Mita Xi Plot System
[Optional controller for the Mita PointSource Xi 8020]
For users who want to use their Mita PointSource Xi 8020 as
a printer as well as a copier, Mita now offers the Xi Plot
System. This controller is one of the products produced by the
company RATIO in Germany. Mita
has decided to sell some of
RATIO’s products directly; several
additional or different options can
be purchased from RATIO.
Mita will sell the Xi Plot System in three versions: the
basic Xi Plot System, Xi Plot System/PC (including PC),
and Xi Plot System/b (interface board only). In addition,
Mita will sell a scanning option, Xi Plot Scan, which can be
combined with any of the three Xi Plot System versions.
No 2, 5/2/1999
Basic modules
Xi Plot System
Xi Plot System is a complete solution for customers who want to use the PointSource Xi 8020 as a
printer as well as a copier. It includes the required interface board (Xi Plot System/b), an external
cable, and the Xi Plot software.
Xi Plot System controls two spool directories:
page 4 of this Product Information) and
(included in the Xi Plot software). The two spool directories are checked continuously, and if there are
files in the spool directories, they are sent (automatically or manually) to the Xi 8020.
Xi Plot System is a complete print management system: in addition to the Xi 8020, it can manage
other printers in the network.
Xi Plot software includes:
Server software
System software
Console software
Printer drivers
.......to be installed on a server PC which is directly connected to the Xi 8020.
......which installs the kernel drivers and thus enables communication between the
operating system and the application software from which the user wants to
print. The system software also has to be installed on the server PC.
....which is used to control and check the status of the server software. This can
either be installed on the server PC or on another PC which is connected to the
server PC via a network.
..........to be installed on all PCs in the network from which the user would like to print
on the Xi 8020.
SSL
for plot sets made in Xi Plot Client (optional; see
CFG
, for single plots sent from a Windows printer driver
Advantages of the Xi Plot System
- The Xi Plot System is installed on an ordinary PC with Windows NT, and it is possible to install the
console software on this same PC. The other PCs in the network do not require Windows NT;
Windows 3.11 or Windows 95 is sufficient.
- It is possible to expand the functionality of the Xi 8020 by installing the optional Xi Plot Scan
software on the Windows NT PC as well. Scanning is only possible on the PC directly connected to
the Xi 8020.
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Basic modules continued
System requirements Xi Plot System
Server PC
Operating system Windows NT 4.0 (server or workstation)
Processor Pentium 133 Mhz or higher
RAM 64 MB
On Xi Plot System/b interface card: 32~128 MB
Hard disk At least 1.2 GB (depends on size of printed files);
recommended: Adaptec 2940 PCI SCSI controller with fast SCSI HDD
Network card Recommended: 3Com Etherlink III adapter, 10 Mbit
PC with console software*
Operating system Windows NT 4.0
* The console software can either be installed on the server PC or on another PC in the network. However, if it
is installed on another PC, this PC must have Windows NT 4.0 as its operating system.
Client PCs with printer driver software
Operating system Windows 3.11, Windows 95 or Windows NT 4.0
Xi Plot System/PC
The Xi Plot System/PC is a PC box with Xi Plot System. This PC
acts as a printer server for the PointSource Xi 8020. The
functionality of the Xi Plot System/PC is the same as that of Xi
Plot System (see page 1/2 of this Product Information).
The Xi Plot System/PC includes a Pentium processor, a hard disk,
a network card, the interface board Xi Plot System/b, and the
required external cable. It does not include a monitor, mouse, or
keyboard. Windows NT workstation and the Xi Plot software are
pre-installed.
Please note
Advantages of the Xi Plot System/PC
- The Xi Plot System/PC is small and does not have any peripherals. This reduces both its price and
the amount of space it requires.
- On the Xi Plot System/PC the software is pre-installed and cannot accidentally be removed or
changed. This greatly reduces the occurrence of problems.
: the console software, which is used to control and check
the status of the server software has to be installed on at
least one other PC in the network. This PC requires
Windows NT 4.0 as its operating system.
