Up function
13 -- PNG predictor, Average function
14 -- PNG predictor, Paeth function
15 -- PNG predictor, individually chosen for each line (absolute minimum)
25 -- (default if -c:zip and -c:lzw are notespecified)
Use 15 if FileFormat supports 15 (PS, PDF or PNG),
Compression supports predictors (ZIP or LZW) and SampleFormat
is Gray8 or Rgb8; use 10 if FileFormat is PNG; otherwise use 1.
and use 1 (no predictor) for everything else. This is the default.
For PNG output, this is the same as what libpng uses by default.
45 -- PNG predictor, individually chosen for each line (unsigned minimum)
Don't use this, it generates a large output file.
55 -- PNG predictor, individually chosen for each line (signed minimum)
Don't use this, it generates a large output file.
-- Transparent: color. Default: null. Specify a color forced to be
transparent. Old transparency, if exists, is blacked!
-- Hints: dict
see below
The Hints member of the Output Rule contains a dict with the following
elements:
-- TopMargin : dimen; desired vertical gap between the top line of the page
and the top line of the raster. Default: 0. Ignored unless for PS
and PDF output. See docs about `dimen' elsewhere in this document.
-- BottomMargin : dimen; desired vertical gap between the bottom line of the
raster and the bottom line of the page. Default: 0. Ignored unless
for PS and PDF output. See docs about `dimen' elsewhere in this document.
-- LeftMargin : dimen; desired horizontal gap between the left line of the page and
the left line of the raster. Default: 0. Ignored unless for PS and PDF
output. See docs about `dimen' elsewhere in this document.
-- RightMargin : dimen; desired horizontal gap between the right line of the raster and
the right line of the page. Default: 0. Ignored unless for PS and PDF
output. See docs about `dimen' elsewhere in this document.
-- ImageDPI : positive number; resolution of bitmap image in dots per inch.
Default: 72, which means no scaling.
-- Scale : enum /None -- don't scale (zoom, magnify) the image (default)
/OK -- scale PS image to fit page (x factor == y factor)
/RotateOK -- scale and/or rotate PS image to fit page (x factor == y factor)
-- EncoderBPL : int >=1 (bits per scanline, <= rlen)
-- EncoderCoumns : int >=1 (pixels per scanline)
-- EncoderRows : int >=1
-- EncoderColors : int >=1
-- PredictorColumns : uint; also used if compression is /Fax (reasonable default)
-- PredictorColors : 1..3; number of color _components_ (reasonable default)
-- PredictorBPC : 1, 2, 4, 8 (reasonable default), /BitsPerComponent entry in PS and PDF
-- Effort : -1..9, must be -1 unless Compression is /ZIP (-1 means 5, default)
-- RecordSize : uint, default: 0. Compression must be /RLE
-- K : int, default: 0 (-2..infty). Compression must be /Fax.
-1 means G4 1d encoding,
0 meangs G3 1D encoding,
-2 means G3 2D encoding with arbitrary height, positive value
means G3 2D encoding with that height.
-- Quality : 0..100, used by IJG libjpeg when compression is /IJG. default: 75
-- ColorTransform : 0..2. For IJG, this _must_ be 0 for Gray and 1 for RGB, so its value
is ignored. For DCT, its value is respected: use 0 or 1 only. See DCTEncode
in subsubsection 3.13.3 in PLRM.pdf, and for a better documentation: see the
sources and docs of libjpeg.
-- TransferCPL : number of data characters per line. Must be positive when TransferEncoding is
/Hex or /A85, and must be zero otherwise. Default: 78
-- DCT : dict, default: <<>>. Additional parameters for the /DCTEncode filter
-- Comment : string, default: empty
-- Title : string, default: empty
-- Subject : string, default: empty
-- Author : string, default: empty
-- Creator : string, default: empty
-- Producer : string, default: empty
-- Created : string, default: now
-- Produced : string: default: now
Metric units
""""""""""""
Certain parameters have type `dimen'. This is a metric dimension, measured
in any of the following real-word distance metric units:
-- 1 bp = 1 bp (big point)
-- 1 in = 72 bp (inch)
-- 1 pt = 72/72.27 bp (point)
-- 1 pc = 12*72/72.27 bp (pica)
-- 1 dd = 1238/1157*72/72.27 bp (didot point) [about 1.06601110141206 bp]
-- 1 cc = 12*1238/1157*72/72.27 bp (cicero)
-- 1 sp = 72/72.27/65536 bp (scaled point)
-- 1 cm = 72/2.54 bp (centimeter)
-- 1 mm = 7.2/2.54 bp (millimeter)
Note: If it helps: American typesetters use 72 points per US inch,
thus 10 pt text will yield 72 chars per normal line of US Letter
(like an IBM Selectric)
12 pt text will yield 65 chars per normal line of US Letter
(US normal typewritter).
Each image pixel is assumed to be 1 bp wide and 1 bp tall. A dimen is an
integer or real number, followed by optional whitespace and an optional unit
(any of `bp', `in', `pt', `pc', `dd', `cc', `sp', `cm', `mm'). The default
unit is `bp', i.e a bare number is a dimen measured in `bp'. The following
dimens are all one inch long: `72', `72bp', `72 bp', `1in', `1 in',
`2.54cm', `25.4mm', `72.27pt', `6pc', `4736286.72sp'.
Note: MiniPS and TeX use the same units.
