Xerox 4450 - Manual (Page 9)

1. Basic concepts
The laser printing system (LPS) provides the capability to create
electronic forms tailored to meet your individual requirements.
You create electronic forms using the Forms Description
Language (FDL). This simple-to-learn, easy-to-use language
enables you to design and alter forms in minutes.
FDL-defined forms are input to the printer as data, using the LPS
keyboard and display, or a host computer terminal. To define a
form, FDL uses lines, logos, images, signatures, shading, and
different font styles and sizes to make full use of laser printing
system features and capabilities.
Advantages of FDL • Lines can be drawn at specified intervals without being
redefined each time.
• You state the origin and the dimensions of a box to have it
drawn at any specified location on the page.
• An entire section of a form, once defined, can be repeated
anywhere on the same form.
• In defining a location on a page, you are not restricted to
lines and character positions. You can specify coordinates in
inches, centimeters, or dots with a resolution of 1/300 inch in
either direction.
Note: An xdot is a 1/600 inch unit of measure that is
provided with version 3 software. A form specifying xdots
may be created, edited, and compiled on any V3-based LPS.
However, results are unpredictable if you attempt to print a
600 spots per inch (spi) form on a 300-spi LPS.
• Once you create a form, it can be stored on the system and
printed as many times and as often as you need.
• You can use three types of lines (solid, broken, and dotted)
in four thicknesses: invisible [0], hairline, medium [1], or
bold [2]. You can also mix fonts and arrange text in many
ways.
Certain basic concepts are required to understand the forms
creation process on laser printing systems. These include the
size, shape, and location of the overall image on the page of a
document, the orientation of the text or graphics on the page,
the size and style of the characters to be used, and the type of
data to be entered.
This chapter discusses fonts and font memory, registration and
skew, and output information for the jobs you create on your
LPS.
XEROX 4050/4090/4450/4650 LPS FORMS CREATION GUIDE 1-1