Poster Machine

ZX Computing

Ray Elder

Softcat Micros £5.95 Poster Machine is a versatile program which allows you to print screen pictures using most of the popular interfaces and a dot matrix printer. This picture can be in one of eight predefined sizes from 3.25 x 2.5 inches to 69 x 60 feet, or in sections to produce really huge copies if that's not enough - though it is likely to be expensive in terms of printer ribbons! Apart from working with most interfaces, ZXPRINT 3, KEMPSTON E etc (we tried it with them and it worked fine), the program provides options to invert the printed screen or add 'texture' in coloured sections to the copy. You cannot create screens or pictures with it, these have to be generated by another graphics package such as their own excellent ANIMATOR1. In fact I would go so far as to suggest that it was developed as companion to this program and its more general application led them to market it separately. This is a simple and easy program to use and includes microdrive options, the only real difficulty came when fiddling with the expanded sections of a picture for the jumbo prints but this isn't really a job you're likely to do too often anyway. Really it would be more appropriately named Screen$ Printer, but I have no quibbles and if you need the specialist functions of flexible screen$ printing then this is the best I have seen (so far). NB Poster Machine is being supplied free with Animator1 for a short time for £9.95, a good buy.