Created Date: 07 Oct, 2020 11:13
Last Modifed Date: 05 Aug, 2021 14:21

Breaking changes V3.10

  • The JOB_STARTED socket event message now includes the ImageCount. See the ScreenPro Direct User Guide for more information.

Changes V3.10

  • Support added for NozzleOut compensation with justifications and offsets as defined in the ScreenPro Direct configuration file.
  • Fixed a defect where 16-bit TIF input was not packed correctly to 8bpp.

Breaking changes V3.9

  • The ability to generate pipeline metrics has been removed along with the associated MetricsDirectory config setting.

Changes V3.9

  • The MasterController setting has been reintroduced to the JSON config. See the ScreenPro Direct User Guide for more information.
  • The screen is now validated when PrintFlat credentials are supplied, so that incompatibility can be detected in advance rather than lead to print run errors.
  • The SocketConfiguration structure used by spd_startup now allows custom timeouts to be specified for acknowledgement (receipt of SOCKET_RECEIVED) and the result from API functions. If left uninitialized, the original timeout lengths will be used.
  • The PreserveInputFilename setting has been added, so that workflows using file-based input can output using the same name as the input file.
  • The GET_LICENSE_VARIANT socket command and spd_get_license_variant API function have been added for querying whether your license is Standard, High Data Rate, or Ultra High Data Rate.
  • Fixed a defect where 16-bit input would be output incorrectly when packed to 1-bit per pixel.
  • Executable and DLLs now all have version numbers.

Breaking changes V3.8

  • The PRINTFLAT_LICENCE socket interface command no longer takes an expiry argument. Similarly, the spd_set_print_flat_credentials API function no longer takes an expiry argument.
  • The capability to generate PrintFlat subscriptions and install PrintFlat calibrations has been removed. Contact your technical representative for assistance.
  • Fixed a defect where the maximum drop was being retrieved for the wrong plane/channel.

Changes V3.8

  • Now based on ScreenPro Core v3.0.0, which supports custom drop-curve mixing. See ScreenPro Core documentation for details.

Breaking changes V3.7

  • The SET_YOFFSET socket interface command is now SET_CROSSWEB_OFFSET and has different success and failure responses. Similarly, the spd_set_y_offset API function is now renamed to spd_set_cross_web_offset. See the ScreenPro Direct User Guide for more details.
  • The StartXOffsetIndex and StartYOffsetIndex config settings is now renamed to StartDownWebOffsetIndex and StartCrossWebOffsetIndex, respectively.

Changes V3.7

  • Justifications and offsets for PrintFlat calibrations can be specified using two new settings in the Screening section of the JSON config: CalibrationJustification and CalibrationOffset. See the ScreenPro Direct User Guide for more details.
  • Fixed a defect where the final plane could be sent twice using SEND_PL_IMAGE or SEND_BG_IMAGE.

Breaking changes V3.6

  • The SCREENPRO_PASSWORD socket interface command is now SET_PASSWORD.
  • SET_PASSWORD now follows with ScreenPro Direct Password Accepted or ScreenPro Direct Password Incorrect. See the ScreenPro Direct User Guide for more details.
  • SEND_BG_IMAGE now requires a plane number and a boolean to denote whether a submission is a final plane or not. See the ScreenPro Direct User Guide for more information.
  • SEND_PL_IMAGE socket command is now available. It is like SEND_BG_IMAGE, with the difference being that there is no requirement to send FIFO data. See the ScreenPro Direct User Guide for more information.
  • SEND_PL_IMAGE and SEND_BG_IMAGE use PCMD_BIGIMAGE if connected to Meteor. When outputting to Meteor, in the JSON config update the HeaderReserve field to 28.
  • You can no longer specify DropCount in the JSON config. This value is auto populated, based on the screen assigned to each raster. This can be (1) the global screen (defined in the config file), (2) a per image screen (defined in shared memory), or (3) a per job screen (defined in XML).
  • Drop_Count_Output_Plugin has been removed. Use CountLevels in the JSON config for equivalent functionality.
  • Meteor status structure is now updated with DocsQueuedLane1, DocsQueuedLane2, MixedModePreloadDocsQueuedLane1, and MixedModePreloadDocsQueuedLane2.

