0.64: Print of 1 bit / 2 colors png files in negative

*** Please report new bugs here! ***

Moderators: XnTriq, helmut, xnview, Dreamer

Post Reply
Markorki
Posts: 111
Joined: Wed Mar 08, 2006 3:14 pm
Location: Grenoble
Contact:

0.64: Print of 1 bit / 2 colors png files in negative

Post by Markorki »

Hello,

Recently, I scanned many old industrial design images (patent descriptions, schematics, etc...) from old paper, and tried to make them "brand new" by modifying them in XnView, using contrast/light/gamma to get very good black and white schematics, and record them as 2 colors/one bit png files.

I tried to print one of them, and the print was fully black, with white lines. This is very expensive, in ink or toner, and not what is expected.

To verify if it is really a bug, I started from the same original image, enhanced it, but recorded it as a 24 bits jpg file. The file was far bigger than the 1bit png, but the print was OK : black lines on white background.

Marc
Dommage, l'était sympa cette planète ;-(
cday
XnThusiast
Posts: 3976
Joined: Sun Apr 29, 2012 9:45 am
Location: Cheltenham, U.K.

Re: 0.64 Prints 1 bit / 2 colors png files in negative

Post by cday »

I can't reproduce using a 1-bit black and white test file I created and saved as a PNG with ZIP compression, tested in XnViewMP 0.64 and 0.68 ...

Could you upload a sample PNG that shows the problem?

Edit:

TIFF with CCITT G4 'Fax' compression is an excellent format for archiving 1-bit images, lossless like PNG with a minimal file size.

A Levels adjustment Image > Adjust > Levels... (shortcut key 'L') can be a quick way to enhance black and white images in a single operation, and in XnViewMP also provides gamma adjustment.
Attachments
Test 1-bit PNG_ZIP.zip
(177.45 KiB) Downloaded 63 times
Markorki
Posts: 111
Joined: Wed Mar 08, 2006 3:14 pm
Location: Grenoble
Contact:

Re: 0.64 Prints 1 bit / 2 colors png files in negative

Post by Markorki »

The .png file was obtained using XnView "classic" (yes, for some jobs, I prefer the look and feel of XnView "classic"), using wine / Ubuntu .

scan (simplescan) on a MF printer, giving a "full color" png file, 446Ko
87221d01.jpg
Then edited for contrast/light/gamma to get good black and good white, and then "converted to binary, no framing" using the menu "color" of XnView 1.98.5 and saved as png file (compression level 6, it is the default value, but it does not seem to be destructive), so as to get a very small file (around 20ko).
scan (simplescan) on a MF printer, giving a "full color" png file, then "converted to binary" using the menu "color" of XnView 1.98.5 and saved as png file.
scan (simplescan) on a MF printer, giving a "full color" png file, then "converted to binary" using the menu "color" of XnView 1.98.5 and saved as png file.
and then I converted it to jpg full color : the print is ok
jpg file obtained by converting the 1bit png file to full color '24bits) , size = 220Ko
jpg file obtained by converting the 1bit png file to full color '24bits) , size = 220Ko
I don't think the problem could come from the printer in bitmap mode, but I can find some other printer (test made on a wifi Brother laser printer), If needed, I can turn back on my damned/disliked Canon MG6150.

Well, I did it, the Canon prints the 1bit-png file inverted too: white lines on black background !;-(
Dommage, l'était sympa cette planète ;-(
Markorki
Posts: 111
Joined: Wed Mar 08, 2006 3:14 pm
Location: Grenoble
Contact:

Re: 0.64 Prints 1 bit / 2 colors png files in negative

Post by Markorki »

I just tested your attached file, Test 1-bit PNG_ZIP.zip:
when I print the png file, it is output as white text on black background (the display on screen is black text on white background).
The one-bit tif file behaves exactly the same : prints as white text on black background (on my two printers).

If your files print normally, then it means it is probably an OS problem. You are probably using Windows 7 or 8, my two most used PC run Ubuntu, mostly 10.04 (I'm an old "easy to use" GUI fanatic). I'll try to print from my XP laptop, I think the drivers of the 2 wifi printers are installed and work fine (till to-day...)

A Levels adjustment Image > Adjust > Levels... (shortcut key 'L') can be a quick way to enhance black and white images in a single operation, and in XnViewMP also provides gamma adjustment.
I know that ;-)
Depending on the way the "monochrome" original image is irregular (background very colored in a corner and almost good in an other for instance), I combine level, gamma, contrast, light.

