Setting PowisPrint Preferences For Your Fastback PowisPrinter

If you have a Fastback PowisPrinter and are using the PowisPrint software on your computer, you may need to change some of the preferences. This article discusses the different preferences that can be adjusted in the PowisPrint software. Using the preferences menu you can change standard features such as the default strip width, measurement units, language, and the serial port number in Preferences. To access these options, go to the File menu, and select Preferences...

General Preferences:

1. Default Strip Width: Each Design Window opens with a design strip at a default width. The factory setting is Narrow, but you may change it to Medium or Wide. If you change the width, the Design Window will always open with the width you select here.

2. Printer Adjustment: The printer adjustment allows you to shift your text in relation to the Binderstrip center. Using the up and down arrow keys, you can modify the text centering by hundredths of an inch. If you're in Landscape orientation, a positive value shifts the text up from the center; a negative value shifts the text down from the center. If you're in Stacked or Portrait orientation, a positive value shifts the text right of the center; a negative value shifts the text left of the center. Any printer adjustment you make affects all printing on every strip, until it is manually reset to zero. This is true even if you close and re-open PowisPrint.

Color Preferences:

1. Zone Bars: You can jazz up your Display Window by changing the zone bar colors. Choose from the displayed choices to change the active-zone bar color. The factory setting is white. Choose from the displayed choices to change the inactive zone bar color. The factory setting is grey.

2. Design Window Background Color: Add more sparkle to your Design Window by changing the Design Window background color. Simply click the rectangle to access the color palette.

Advanced:

1. Initial Zoom Setting: This feature controls the size of the book image in the Design Window. You can input the percent of zoom you would like, from 0.5% to 1.00%. The factory setting is 0.93%.

2. Pages Per Inch: The printer measures book thickness by inches or millimeters. To translate number of sheets, the printer must have a conversion rate. Depending on the thickness of your paper, this conversion rate can vary. For example, there will be fewer sheets of thick paper than thin paper in an inch. The factory setting - 250 pages per inch - is based on standard, 20-pound bond paper. If you are using different paper, and also using the "Sheets" feature to measure your book's thickness, you may want to change this default. If you don't, the printer will calibrate the appropriate width strip for 20-pound bond paper, and you will end up with strips that do not fit your documents. Keep in mind that if you are using the "Thickness" feature to measure your books, or if you press the "Ask" button to update your design's thickness, you do not need to worry about changing this setting.

Serial Port:

1. COM Port Number: Choose between 1 and 4, depending on which port you connect the PowisPrinter - PC connector cable to. The default setting is 1.

Regional Settings:

1. Here you can set the default units, language, and orientation you would like PowisPrint to use Before changing any of these regional settings, you must close all open Design Windows.

2. Language: Select the language by clicking the corresponding radial button. Note that if you change the language from English, the measurement units and orientation automatically switch to the European settings. For example, if you select "French" as your language, PowisPrint switches to millimeters and the European text orientation. If, however, you would like to work with a European language but still use inches or the US text orientation, simply click the appropriate button.

3. Unit of Measure: Click the respective radial key to choose inches or millimeters.

4. Title Orientation: This setting allows you to change the landscape text orientation from US/Canadian to European style. Changing this simply rotates any landscape text 180°. Note the difference between the text on the two book images-the landscape text is inverted. To select an orientation, click a book image.