OutputRule combinationsIn the final version of sam2p, the following combinations will be supported:
LZW >=2 Binary|Hex|A85 >=PSL2|>=PDF1.0 Mask|Gray|RGB|Indexed LZW >=2 Binary|Hex|A85 >=PSL2|>=PDF1.0 Transparent+ ZIP >=2 Binary|Hex|A85 >=PSL3|>=PDF1.2 Mask|Gray|RGB|Indexed ZIP >=2 Binary|Hex|A85 >=PSL3|>=PDF1.2 Transparent+ None|ZIP|LZW|RLE|Fax|DCT|IJG 1 Binary|Hex|A85 >=PSL2|>=PDF1.0 Mask|Gray|RGB|Indexed None|ZIP|LZW|RLE|Fax|DCT|IJG 1 Binary|Hex|A85 >=PSL2|>=PDF1.0 Transparent+ None 1 ASCII >=PSL1|>=PDF1.0 Opaque None 1 ASCII >=PSL1|>=PDF1.0 Transparent ZIP 1 Binary|Hex|A85 >=PSL1 Gray|RGB|Indexed ZIP 1 Binary|Hex|A85 >=PSL1 Mask|Gray1|Indexed1 ZIP 1 Binary|Hex|A85 >=PSL1 Transparent+ None 1 Binary|Hex|A85 >=PSL1 Gray|RGB|Indexed None 1 Binary|Hex|A85 >=PSL1 Mask|Gray1|Indexed1 None 1 Binary|Hex|A85 >=PSL1 Transparent+ RLE 1 Binary|Hex|A85 >=PSL1 Gray|RGB|Indexed RLE 1 Binary|Hex|A85 >=PSL1 Mask|Gray1|Indexed1 RLE 1 Binary|Hex|A85 >=PSL1 Transparent+ JAI 1 Binary|Hex|A85 >=PSL2|>=PDF1.0 Asis
TTM files
TTM stands for Template Toy Macro.
A TTM file is a dirty hack for generating templates with auto-calculated
lengths and offsets. Currently they are used for generating PDF output files
(/FileFormat/PDFB10 etc.). The syntax
of a TTM file is MiniPS (i.e a minimalistic PostScript, similar to .job
files). The TTM file must contain a single MiniPS array.
The elements of the array are called chunks. Each chunk causes some bytes
to be appended to the output file. Data is appended in the order the
chunks are listed in the TTM file, but the data calculation order may be
different. This way it is possible to write (calc) the length of a chunk
not written (filled in) yet. The very first chunk has number zero.
different. This way it is possible to write the length of a chunk not
written yet. The very first chunk has number zero.
The chunk types:
-- string: backtick-sequences will be substituted (e.g ``w' to the width of
the image, in pixels) by writeTemplate(). The result is appended to the
output file.
-- positive integer: The offset (zero-based byte-position of the very first
character of chunk 0) of the specified chunk will be appended to
the output file. Only chunks already appearead may be specified this
way. If the specified chunk is an array, then printf("%10u") will be
called to print the number (this is useful for making PDF xref tables),
otherwise printf("%u") will be called.
-- negative integer: The length (measured in bytes, after substitutions)
of the specified chunk will be appended to the output file, using
printf("%u"). Only chunks already calculated may be specified this way.
-- zero: error
-- array: the array is interpreted as a standalone TTM subfile, and the rules
are applied recursively. This subfile contains sub-chunks, and the
subchunks may be arrays themselves.
-- other MiniPS types: error
The chunks are calculated in the following order: first the array chunks are
calculated (recursively) in order of appearance, followed by the non-array
chunks in order of appearance.
A TTM file can have up to 64 top-level chunks.
Example:
[ 1 %0
[ (pts) ] %1.0
-1 %2
]
The output file will be: `3pts0000000001' since chunk 1 has length 3 and
offset 1.
Example job file<<%sam2p job
% This is file (named test0.job).
/InputFile (test0.pbm)
/OutputFile (test0.pdf)
/Profile [
% This in-line profile is preferred over the defaults
<< /FileFormat/PDF10 /SampleFormat/Gray1 /TransferEncoding/Binary
/Compression/Fax /Hints<</K 99>> >>
(pdf10.jib) run % elements found in external file
]
>>See the directory examples/*.job in the sam2p sources.
sam2p vs convert in 2017
Several test runs were done on 2017-07-12 with the latest sam2p and the
convert tool in ImageMagick 6.7.7-10 to compare the performance of both
output file size and processing speed.
Conclusions:
-- Don't use convert for EPS output, because with `eps3:' it produces
an output file with non-ASCII characters, which is incompatible with many
systems, and with `eps:' it produces huge output files. Use e.g. sam2p
instead.
-- For PDF output and JPEG or PNG input, the latest version of both convert
and sam2p are fast enough and produce an output of reasonable size.
-- For PDF output and some PNG input (especially if the image has at most
16 colors), sam2p can be faster and produce much smaller output than
convert. (This was not compared here.)
