| 摘要 |
In one embodiment of the invention, the conventional three-step ROP process for filling in arbitrary shapes with a pattern is modified to require less computation and memory. In a preferred embodiment, a printer driver routine installed in the host computer converts the conventional ROP instructions into a modified set of instructions which are then transmitted and processed by the printer. A masking buffer in the printer supports the process. The improved method only requires the fill pattern to be transmitted once to the printer instead of twice, resulting in memory savings of up to 50% and speeding up the print time significantly. In contrast to the three-step ROP process, the first step (ROP 90) of XORing the fill pattern with the destination area is deleted. The arbitrary shapes for being filled are transmitted to the printer, and these shapes are stored in a temporary masking buffer. The fill pattern is then transmitted to the printer and ANDed with the mask so that only the fill pattern coinciding with the area of the mask is forwarded for printing.
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