Breaking changes V3.5

  • ScreenPro Direct now has its own licensing, which is required even when not using the screening plugin. Replace all ScreenPro license strings in SPD config files with your ScreenPro Direct license string. As part of this change, the prompt for the password over the Command socket is now Waiting for ScreenPro Direct password\n.
  •  Two functions (spd_set_job_id and spd_set_last_page)now replace the spd_push_order API function. See ScreenProDirect_API.h for more information.
  • If an OutputDirectory is specified in the ScreenPro Direct config file, any drop count XML files to be written are created there instead of the current working directory.

Changes V3.4

  • Drop counting is now enabled for any output plugin by setting CountLevels=1. See the ScreenPro Direct User Guide for more information.
  • The total page count is now available for use in the output plugin, providing it is set with the spd_push_order API function.
  • The actual page number for a raster is available for use in the output plugin, providing it is set in the Shared Memory RasterInfo structure.
  • The CMYK equivalent for the colorant/channel is written into the TIFF tag (TIFFTAG_IT8CMYKEQUIVALENT), providing it is set in the Shared Memory RasterInfo structure.

Breaking changes V3.3

  • MasterController is no longer an option in the JSON config; use the PlaneNumber option instead.
  • TotalPlanes now means the number of planes an instance is running, not the system in total.

Changes V3.3

  • Tiff_Output_Plugin now creates an XML file (Job Description) for each job ID it processes.
  • Fixed a defect where sending images to a specific plane would cause a Meteor command-sequence error.

Changes V3.2

  • Added support for CentOS 7.4.
  • You can now use the Meteor SetParamX call to give finer granularity on setting properties in heads. See the ScreenPro Direct User Guide for more information.
  • API events for PD_HINT and HW_BUFFER_EMPTY.
  • Meteor_Output_Plugin now runs on Linux (Ubuntu and CentOS 7.4).
  • The Meteor Print Engine is now hosted to support the above on Linux, but can be optionally hosted on Windows. See the ScreenPro Direct User Guide for more information.
  • Tiff_Output_Plugin now writes the X/Y resolution tags (if available).
  • Meteor_Output_Plugin waits until Meteor hardware has connected during initialization.

Changes V3.1

  • Asynchronous job status events are Starting, Success, Failed, and Cancelled. These are reported over the command socket, as well as the C API event system. It allows more visibility into what is processing and what is finished. See the ScreenPro Direct User Guide for more information.
  • Better support for Meteor single-channel mixed mode. Also supported with bar splitting. See the ScreenPro Direct User Guide for more information.
  • Job cancellation is now supported. See the ScreenPro Direct User Guide for more information.
  • Fixed an issue where a crash could occur during an abort sequence.

Breaking changes V3.0

Achieve configuration via a JSON file (rather than Windows INI). Configuration options are the same (see the ScreenPro Direct User Guide for more details).

Changes V3.0

  • We now support Debian-based Linux distributions. Note: Not all plugins are available on Linux.
  • In metric reporting, ScreenProDirect can measure itself and produce a metrics report at various levels of granularity (stage, thread, and so on). See the ScreenPro Direct User Guide for more information.
  • We now provide ScreenPro PrintFlat licensing support.
  • Performance and stability improvements.
  • A C API for ScreenProDirect is now available, which allows C-style function calls instead of implementing the socket interface. The command and scheduler sockets are implemented; the status socket is still in development.
  • All output plugins (that don’t implement a custom run method) are able to write level data if configured to do so. [Output] WriteLevels is the new config option.
    Note: When turned on, this process has a big impact on performance, so we recommend that you use non-realtime workflows (TIFF, None).

Supported application platforms

The application is officially supported on the following platforms:

  • Windows 10 Professional 64 bit (latest updates).
  • Debian based GNU/Linux 64 bit (Tested on Ubuntu 18.04.2 LTS)
  • CentOS Linux 7.4

The following 64-bit runtimes are required:

For Linux, LibTiff5 is required ("sudo apt install libtiff5 –y").

Installation

ScreenPro Direct is distributed as a zip archive.

Licences

The application requires a separate license or distribution agreement for ScreenPro Direct. Contact your technical representative for more details.

Getting started

For more details, please refer to the ScreenPro Direct User Guide.

Limitations

  • No XML support on workflows with bar splitting.
  • ScreenProDirect_API does not include status support.
  • ScreenProDirect_API is not versioned.
  • DirectSharedMemory_API is not versioned.
  • DirectSharedMemory_API is not documented outside of example code.
  • BufferLevel config option is no longer working (currently planned to be deprecated).

Notes

Meteor Version 4.04.32620 is linked and tested.

ScreenPro Core version 3.0.0 is included.