Raw performance data:
-- A run on a 4048x3036 landscape photo JPEG, file size 3009251 bytes:
$ time jpegtran -optimize -copy none <beach.jpg >beach.opt.jpg
0.14s user 0.02s system 99% cpu 0.170 total
output file size: 2955545 bytes
(jpegtran removes some unnecessary markes from the JPEG)
$ time sam2p beach.jpg beach.jpg.sam2p.pdf
0.00s user 0.01s system 90% cpu 0.011 total
output file size: 3009793 bytes
$ time convert beach.jpg beach.jpg.convert.pdf
0.39s user 0.07s system 138% cpu 0.333 total
output file size: 2983807 bytes
(convert is a bit smarter removing unnecessary markers from the JPEG)
$ time convert beach.opt.jpg beach.opt.jpg.convert.pdf
0.41s user 0.17s system 136% cpu 0.419 total
output file size: 2965683 bytes
$ time sam2p beach.opt.jpg beach.opt.jpg.sam2p.pdf
0.00s user 0.01s system 90% cpu 0.014 total
output file size: 2956087 bytes
(now, without the unnecessary markers, the output of sam2p is smaller)
$ time sam2p beach.jpg beach.jpg.sam2p.eps
0.02s user 0.01s system 96% cpu 0.035 total
output file size: 3809826 bytes
$ time convert beach.jpg eps3:beach.jpg.convert.eps
0.27s user 0.04s system 86% cpu 0.359 total
output file size: 2979366 bytes
(the file is small, because convert doesn't apply /ASCII85Decode,
thus breaks the embedding of the EPS on some systems)
$ time sam2p -t:bin beach.opt.jpg beach.opt.jpg.sam2p_n.eps
0.00s user 0.00s system 84% cpu 0.006 total
output file size: 2955974 bytes
(that's very close to the input JPEG file size, better than convert)
-- A run on a 4048x3036 landscape photo PNG, file size 11508728 bytes:
$ time sam2p beach.png beach.png.sam2p.pdf
4.07s user 0.15s system 99% cpu 4.223 total
output file size: 12471057 bytes
$ time convert beach.png beach.png.convert.pdf
2.01s user 0.13s system 106% cpu 2.015 total
output file size: 18095807 bytes
(convert is faster, but its output PDF is much larger)
$ time sam2p beach.png beach.png.sam2p.eps
2.63s user 0.18s system 99% cpu 2.812 total
output file size: 15734187 bytes
$ time convert beach.png eps3:beach.png.convert.eps
1.87s user 0.06s system 99% cpu 1.933 total
output file size: 18079080 bytes
(the file is larger, but it's still not fair to compere,
because convert doesn't apply /ASCII85Decode,
thus breaks the embedding of the EPS on some systems)
(convert is faster because sam2p is slow to read PNG files)
$ time sam2p -t:bin beach.png beach.png.sam2p_n.eps
2.52s user 0.24s system 99% cpu 2.761 total
output file size: 12428098 bytes
(that's the fair comparison of sizes)
Some comments:
-- Converting JPEG to PDF or EPS is fast for both sam2p and convert, because
JPEG decoding and encoding is not done. sam2p is even faster, because
it doesn't do lossless optimizations.
-- When converting JPEG, convert removes some JPEG markers and does some
lossless optimizations (similar but less
than what `jpegtran -optimize -copy none' removes), thus the output of
convert is smaller than sam2p. However, if we run the jpegtran command
first, then the output of sam2p becomes smaller.
-- When creating EPS files with convert, `eps3:' should be specified as
the output format, because `eps:' would create much larger files, mostly
because of worse compression algorithms and hex-encoding.
-- Older versions of convert created much larger EPS files, mostly because
they included an uncompressed image preview.
-- With the `eps3:' output format of convert, the EPS file will contain
non-ASCII characters, which is incompatible with some systems, and
it cannot be fixed with a command-line flag. sam2p applies /ASCII85Decode
(-t:a85) by default, producing an ASCII output file. Thus convert doesn't
have a good option: with `eps:' output files are huge; with `eps3:'
output files are incompatible with some systems.
-- convert is generally slower than sam2p, except when reading PNG files
(for which sam2p is about 1.5 times slower). convert used to be much
slowen that it is now.
-- sam2p has fewer dependencies and the total binary size is smaller than of
convert. This can make startup time faster, and it can make it easy to
install to systems without sam2p packaged.
-- sam2p is smart and fast, and it produces small output with images with a
few colors only (2..16). (It doesn't matter if these colors are encoded
as a palette or RGB.) There were no such images in this test run.
-- sam2p gives control to the user to fine-tune compression and other
settings for EPS and PDF, and convert doesn't. The defaults of sam2p are
tuned for the general use case though.
FAQQ1. Should I care about /LoadHints (,asis,) when loading JPEG files?
A1. No, sam2p guesses it by magic (in both job mode and one-liner mode). However, you may want to set it manually in job mode:
/LoadHints () % use djpeg
/LoadHints (,asis,) % don't use djpeg
% nothing: automatic guess, based on /Compression/JAIQ2. How do I convert a JPEG file to PostScript Level2 EPS?
A2. In one-liner mode, just run:
./sam2p <INPUT.jpg> <OUTPUT.eps>
Example: ./sam2p try.jpg try.eps
In one-liner mode, if you have both the djpeg and cjpeg utilities
(budled with libjpeg from IJG (Independent JPEG Group)), _and_ you want
to adjust quality vs size of the output, just run:
./sam2p -c:jpeg:<QUALITY> <INPUT.jpg> <OUTPUT.eps>
Example: ./sam2p -c:jpeg:60 try.jpg try.eps
In job mode, just run sam2p with the following .job file:
<<%sam2p-job;
% conversion is possible without external utilities cjpeg and djpeg
% No quality loss, just verbatim adata copying.
/InputFile (INPUT.jpg)
/OutputFile (OUTPUT.eps)
/Profile [
<< /FileFormat/PSL2 /SampleFormat/Asis /TransferEncoding/A85
/Compression/JAI >>
] >>
Alternatively, to adjust quality vs size, use the following .job file:
<<%sam2p-job;
% external utilities cjpeg and djpeg are required
% This uses a JPEG decompression (djpeg), plus lossy JPEG compression
% (cjpeg), so there might be quality loss!
/InputFile (INPUT.jpg)
/OutputFile (OUTPUT.eps)
/Profile [
<< /FileFormat/PSL2 /SampleFormat/Rgb8 /TransferEncoding/A85
/Compression/IJG /Hints <<
/Quality 40 % 0..100 (should be at least around 30)
>> >>
] >>Q3. How do I convert a GIF file to PostScript Level2 EPS?
A3. Check that sam2p has been compiled with GIF support: run sam2p, and examine its console output. It should contain a line:
Available Loaders: ... GIF ...
If GIF doesn't appear in the line, please recompile sam2p with:
make clean
./configure --enable-gif --enable-lzw
make
cp sam2p /usr/local/bin
After that, run sam2p again, and check for the line above again.
