[pstricks] Crop marks with PSTricks and pdftex.

[John Culleton]

On Wednesday 12 May 2004 06:13 am, Herbert Voss wrote:
> John Culleton wrote:
> > I want to put crop marks on a pdftex project. I am
> > prepared to output dvi and then convert to ps and pdf
> > at the end of the process.
> >
> >>From a macro attached to e.g., the header or the footer
> >
> > routine, I need to access the exact corners of the
> > page. It is a question of moving the current point to
> > those exact spots in order and drawing some lines. Now
> > what do I need to do to describe those locations to
> > pstricks?
> >
> > I could modify the page building routines but since
> > this is pdftex not plain tex I am afraid to mess too
> > much.
>
> couldn't you use package cropmark.sty?
>
Doesn't work with plain pdftex. I switch back and forth 
between pdftex and Context, so I avoid LaTeX which is not 
compatible at all with either. 

> Here is an example with pstricks for the "writable" area
> \textwidth/\textheight. It is easy to modify to get the
> marks in the page edges.
>
> Herbert
>
>
> \documentclass[12pt]{article}
> \usepackage{pstricks}
> \def\cropMark(#1,#2){%
>    \pscustom{%
>       \translate(#1,#2)%
>       \pscircle{3mm}%
>       \psline[liftpen=2](0,-5mm)(0,5mm)%
>       \psline[liftpen=2](-5mm,0)(5mm,0)%
>    }}
> \def\setCropMarks{%
>    \cropMark(0,0)\cropMark(\textwidth,0)%
>   
> \cropMark(0,-\textheight)\cropMark(\textwidth,-\textheigh
>t)% }
> \begin{document}
> \setCropMarks%
> blah
>
> blubber
> \newpage\setCropMarks%
> blah
>
> blubber
> \end{document}
>

There are two pieces to the problem: getting to the corners 
of the (virtual) paper and making the routine automatic for 
each page. I'll settle for just getting to the corners with 
an rput or whatever. 

I don't work with LaTeX because it is to confusing switching 
back and forth beteen LaTeX and other TeX products, like 
plain Tex, pdftex and Context. 

Hans Hagen has proposed a solution using Context and 
importing the orginal pdf file.  Other than the slowness of 
Context that seems to be a viable solution. But a PSTricks 
solution could be done on the fly, if we could create one. 

-- 
John Culleton
Able Typesetters and Indexers
http://wexfordpress.com