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Basic modules continued
Specifications/system requirements Xi Plot System/PC
Xi Plot System/PC
Operating system Windows NT 4.0 workstation
Processor Pentium 133 Mhz
RAM 64 MB
On Xi Plot System/b interface card: 64 MB
Hard disk SeaGate 1.2 GB
Network connection BNC/COAX, AUI, 10Base/T
Network protocols TCP/IP, IPX/SPX, NETBIOS
PC with console software*
Operating system Windows NT 4.0
Client PCs with printer driver software
Operating system Windows 3.11, Windows 95 or Windows NT 4.0
Xi Plot System/b
The Xi Plot System/b interface board can also be purchased
separately. This option is only suitable for customers who want to
switch from another manufacturer’s A0 machine to the Mita
PointSource Xi 8020, and who already have all required software.
Xi Plot Scan kit
The Xi Plot Scan kit is additional software which enables scanning. Scanning is only possible to the
PC which is directly connected to the Xi 8020.
Standard supported file formats
TIFF
.......................................... Tagged Image File Format; a raster file format. Tiff-files can either be
Uncompressed or compressed with Packbits, G3, or G4 algorithms. G4 uses the
compression methods Striped, Tiled, or Monolithic.
PCX
.......................................... A raster file format.
T6X
.......................................... A raster file format based on G4 compression. Designed by RATIO.
BMP
......................................... A raster file format.
HPGL-RTL
CALS: MIL-STD-1840B
RLC
HPGL and HPGL2
CALCOMP
............................... A raster file format designed by Hewlett-Packard. It stands for Hewlett Packard
Graphic Language - Raster Transfer Language.
.......... CALS (Continuous Acquisition & Life-cycle Support) contains standards
designed by the US defense information system agency. MIL-STD-1840B is an
interface standard for exchanging engineering and technical support data.
.......................................... A proprietary file format used in CAD Overlay software from Image Systems,
Inc.
.................. Hewlett Packard Graphics Language; a vector format.
............................... A vector format designed by CalComp, an international leader in computer
graphics hardware.
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Modules/options available from RATIO
Xi Plot Copybase
For customers who require more functionality than Xi Plot System can provide, such as copy shops,
the more extensive Xi Plot Copybase may be the right solution. It replaces both the Xi Plot System
and the Xi Plot Scan kit, and it provides an extensive range of additional features as well.
Xi Plot Copybase enables copying, scanning, printing, editing, file management, driver management,
archiving, and more. It is manufacturer independent and supports many different scanners, printers,
electronic archives, and output equipment.
Please note
: At the moment, Xi Plot Copybase cannot be purchased from Mita. Please contact RATIO
directly for further information.
Xi Plot Client
It is possible to print single plots on the Xi 8020 from any PC in the network with the Xi Plot System
printer driver installed. However, for more possibilities and more control, users can install the optional
Xi Plot Client software on one or more client PCs in the network. Xi Plot Client offers more control
over print jobs and also, for example, the possibility to search databanks with older print jobs.
The Xi Plot Client software is used to create, edit, and control sets of one of more plots, which are
subsequently sent to the SSL spool directory of the Xi Plot System or Xi Plot Copybase, from which
each set is printed as a single job.
A plot set would usually consist of related plots, such as all drawings for a building project or a
technical design. The user can set a whole range of parameters for a set: the (standardized) output
size, which output roll should be used, the position of the image on the output medium, the cutting
size, whether or not to add a border, and more. It is also possible to add a cover page to the plot set,
with information like the project name and the name of the customer, the date, the time, and anything
else the user might want to include. With the optional Xi Plot Stamping kit installed, this kind of
information could also be inserted on each page of the plot set in the form of a stamp.
Please note
: Xi Plot Client can only be used in combination with Xi Plot System or Xi Plot Copybase.
Licences are available for one or more PCs.
Please note
: At the moment, Xi Plot Client cannot be purchased from Mita. Please contact RATIO directly
for further information.
System requirements for client PCs with Xi Plot Client software
Operating system Windows 3.11, Windows 95, Windows NT 4.0, or DOS
Xi Plot Stamping kit
The Xi Plot Stamping kit is additional software which allows users to create user-defined stamps to
add to plots or plot sets. These stamps may contain company logos, information from the operating
system (file name, date, time), or free text (project name, customer name, comments), and they can
be positioned and rotated freely. Stamping can be manual (by pressing the stamp key) or automatic.