In one-liner mode, just run:
./sam2p <INPUT.gif> <OUTPUT.eps>
Example: ./sam2p try.gif try.eps
In job mode, if the GIF file doesn't have transparent pixels, run sam2p
with the following .job file:
<<%sam2p-job;
/InputFile (INPUT.gif)
/OutputFile (OUTPUT.eps)
/Profile [
<< /FileFormat/PSL2 /SampleFormat/Indexed8 /TransferEncoding/A85
/Compression/None >>
] >>
If the GIF file has transparent pixels, run sam2p with the following .job
file:
<<%sam2p-job;
/InputFile (INPUT.gif)
/OutputFile (OUTPUT.eps)
/Profile [
<< /FileFormat/PSL2 /SampleFormat/Transparent8 /TransferEncoding/A85
/Compression/None >>
] >>Q4. How do I covert a JPEG file to a TIFF/JPEG output file?
A4. A TIFF/JPEG file is a TIFF file (not a JPEG file!), in which the image data is compressed with JPEG (DCTEncode compression). The Compression TIFF tag value is 7. (There is also Compression==6, which corresponds to the old, obsolete JPEG format defined in the old TIFF6.0 spec.)
In one-liner mode, autodetection is magical. Just run:
./sam2p <INPUT.jpg> <OUTPUT.tiff>
Example: ./sam2p try.jpg try.tiff
In job mode, run sam2p with the following .job file:
<<%sam2p-job;
/InputFile (INPUT.jpg)
/OutputFile (OUTPUT.tiff)
%/LoadHints (asis) % default for /Compression/JAI
/Profile [
<< /FileFormat/TIFF /SampleFormat/Asis /TransferEncoding/Binary
/Compression/JAI >>
] >>
See also {FAQ question Q5} for compatibility notes.Q5. The TIFF/JPEG file generated by sam2p is invalid! I cannot read it with any programs.
A5. No, it isn't invalid, but most of the programs (including those found in libtiff) cannot deal with TIFF files with JPEG compression.
Compatibility notes:
-- tif22pnm 0.03 (from the author of sam2p) can read TIFF/JPEG files
perfectly. That's because it calls the TIFFRGBAImageGet() function
of libtiff, which works.
-- sam2p 0.37 can read TIFF/JPEG files, beacuse it calls tif22pnm to do
the job. Sam2p can write TIFF/JPEG files as well.
-- GIMP 1.0.2: error message: `Unknown photometric number 6'. GIMP TIFF
import filter cannot deal with the YCbCr color space (which is the
most common and de facto standard color space in non-grayscale JPEG
files). It works, however, with grayscale JPEGs.
-- tifftopnm from libtiff-tools 3.4beta037-5.1: `unknown photometric:
6'. Ditto. (Unfortunately tifftopnm doesn't call TIFFRGBAImageGet(),
it just tries to re-implement an obsolete version of the function.)
-- `tiffcp -c jpeg' from libtiff-tools 3.4beta037-5.1 creates a
perfectly legal TIFF/JPEG file.
-- tiffcp from libtiff-tools 3.4beta037-5.1 cannot load a file created
by itself (`tiffcp -c jpeg')! There is no problem with grayscale
images, but color images have one component removed.
-- xv 3.10a: Ditto.
-- display from ImageMagick 4.04: strange error message about libraries:
`JPEGLib: Wrong JPEG library version: library is 61, caller expects 62.'
Simple conclusion:
-- Use sam2p or `tiffcp -c jpeg' to create a TIFF/JPEG. (Be aware that
`tiffcp -c jpeg' cannot read a TIFF/JPEG: it can only create one.)
-- Use tif22pnm to load or decode a TIFF/JPEG.
-- In your own C programs, call the TIFFRGBAImageGet() function to read
TIFF image data.
-- Don't use anything else if you want to avoid compatibility problems.Q6. Does sam2p support transparency and alpha channels?
A6. sam2p supports only bilevel transparency (i.e a pixel is either fully opaque or fully transparent), and only with indexed images. Transparency is supported when loading indexed PNG, TIFF, PNM, GIF, LBM and XPM files. A PNM file with transparency is a regular PBM/PGM/PPM file with a PBM image appended to it as the alpha channel (black pixel is transparent).
For transparent output, the user has to specify /Transparent, /Mask,
/Transparent2, /Transparent4 or /Transparent8 as /SampleFormat. This
works with:
-- /FileFormat/PSL1+ /SampleFormat/Transparent
-- /FileFormat/PDF1.0+ /SampleFormat/Transparent
-- /FileFormat/PDFB1.0+ /SampleFormat/Transparent
-- /FileFormat/PSL1+ /SampleFormat/Mask
-- /FileFormat/PDF1.0+ /SampleFormat/Mask
-- /FileFormat/PDFB1.0+ /SampleFormat/Mask
-- /FileFormat/GIF89a /SampleFormat/Mask
-- /FileFormat/PNM /SampleFormat/Mask
-- /FileFormat/TIFF /SampleFormat/Mask
-- /FileFormat/PNG /SampleFormat/Mask
-- /FileFormat/XPM /SampleFormat/Mask
-- /FileFormat/PSL1+ /SampleFromat/Transparent+
-- /FileFormat/GIF89a /SampleFormat/Transparent+
-- /FileFormat/PNM /SampleFormat/Transparent+
-- /FileFormat/TIFF /SampleFormat/Transparent+
-- /FileFormat/PNG /SampleFormat/Transparent+
-- /FileFormat/XPM /SampleFormat/Transparent+Q7. How large is a pixel of PostScript and PDF files generated by sam2p in real-world metric units (inches or centimeters)?
A7. 72 big points == 1 inch == 2.54 centimeters
1 pixel == 1 big pointQ8. I have an image with transparent pixels. What happens if I convert it to /Rgb or /Gray?
A8. Either of the following will happen:
-- You get an error message, sam2p refuses to ignore transparency.