If I keep using "old/classic" Xnview , it is because some fonctionalities don't exist yet in MP, and when they exist, I still prefer the "old fashioned" GUI of classic XnView : the new one allows you to move parts of the display, and sometimes to make them disappear, and sometimes I find it **very_hard** to get them back; "modern" ergonomics are a pain in the ass for me : any feature you don't use every day is a trap and can make you lose **lots_of** time, when not the result of your work...
Dommage, l'était sympa cette planète ;-(
Markorki
Posts: 111
Joined: Wed Mar 08, 2006 3:14 pm
Location: Grenoble
Contact:

Re: 0.64 Prints 1 bit / 2 colors png files in negative

Post by Markorki »

I'm back !

Well, I started my old EEE-PC 901 (XP-SP3) and downloaded XnViewMP-0.68, then I tried to print my 1bit png file... and it prints OK: black lines on white background.

So, the problem seems to sit in Ubuntu 10.04 or in the linux version of XnView MP, ( probably not in the linux drivers of the printers, because Canon and Brother misbehave the same way ).
... now, I have to try a more recent version of Ubuntu, such as the 12.04 (so slow, so heavy).

OK, I'll be back in a while ;-)

Well, I'm back (edit 11h) , same problem with Version 0.68 installed on Ubuntu 12.04 updated almost every day...
Dommage, l'était sympa cette planète ;-(
User avatar
m.Th.
XnThusiast
Posts: 1663
Joined: Wed Aug 16, 2006 6:31 am
Contact:

Re: 0.64 Prints 1 bit / 2 colors png files in negative

Post by m.Th. »

I'm back !
Welcome! :)
OK, I'll be back in a while ;-)
Welcome in a while! ;-)
So, the problem seems to sit in Ubuntu 10.04 or in the linux version of XnView MP...
or, more specific, can it be in the Ubuntu's printing engine - eg. CUPS? Can you change that?
m. Th.

- Dark Themed XnViewMP 1.6 64bit on Win11 x64 -
Markorki
Posts: 111
Joined: Wed Mar 08, 2006 3:14 pm
Location: Grenoble
Contact:

Re: 0.64 Prints 1 bit / 2 colors png files in negative

Post by Markorki »

Well, I did not remember if i had already performed this test, so I did it right now (only on Ubuntu 10.04, but on my 2 different wifi printers) :

- I just tried to print the 1bit png file using XnView classic under Ubuntu/wine : it uses CUPS too, and it woks perfectly, same for the file attached to the post of cday (introduction to gliding..).
- I tried to print the same files (1bit png) using GIMP, a native linux image processing program: they print normally, too, as black on white background.

So it seems CUPS is not the reason of the problem... but these tests are very simple, although I tested at 2 different print scales.

?? had enough for to-day ;-)
Dommage, l'était sympa cette planète ;-(
Markorki
Posts: 111
Joined: Wed Mar 08, 2006 3:14 pm
Location: Grenoble
Contact:

Re: 0.64 Prints 1 bit / 2 colors png files in negative

Post by Markorki »

hello,
The bug still exists in XnView-MP 0.76 linux (ubuntu), and cups is innocent (see previous post)

Can you try to print the 1 bit png file displayed in my post of 2014/6/11 9.30pm and the 1bit tiff file attached to the post before (cday 2014/06/11 7:46pm) with XnView classic (ok for me) and XnView-MP 0.76-linux (2 negative prints for me) , to confirm or not the bug in XnView MP ??
Dommage, l'était sympa cette planète ;-(
User avatar
oops66
XnThusiast
Posts: 2005
Joined: Tue Jul 17, 2007 1:17 am
Location: France

Re: 0.64 Prints 1 bit / 2 colors png files in negative

Post by oops66 »

I confirm this annoying bug in MP0.76-1 Linux.deb X64 version too ... Prints 1 bit / 2 colors png and jpg files in negative.
... Into MP, the print preview is OK (text & sketch black, and background white), but the print is in negative. (both are OK in XnView classic)
( post in French here too - http://newsgroup.xnview.com/viewtopic.p ... 17#p129697 )
XnViewMP Linux X64 - Debian - X64
Markorki
Posts: 111
Joined: Wed Mar 08, 2006 3:14 pm
Location: Grenoble
Contact:

Re: 0.64 Prints 1 bit / 2 colors png files in negative

Post by Markorki »

This bug still exists in MP-0.84 ;-(
Dommage, l'était sympa cette planète ;-(
Post Reply