Please note
: At the moment, the Xi Plot Stamping kit cannot be purchased from Mita. Please contact RATIO
directly for further information.
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Modules/options available from RATIO, continued
Xi Plot Mail Response System kit
The Xi Plot Mail Response System kit is especially useful when Xi Plot System is used in a
network. When the Xi 8020 is finished printing a plot or a plot set, the Xi Plot Mail Response System
kit sends a message to the PC from which the job originated. This prevents printed documents from
getting lost because their owner forgot to collect them.
Please note
: At the moment, the Xi Plot Mail Response System kit cannot be purchased from Mita. Please
contact RATIO directly for further information.
Xi Plot Accounting kit
The Xi Plot Accounting kit provides all the information necessary for controlling costs. It writes
details of plot jobs to a text file and to an SQL-based database system, so that it is easy to invoice the
correct customer for the correct print costs.
Please note
: At the moment, the Xi Plot Accounting kit cannot be purchased from Mita. Please contact
RATIO directly for further information.
Optional file formats
Xi Plot P kit
Xi Plot CGM kit
Xi Plot DWG kit
Xi Plot DXF kit
.................. This option is required for printing PostScript files. PostScript is a vector-based printer
language developed by Hewlett-Packard which is used by professional drawing offices.
............ This option is required for printing Computer Graphic Metafiles. CGM files are vector
images which are expected to be used on the Internet.
............ This option is required for printing CAD (Computer Aided Design) files with the
extension DWG. These are drawing files that can be inserted into other drawings as
blocks.
............. This option is required for printing CAD files with the extension DXF. DXF (Drawing
Exchange Format) files are text files that can be read by other CAD systems. Saving
CAD files as DXF files allows users to share drawings.
Further information
For further information about the products directly available from RATIO, please contact them at:
RATIO Entwicklungen GmbH
Admiralitätstraße 59
20459 Hamburg
Germany
Tel.: +49 40 369 007 0
Fax: +49 40 369 007 25
Or visit their website www.ratio.de for extensive information in German or English.
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Available items
Basic modules available from Mita
Item code Item Description
86312002 Xi Plot System/PC* PC-box with processor, hard disk, network card,
Xi Plot System/b interface board, and external cable;
with Windows NT 4.0 workstation software and
Xi Plot System software pre-installed
86312001 Xi Plot System* Xi Plot System/b interface board;
Xi Plot System software; external cable
86312000 Xi Plot System/b* Interface board only
(without software or external cable)
86312003 Xi Plot Scan kit Optional scanner software; to be used with Xi Plot
System or Xi Plot System/b.
83586020 Internal cable Connection inside the PointSource Xi 8020 between
mother board and interface. Required for all three
versions of the Xi Plot System.
* The internal cable (item # 83586020) is required for all three versions of the Xi Plot System.
Modules and options available from RATIO
Item code Item Description
— Xi Plot Copybase More advanced software, which enables copying,
(RATIO name: COPYBASE) scanning, printing, file/driver management, archiving,
editing, etc.
Replaces Xi Plot System + Xi Plot Scan kit.
— Xi Plot Client* Optional software for client PCs; enables more control
(RATIO name: PLOTCLIENT) over print jobs. Can be used in combination with
Xi Plot System or Xi Plot Copybase.
— Xi Plot Stamping kit* Adds user-selectable stamps to print-outs.
— Xi Plot Mail Response System kit* Sends a message to the client PC from which a print
job originated as soon as the print job is finished.
— Xi Plot Accounting kit* Helps monitor print costs by writing details to two
files: a text file and a database.
— Xi Plot P kit* File format option for printing PostScript files.
— Xi Plot CGM kit* File format option for printing CGM
(Computer Graphic Metafile) files.
— Xi Plot DWG kit* File format option for printing DWG files
(CAD environment).
— Xi Plot DXF kit* File format option for printing DXF files
(CAD environment).
* Can be used in combination with Xi Plot System or Xi Plot Copybase.
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