Please use /SampleFormat/Transparent+, or call an image manipulation
program to remove transparency from the image before feeding it to
sam2p.
-- Transparency information will be lost, and the color of formerly
transparent pixels will be undefined. This would be a bug in sam2p,
you should report it.
However, if you loaded a GIF file, and
transformed it to /Gray8 or /Rgb8, the original palette entry (RGB
triplet) is faithfully preserved.Q9. How do I generate a PostScript page ready for immediate printing with margins and the image properly scaled to fit the page? How do I create a PostScript file that will automatically scale the image to the maximum when printed?
A9. To print an image as a full PostScript page, call:
./sam2p [MARGIN-SPECS] <INPUT.IMG> ps: - | lpr
Example: ./sam2p -m:1cm examples/pts2.pbm ps: - | lpr
To create a PostScript file for printing, call:
./sam2p [MARGIN-SPECS] <INPUT.IMG> [ps:] <OUTPUT.ps>
Example: ./sam2p -m:1cm examples/pts2.pbm try.ps
The `-m' option above is sets all four margins to `1 cm'. You can
set the margins individually:
Example: ./sam2p -m:left:7mm -m:right:1cm -m:top:0.5in \
-m:bottom:18bp examples/pts2.pbm try.ps
As you can see in this example, you may specify dimensions in various
metric units, see subsection {Metric units}.
You are strongly encouraged to print raster images with sam2p. Be aware
that The GIMP 1.2 printing plugin has several weird contrast setting
problems (even for /Gray1 images); white pixels will be gray etc. Other
utilities may add unnecessary text banners or scale the image
inappropriately.
In one-liner mode, sam2p guesses from the file extension and the selector
(`ps:') whether the desired output file format is PostScript (fit single
page) or Encapsulated PostScript (leave size as-is, suitable for
inclusion into TeX documents).
In job mode, without /Scale/OK and /Scale/RotateOK in /Hints,
sam2p outputs EPS (Encapsulated PostScript) with /FileFormat/PSL*. EPS
files should be included as figures into other documents (such as TeX
and InDesign), not printed alone. If you just want to print a sampled
image alone, please use your favourite graphics manipulation program
instead of sam2p.
In job mode, create a .job file for the EPS file, and add /Hints. For
example:
<<%sam2p-job;
/InputFile (test.in)
/OutputFile (test.ps)
/Profile [
<< /FileFormat/PSL2 /SampleFormat/Rgb8 /TransferEncoding/A85
/Compression/None /Predictor 1
/Hints << /Scale/OK % or /Scale/RotateOK
/LeftMargin 12 % measured as number/72 inches
/Rightargin 12 % measured as number/72 inches
/TopMargin 12 % measured as number/72 inches
/BottomMargin 12 % measured as number/72 inches
>>
>>
]
>>Q10. Do the EPS files created by sam2p conform to some specifications?
The EPS output of sam2p conforms to the following Adobe specifications:
5001.DSC_Spec.pdf
5002.EPSF_Spec.pdf
DSC and ADSC are: Adobe Document Structuring Conventions. They are
comments with lines beginning with `%!' and `%%' in PS and EPS files.
An excerpt:
The following example illustrates the proper use of DSC comments in a
typical page description that an application might produce when including an
EPS file. For an EPS file that is represented as
%!PS-Adobe-3.0 EPSF-3.0
%%BoundingBox: 4 4 608 407
%%Title: (ARTWORK.EPS)
%%CreationDate: (10/17/89) (5:04 PM)
%%EndComments
...PostScript code for illustration..
showpage
%%EOF
DSC comments discussion:
%!PS-Adobe-3.0 EPSF-3.0 (mandatory)
%%BoundingBox: ... ... ... ... (mandatory)
%%Extensions: CMYK (optional, for /PSLC)
%%LanguageLevel: 2 (optional, for /PSL2)
%%LanguageLevel: 3 (optional, for /PSL3)
%%Creation (strongly recommended)
%%Title (strongly recommended)
%%CreationDate (strongly recommended)
%%Trailer (optional)
%%EOF (optional)
%%DocumentData: Clean7Bit (optional)
%%DocumentData: Binary (optional)Q11. I get the error message `sam2p: Error: applyProfile: invalid combination, no applicable OutputRule'. Help!
A11. This error message means you have requested an invalid combination of FileFormat, SampleFormat, Compression etc. parameters. If you use one-liner mode, and you're sure that you've specified your will correctly in the command line, please report this error message as a sam2p bug (also specify -j in the command line). If you use job mode, please read on.
Example 1:
/Compression/Fax is not allowed in /PSL1.
Solution 1:
specify /FileFormat/PSL2 /Compression/Fax.
Example 2:
/Compression/IJG requires /SampleFormat/Gray8 or /SampleFormat/Rgb8.
Please have a look at the messages `sam2p: Warning: check_rule: ...'
to get more specific information. After that, correct your request.
Solution 2:
specify /Compression/IJG /SampleFormat/Rgb8.
Another cause for this message is that your request cannot be applied
to the image you've specified. In this case, there is no relevant
`sam2p: Warning: check_rule: ...' message.
Example 1:
you've requested /SampleFormat/Indexed4,
but the input image has more than 16 colors.
Solution 1:
specify /SampleFormat/Rgb8.
Example 2:
you've requested /SampleFormat/Indexed4,
but the input image has transparency.
Solution 2:
specify /SampleFormat/Transparent8.
It is possible, but very unlikely that this error message is caused by
a bug in sam2p.Q12. Can I use /Compression/Fax when bits-per-pixel > 1 ?
A12. With /FileFormat/PS and /FileFormat/PDF, you can (but you shouldn't, because of the possibly poor compression ratio). With /FileFormat/TIFF, you're not allowed to, because the TIFF specification forbids it. Example one-liners:
sam2p -s:Indexed8 -c:fax test.gif test.pdf # OK
sam2p -s:Indexed8 -c:fax test.gif test.eps # OK
sam2p -s:Indexed8 -c:fax test.gif test.tiff # forbiddenQ13. Bad luck?
