(v13) The Imposition page device key

This page applies to Harlequin v13.1r0 and later; both Harlequin Core and Harlequin MultiRIP.

There is a problem in using BeginPage and EndPage as described in (v13) Positioning and printing pages using BeginPage and EndPage .

Consider the following:

            %%BeginSetup
            ...
            << ... >> setpagedevice % (A)
            ...
            %%EndSetup
            %%Page: 1 1 save % (B)
            ... % do some graphics for page 1
            showpage % (C) calls EndPage and BeginPage restore % (D)
            %%Page: 2 2 save % (E)
            ... % graphics for page 2
            showpage % (F) calls EndPage and BeginPage restore % (G)

This is typical of the way many real jobs are structured. The problem is that the transformations given in BeginPage are immediately restored away, and those in force from the first setpagedevice are reinstated. Therefore all the pages come out on top of each other. Beware of writing simple jobs to test imposition and related facilities: real jobs often do things such as this, which a simple test would not reveal.

To solve this problem, the Imposition keyword has been added to the page device in the Harlequin RIP. When it is true, any difference between the current matrix before and after the call to BeginPage is recorded; this matrix is called the page base matrix. On a restore or grestore, the page base matrix in force at the corresponding save is factored out of the current matrix, and the page base matrix in force inside the save/restore is reapplied. This has the effect of carrying over changes made in each BeginPage to subsequent pages irrespective of save and restore.

For a job like the one at the beginning of this section, this works in practice as follows:

• The setpagedevice at (A) would set up the position for the first page by calling a BeginPage procedure, implicitly setting the first page base matrix.
• The showpage (C) would result in a further call to BeginPage when the second page’s base matrix is computed.
• Without Imposition true, the restore at (D) would then reinstate the matrix as it was at the save (B) losing the effect of the BeginPage at (C). Instead, however, the base matrix at (A)—the position information for the first page—is removed, and that from (C)—the position information for the second page—is inserted.
• The process is repeated at the restore (G), which removes the second page’s positioning as it was at the save (E) and replaces it with the position applied in the BeginPage executed during the showpage (F) for the third page, and so on.

Furthermore, when Imposition is true, setmatrix and other relevant operators apply the page base matrix so that these operators cannot upset the imposition. From the job’s point of view, it is as if it is working on a single page with its origin at (0, 0) as normal. (Note the corollary to this: if a job tries to determine the resolution of the output device using the defaultmatrix or idtransform operators, and the imposed pages are scaled, the job reacts as if it is working at the resolution of the unscaled pages).

Therefore, for imposition to work as required, /Imposition true must be set in a call to setpagedevice:

            <<
            ...
            /BeginPage { ... } bind
            /EndPage { ... } bind
            /Imposition true
            >> setpagedevice

If Imposition is false (the default), then transformations work exactly as described in [RB2].