A13. Not for me.
Q14. Can I use negative margins (i.e /TopMargin -20) to crop the output image?
A14. No. Margins are ignored by sam2p unless /FileFormat is /PSL or /PDF. Even with these formats, the image is only moved, not cropped. Please use an image manipulation program (e.g The GIMP) to crop your images before feeding them to sam2p.
Q15. When I try to print the PostScript output of sam2p, the edge of the image is missing (white).
A15. Many printers cannot print to the edge of the paper (so that region is left white). Please increase the margins to a safe value, for example:
./sam2p -m:7mm test.ppm test.ps
lpr test.ps
See also {FAQ question Q9} for more information about margins.Q16. How do I report a bug in sam2p?
A16. Please send an e-mail to the author (pts@fazekas.hu, see more in section {Copyright}) describing the problem. Don't forget to:
-- download the latest version of sam2p, and try it with the same image
-- describe what sam2p does (incorrectly)
-- describe what sam2p should do if there was no bug
-- run sam2p without arguments, and attach its output (STDOUT) to the
bug report
-- attach the exact command line with which you call sam2p to the bug
report
-- if you spot the bug in one-liner mode, specify the `-j' option in
the command line, and attach the messages printed by sam2p (both
STDOUT and STDERR) to the bug report
-- if you spot the bug in job mode, attach the .job file you are using
to the bug report
-- attach the input image file to the bug report. Try to attach a file
as small as possible.
-- if sam2p runs successfully (i.e it prints `Success.'), and it
creates an output image, but you think that the output image is
incorrect, attach the output image to your bug report
-- if you have a similar input image, for which sam2p works fine,
attach it to the bug reportQ17. How long does the LZW patent held by Unisys last?
A17. mcb@cloanto.com (author of http://lzw.info) wrote:
Thank you for your interest and mail. I must stress that the "exact"
answers you may be looking for may come only from lawyers and courts,
and I am none of these. If you consider the IBM, the BT and Unisys US
patents, then the last of the three would be the Unisys one, expiring,
as the article I think mentions, on June 19, 2003, 24:00. There cannot
be other (new) patents on LZW, as far as I know. Please let me know if
you find different information.Q18. I want to create an RGB PostScript image, but sam2p creates a Gray one, or it gives me an error message. For example: `./sam2p -1 -s:rgb1 examples/ptsbanner.gif test.eps'.
A18. /PSL1 doesn't support RGB images. There are two solutions:
-- Use /PSLC or /PSL2 or /PSL3 instead or drop the '-1'
alltogether. Examples:
./sam2p -1c -s:rgb1 examples/ptsbanner.gif test.eps # /PSLC
./sam2p -2 -s:rgb1 examples/ptsbanner.gif test.eps # /PSL2
./sam2p -s:rgb1 examples/ptsbanner.gif test.eps # /PSL2 or /PSL3
-- Use /Mask or /Transparent+. Note that you'll very probably get poor
compression ratio.
./sam2p -1 -s:tr:stop examples/ptsbanner.gif test.eps # /PSL1
You can get more (and more useful) error messages from sam2p if you
specify the `-j:warn' option. You may also try specifying
`-s:rgb1:stop' instead of `-s:rgb1' to force sam2p try /SampleFormat/Rgb1
only.Q19. sam2p doesn't allow me to use /Compression /Fax. For example:
./sam2p -c fax examples/ptsbanner.gif test.eps'. The same command works fine without-c fax'.
A19. /Compression/Fax is intended to be used with images with 1 bit per pixel. However, in PostScript and PDF, you can use it for any image data, but compression ratio will be very poor for other than /Gray1, /Indexed1 or /Mask, of course. You can force sam2p to use /Fax by specifying the desired SampleFormat in option `-s'. Examples:
sam2p -s:Indexed8 -c:fax test.gif test.pdf # OK
sam2p -s:Indexed8 -c:fax test.gif test.eps # OK
sam2p -s:Indexed8 -c:fax test.gif test.tiff # forbidden by TIFF std
See {FAQ question Q12} for more information.Q20. Can sam2p convert images with transparency to PDF?
A20. Only if the image has at most 1 non-transprent color (/SampleFormat/Mask). See {FAQ question Q6} for details.
Although PDF-1.3 supports transparency masks for arbitrary PDF images,
sam2p 0.39 doesn't. That's because the author of sam2p hasn't
implemented it yet.Q21. I get the error message `sam2p: Warning: buildProfile: ignoring, no handlers for OutputRule'. Help!
A21. This means that sam2p doesn't know how to do the conversion you've requested (and it even doesn't know whether the request is erroneous or not). This might be because your request is bad (it is impossible to be fulfilled), or your request is good, but sam2p doesn't know how to deal with it. If you think that the latter is the case, please report this message as a bug.
See {FAQ question Q11} for more information.Q22. How do I compile with G++ 3.2?
A22. See the answer in section {Compilation and installation}. Don't forget
export CC=gcc-3.2 CXX=g++-3.2Q23. How do I do a `make dist' without running configure again?
A23. Just issue
make MAKE_DIST=1 distQ24. I cannot open a JPEG file in the Win32 version.
A24. Make sure you have djpeg.exe on your PATH. Simply copy it to your C:\WINDOWS directory.
Q25. I cannot open a TIFF file in the Win32 version.
A25. Make sure you have tif22pnm.exe on your PATH. Simply copy it to your C:\WINDOWS directory.
Q26. I cannot open a PNG file in the Win32 version.
A26. Make sure you have png22pnm.exe on your PATH. Simply copy it to your C:\WINDOWS directory.
Q27. What is tif22pnm?
A27. tif22pnm is a TIFF -> PNM converter written by the author of sam2p. It can load more TIFF files correctly than tifftopnm, ImageMagick convert, xv and The GIMP. The TIFF loader code is based on GIMP 1.3, but has many bugfixes and improvements. sam2p uses tif22pnm to load TIFF files. You can download tif22pnm from
https://github.com/pts/tif22pnmQ28. What is png22pnm?
A28. png22pnm is a PNG -> PNM converter compiled by the author of sam2p. It is based on the excellent pngtopnm utility, but doesn't depend on the NetPBM library (only libpng). sam2p uses png22pnm (or, as a fallback: pngtopm) to load PNG files. png22pnm is part of the tif22pnm package, so you can download it from
https://github.com/pts/tif22pnmQ29. Can sam2p convert a transparent GIF to PDF?
A29. The PDF-1.3 file format supports transparent images, but sam2p doesn't. However, if the image contains at most two colors (including the transparent pixel), sam2p can create a working PDF-1.2 file; use Ghostscript to view it, because Acrobat Reader 5.0 is buggy. However, sam2p supports generating transparent EPS, GIF, PNG, PNM, XPM and TIFF files up to 256 colors.
Q30. How do I build my own sam2p debian package?
A30. Please download the newest sources (.tar.gz) from
https://github.com/pts/sam2p
As root, run
apt-get update
apt-get install debmake fakeroot dpkg
apt-get install make g++ gcc perl sed
As normal user, run (in the directory containing sam2p_main.cpp):
debian/rules clean
rm -f build*
debian/rules build
fakeroot debian/rules binary
ls -l ../sam2p_*.deb
As root, substitute X and Y, and run:
dpkg -i sam2p_X_Y.deb
Please also install the tif22pnm and png22pnm packages from the author
of sam2p (and the Debian standard libjpeg-progs package), available as
Debian source from:
https://github.com/pts/tif22pnmQ31. Why not use libjpeg/libtiff/libpng/zlib or any other library with sam2p?
A31. -- library and .h incompatibilities (the binary would be less portable across Linux systems) -- to avoid forced dependencies -- checkergcc wouldn't work
Q32. How do I specify the page size when printing a .ps file (-m and -e command line options)?
A32. You cannot. (Use -m to specify the margins.) The page size is autodetected by your printer when the page is printed. So you can print the same .ps file on different printers, and the margins will be all right on all of them.
If you really have to specify the page size, edit the .ps file and
insert the `a4 ' or `letter ' command after the last line of the
first block of lines starting with %%. You may also use something like
`1 dict dup /PageSize [ 595 842 ] put setpagedevice ' to exactly specify
the page width and height in 1/72 inches.
For example, change the PostScript file
%!PS-Adobe-3.0
%%Pages: 1
%%DocumentData: Clean7Bit
%%LanguageLevel: 1
%%EndComments
%%Page: 1 1
save
... % many lines omitted
%%Trailer
%%EOF
to
%!PS-Adobe-3.0
%%Pages: 1
%%DocumentData: Clean7Bit
%%LanguageLevel: 1
%%EndComments
%%Page: 1 1
1 dict dup /PageSize [ 595 842 ] put setpagedevice
save
... % many lines omitted
%%Trailer
%%EOF
Please note that PostScript is a programming language, so your changes
might be undone by instructions later in the file. You might find the
a2ping.pl utility (written by the author of sam2p) useful:
a2ping.pl -v --papersize=a4 in.ps out.psQ33. How do I control ZIP compression ratio?
A33. Use
sam2p -c:zip:1:0 in.img out.png # uncompressed ZIP carrier
sam2p -c:zip:1:1 in.img out.png # little compression
sam2p -c:zip in.img out.png # default normal compression
sam2p -c:zip:1:5 in.img out.png # default normal compression
sam2p -c:zip:1:9 in.img out.png # maximum compressionQ34. ImageMagick convert creates smaller PNGs. Why?
A34. I don't know the real reason. Probably because ImageMagick uses libpng, which is smarter than sam2p.
You are probably trying to convert a JPEG or other true color photo to
PNG. Try one of the following compression options:
sam2p -c:zip:12:7 # 464727 bytes
sam2p -c:zip:12:8 # 454271 bytes
sam2p -c:zip:12:9 # 447525 bytes
sam2p -c:zip:13:9 # 488748 bytes
sam2p -c:zip:14:9 # 454182 bytes
sam2p -c:zip:15:9 # 453080 bytes
convert -quality ? # 454438 bytesQ35. Can sam2p convert large JPEGs to smaller ones (with loss of quality and resolution)?
A35. sam2p cannot resize or scale images. So the pixel width and height of the input and output image cannot be changed. If you need that (for example you want to create thumbnails), use the famous convert(1) utility of ImageMagick. For example:
convert -scale 444 -quality 50 in.jpg out.jpg # specify out width
convert -scale x444 -quality 50 in.jpg out.jpg # specify out height
convert -scale "10%" -quality 50 in.jpg out.jpg # specify scale ratio
However, it is possible to specify the quality of the JPEG output of
sam2p. The quality of 0 means ugly output with small file size, and the
quality of 100 means nice output with big file sizes. You can specify
intermediate integer quality values (50 and 75 are recommended). Be
prepared that qualties above 30 (or so) may not work on all JPEG viewers.
For example:
sam2p -c ijg:10 large_input.jpg small_output.jpg
sam2p uses the cjpeg(1) and djpeg(1) utilities from libjpeg to write
and read JPEG files, respectively. If you need more control over your
JPEG output, then forget sam2p, and please consult the documentation of
those utilities.Q36. Can sam2p convert JPEG to GIF?
A36. Yes, it can, but usually not directly. GIF allows a maximum of 256
different
colors in an image. A typical RGB JPEG image contains many more colors,
so it has to be quantized down to 256 colors first. For example, if the
console output of sam2p in.jpg out.gif'' containsapplyProfile:
invalid combination, no applicable OutputRule'', then in.jpg must be
quantized first:
convert in.jpg out1.gif # does the quantization automatically
sam2p out1.gif out2.gif # compresses the output image further
From out1.gif and out2.gif keep the one with the smaller file size. It
is common that convert(1) creates huge GIF files because LZW compression
is disabled inside it. sam2p should be compiled with LZW compression
and GIF input/output enabled. To check this, run sam2p, and
examine its console output. It should contain a line:
Available Appliers: ... GIF89a+LZW ...
If GIF89a+LZW doesn't appear in the line, please recompile sam2p with:
make clean
./configure --enable-gif --enable-lzw
make
cp sam2p /usr/local/bin
, and try again.Q37. I need to transform GIF images of 15 colors to BMPs of 256 colors not compressed. sam2p converts it to BMP 16 colors...
A37. Use
sam2p -c none -s rgb8 in.gif out.bmp
If you get an error message `Error: applyProfile: invalid combination,
no applicable OutputRule', it very probably means that your GIF is
transparent. Remove the transparent color within an image editor first.Q38. Can sam2p load PDF or EPS files?
A38. Yes, if you have Ghostscript installed, and your input EPS file is not too exotic. This has been tested on Linux only. If you experience problems loading EPS files, but no problems loading PDF files, please run a2ping.pl written by the author of sam2p to make your EPS file more compatible.
Q39. Can sam2p load an EPS or PDF file with an arbitrary resoultion?
A39. Yes. For example use one of
sam2p -l:gs=-r216 in.eps out.png
sam2p -l:gs=-r216 in.pdf out.png
to have resoultion 216 DPI (image scaled 3 times to both directions).
Without scaling, 72 DPI is the default.Q40. Can sam2p emit a multi-page PDF or a multi-page PS?
A40. No, it can't. Emitting a multi-page document would need a fundamental change of the sam2p architecture. (Should the 2nd page be compressed with a different method? What if the 2nd contains too many colors? Should we keep all previous pages in memory?)
I think another program should be written that is able to concatenate
EPS/PS or PDF files. I've already written a PDF-merger called pdfconcat,
available from https://raw.githubusercontent.com/pts/pdfconcat/master/pdfconcat.c
. An EPS-merger would be even easier. But I don't have time to
implement these features directly into sam2p soon.Q41. Can sam2p read a multi-page TIFF?
A41. sam2p reads only the first page.
The auxilary utility tif22pnm could be patched so it extracts other
pages, and a new command line option can be added to sam2p that passes
the required page number to tif22pnm. But I don't have time to
implement these features soon.
By the way, multi-page TIFFs can be created with the following command:
tiffcp -c g4 d1.tiff d2.tiff d3.tiff output.tiffQ42. Can sam2p convert a multi-page TIFF to a multi-page PDF?
A42. No. There are two main problems: See also Q40 and Q41.
Q43. How do I convert a TIFF image to a 1-bit black-and-white PDF? Should I use `sam2p -c:fax test.tif test.pdf'?
A43. The above will ensure that fax compression is used. What you need for ensuring that the output is 1-bit black-and-white is:
sam2p -s:gray1:stop test.tif test.pdf
You can also specify a compression algorithm (I recommend -c:zip):
sam2p -c:fax -s:gray1:stop test.tif test.pdf
sam2p -c:lzw -s:gray1:stop test.tif test.pdf
sam2p -c:zip -s:gray1:stop test.tif test.pdf
If you get the error message
sam2p: Error: applyProfile: invalid combination, no applicable OutputRule
then your input test.tif is not really black-and-white. Open it in an
image editing program and ensure that the colors are #000000 and
#ffffff only.
> The tiff is black and white, bilevel - I just want to avoid the
> test.pdf from using 8bpp by default (like it does in imagemagick)
The default for sam2p is not 8bpp. To see what the default is, run sam2p
with the `-j' option and check `OutputRule #1' on the console output.
What you are interested in is the /SampleFormat field.Q43. Acrobat Reader (5.0 and 6.0) cannot read the PDFs converted from a JPEG
with sam2p. I get the message: There was an error processing a page. ExpectedEI' while parsing an image.'.
(The same problem happens with Ghostscript 6.50 with a different error
message. xpdf-1.0 reports: bad DCT trailer.)
A43. Very probably the JPEG stream of your original input image file is rejected by the PDF viewers. (In fact, Ghostscript 7.x doesn't complain.) sam2p doesn't do strict JPEG validation when converting JPEG to PDF -- it just blindly assumes that the JPEG file is correct. To ensure this, you have to re-encode the JPEG.
Instead of this:
sam2p bad.jpeg bad.pdf
do this:
sam2p -c ijg:50 bad.jpeg good.pdf # much slower!
or this:
<bad.jpeg djpeg | cjpeg -quality 50 | sam2p - good.pdf
or this:
djpeg <bad.jpeg >temp.pnm
cjpeg -quality 50 <temp.pnm >temp.jpeg
sam2p temp.jpeg good.pdf
The real reason why Acrobat Reader rejects the JPEG is unknown to me.
I also don't know of any baseline JPEG compliance testing software.
(But if you re-encode with djpeg and cjpeg, it becomes compliant.)
(thanks to Thomas Kraemer for reporting the problem)Q44. How do I create an 1x1 transparent GIF and PNG?
A44. Do
echo "P1 1 1 0" >one.pbm
sam2p -transparent:ffffff one.pbm one.gif
sam2p -transparent:ffffff one.pbm one.pngQ45. Is it possible to specify a resolution other than 72 DPI, so that the dimensions of the resulting PDF are accurate for print-resolution images?
A45. Yes, it is. Use -m:dpi:144' to have the output EPS or PDF scaled to double size, or use-m:dpi: