Version 3

SpaceControl takes an image file preferably with a transparent background and converts it to a 3
channel (CMY) image and a white channel to drive OKI printers with white toner, currently this is the
C711WT, ES7411, C920WT, 920proWT and ES9420 .

The density of the white is modified to keep the toner density constant, the level can be set.

Program description
The program opens image files and if there is no transparent layer (alpha channel) displays the image
with background, SpaceControl can attempt to remove the background after loading. Transparent files
are shown on a transparent background. The selected file is then converted from the original to CMY
colours, there is a compromise here as CMY does not have the colour gamut (range) that CMYK has
and prints will not as colourful as a true CMYK print. The transparent layer is converted to a mask and
used to create a layer either all over the image or in the lighter parts of the image. In the thumbnail this
is displayed as black, on a printer with white toner fitted the layer will be printed white.

There are options to rotate and mirror the image along with resize (zoom). The result displays as a
thumbnail image. Multiple copies can be printed, tiling is manual or automatic and if an image is small
enough the image can be tiled to fit 2 or more on screen.

Output is direct to the printer via the connection part of the installed USB driver. This program does
not print using the standard printer driver or its settings but instead uses the driver purely to handle data
communication.

The downside to this is selection of paper type/tray/size/copies has to be done by the program. Options
for Printer, Paper tray, Media weight, Media Size and number of copies are currently provided.

A brightness control and a colour profile control are provided.

The program keeps track of the last 5 used files.

Installation
Run the SC Setup.exe provided. This will guide you through the installation of the utility and create an
entry in Programs /All Programs and optionally a desktop Icon.

The Program uses a License file. This can be obtained from your local TheMagicTouch representative,
please keep a backup copy on separate media.

The program installs using the language selected in the installer. Once installed use the option in the
utility menu to install the programs license.

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The Program

Typical SpaceControl screen with a transparent file loaded. Display white is off and the image shows
as it would be printed but without the white overlay from the threshold settings. WoW7.8 MSheet is the
selected media and the hands appear to show where there can be problems when peeling the T and M.
Automatic Tiling is on and two images are ready for printing.

The corners can be pulled to enlarge or shrink the window.

Interface

Menus
File
Contains Open, Print, Print Margins, Print Blank Page and Exit options as well as a list of the 5 last
used files
Tools
Contains Jpeg settings, ICC profile settings, Custom Paper Size, Colour Dialog, Units, Save Settings,
Load Settings and Load Default Settings
Utility Menu
Contains License Install and Language

Help
Contains Help and About information.

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File Menu
Open
Allows selection of an image file from disk, loads the file and if it’s the correct type displays a
thumbnail with the current defaults. The name of the file is displayed in the title bar and the file is
added to the top of the last used file list. Files with transparent backgrounds (TIF, PSD and PNG) are
preferred. Files without transparent backgrounds are opened, the background displayed and the
Background removal option enabled.

Print
Sends the file to the licensed printer using the current settings.

Print Margins
Displays the current margins and printable
area.
"Get Printer margins" reads the current printer
margins, this is only available if the printer is
on! Updates the display to reflect what is read
from the printer.
To set default margins without a printer, enter a
0 in all 4 boxes and press enter. the minimum
margins for the current OKI C711WT will be
displayed.

To change the margins enter a new value and press enter. The printable area will update. The new
margins are saved when the dialog is closed and displayed as a blue box on the thumbnail.

Note: If the printable area is reduced below the image size then the image will resize automatically to
fit to new size.

Note: This dialog is used to add a custom margin to a custom paper size in the Custom Media Dialog
box.

Print Blank Page

This menu item is used to print a cleaning sheet if a transfer has been printed at the wrong setting and
the toner has not fused and got onto the fuser roller. 2 or 3 sheets at heavy will remove toner on the
fuser.

Exit

Closes the program.

1-5 (Last used file list)

Clicking on a name here will load the displayed file and bring it to the top of the list.

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Tools menu

JPEG Settings
Used to set the level of jpeg artefact removal. In general it’s better not to use Jpegs or files that have
been saved as a jpeg and not cleaned up in an image editing program. There is more on this in the
Appendix

ICC Profile Input

Sets the ICC profile used when reading an image, this effects the colour conversion – See Appendix
ICC Profile Output
Sets the ICC Profile used to convert to CMYK – See Appendix

Custom Paper Size

Enter the Width and Length in the current units. The

minimum and maximum permitted values are displayed
by the entries. Enter a name, it helps to use a name that
properly describes the size.
If required a custom margin can be added to the paper
size. Click the Print Margin button and enter any
Margin needed.

Then Click Save.

The new name is added to the list.

To remove an entry, bring to the top of the list and

press delete. it will be removed.

Exiting the Custom Paper Size dialogue will update the main list of paper sizes with the new entries
and remove any deleted ones.

Colour Dialog
Used to create or edit a colour profile. There is more on this in the Appendix.

Units setting
Allows settings the programs units, default is mm, cm and inch are options.

Save settings
Saves the current settings to disk.

Load settings
Loads saved settings from disk. The printer, margins, colour profile and toner settings are loaded.

Load defaults
Loads a set of basic defaults including colour settings.

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Utility Menu

License install
Opens a dialog box to select a license file and installs it. The
license may be supplied with the program on CD or Flash
drive or may be supplied by email. Use this option to select
the file and click “open”, Any already installed licences will
be removed.
This copies the license file to the AllUser SpaceControl
application folder

Language
Opens a dialog to select the language. The currently
installed valid language files will be shown.
When a file is selected it is loaded and the program
will restart. It is best to change language without an
image loaded.

The language is set for all users of the computer

Help Menu

Help
Starts the Help file with various topics, the Help file will always be more up
to date than the PDF documentation.

About:
Shows the current version and license information. – See Appendix

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White Controls

Display White
Controls the display of white on the thumbnail (displays as grey/black). Turn
off to see the thumbnail in colour when using a background colour. No effect
if Print White is off.

Threshold on
Turns on the slider control for setting the density of the image below which
white is applied to the image. For TheMagicTouch CPM media this is turned off to flood the image
with white.

Print White Turns on the use of the White toner when printing and in the thumbnail display, if the
“Display White” is on.

Print CMY Turns on printing colour. If off then only prints white.
In combination with print White allows printing a white area then a second print with colour onto the
top of the white. can be used to print colour on coloured paper for example.

Variable Controls
White Only Density. Sets the amount of white applied in
white areas. This control also sets the level of white when
the “Threshold on” check box is off.

Add White Threshold Sets the density of the image below

which white toner is applied. Below this amount white is
used to makeup the density to the setting

Brightness. Darkens or brightens the image

The White toner displays as shades of grey from not shown (no toner) to Black (100% toner) when
“Display White” is on

The three images show thresholds of 0% 40% (default) and 85%, the toner levels can be seen from the
grey levels covering the image

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Mirror, Rotate 90°/180°, Image Size and Zoom

Mirror
Normally on for transfer paper.

Rotate 90°
To fit landscape images on the portrait paper. May be used to get a better
fit if multiple copies are required.

Rotate 180°
Flips the image. May be used to print upside down so the darkest part prints first.

X and Y size
The size of the image in the currently selected units. This can be
edited, any change to one size will be reflected in the other. The
program does not allow distortion of the image.

This is the overall image size not the size of the coloured parts in the middle of a transparent page.

Background removal
If a file is loaded with a background (No
Transparency) then the image is displayed
with its background and the Background
removal enabled.

Clicking this checkbox removes the

background using the colour from the top
left corner. For JPG files such as the
example the value in the JPEG settings is
used. When backgrounds are removed there
can be unexpected consequences with parts
being removed that are required. Compare
the result of background removal from the
jpeg and the result of using a file with a transparent background.

The white parts are lost from the jpeg in this example.
It is always preferable to use a graphics program to remove backgrounds.

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Tiling Display
Shows the number of copies in X and Y along with
total copies.
If automatic tiling is enabled then the number is
calculated and images displayed on the graphic.
If Automatic tiling is disabled then it is possible to enter the number of copies, if the number is possible
at the current size then the copies will be displayed.

Examples

Automatic Tiling with a size of 7cm in the X axis Without Automatic on it is possible to set the
gives 8 copies, (2 by 4). number of copies in each axis.

Zoom

The Zoom control will increase/decrease the size. Hold

to accelerate the movement. The image will tile
automatically if the Automatic Tile control is enabled.
The new size is displayed in the X and Y size display
and the current number of tiles is shown in the tiling
display.
The current zoom percentage from the original file is displayed in the zoom box.

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Fit to Page
If clicked will fit the current image to the page size. When clicked a second time will return the zoom
to 100% if the image is smaller then the current page size.
DPI
Shows the effective dpi of the scaled image
Note: increasing the size of a low DPI original will not give a good result. Try at least to have 150 DPI
at the printed size. 300 dpi is a good size to aim at.

Print Options
The bar at the top of this section shows progress when loading,
converting or printing files. A number of different messages may display
including “Background removal”. This is a warning that the result may
not be as expected!

Select Printer.
Select the printer from the dropdown list. Normally only 1 will display
but if there is a Copy1 etc it will show.
Only Suitable printers will be listed.

Paper tray.
Auto, Tray1 or Multipurpose Tray. In general for transfer paper use
Multipurpose, the program turns off the auto tray switch to prevent the
printer selecting the wrong tray if no paper is loaded and hence wasting
toner.

Media Type.
Select for the media type or weight. Settings for TheMagicTouch papers like WoW7.8 and CPM are
included as well as the normal OKI settings. Settings for paper types are selected automatically.
The WoW MSheet setting will automatically set a default threshold of 40% and turn off mirror for
example.

Paper Size
Select the paper size to print, Has some standard sizes and any custom sizes created in Custom Paper
Size option. There are additional non-standard sizes like A4XL (420 by 216mm ) which are available
in TheMagicTouch media like WoW 7.8 TTC3.1 and CPM6.2

Copies.
Sets multiple print copies

Tray Check
When OFF the paper size is not checked. If this is ON, changing from A4 will cause the printer to
display a message asking for the correct paper size to be put in the tray.

The Print option in the File menu and the large Print button on the screen will be greyed out until a file
is loaded and the printer is switched on.
The print option will be greyed out without a valid license file.

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 Note!

If the number of copies is such the overall dpi is too great to print, a
message will be displayed.

This is normally caused by a large number of small copies, The

effective resolution has become to large to print. The original
artwork needs its resolution reduced in a graphic program to keep
the print size down.

In general the image size should be 200 to 400 dpi at the actual print size. SpaceControl can produce
huge print files when tiling, these can be very slow to print.

Print White / CMY.

This is a special mode.
When “Print White” is on and
“Print CMY” is off, the program
prints white in the colour areas but
does not print any colour toner.

With “Print CMY” off and Threshold on OFF. the amount of white is controlled by the “White only
density” the effect is to put a layer of white down over the whole area.

With “Print White” off and “Print CMY” on the image is printed using only the colour toners.

Note:- The screen is only meant as a guide to how the white toner will be laid down in the different
areas.

Screen Size or Window Size

Pulling the corner of the window

with the mouse enlarges the
window (and the thumbnail).

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WOW 7.8 MSheet

There is a special function when WoW is selected. This displays a hand in the peeling position to show
where it may be difficult to get a good peel. Left and right hand options are given and it is possible to
turn off the hands.

CPM 6.2

Selecting this will automatically fill the image with white (shown as black) and set mirror on. This is
for printing CPM for use on TheMagicTouch Satin Coloured mugs and dark leather/leatherette cases
and wallets.

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File Compatibility

The following are currently supported.

Preferred File formats

Adobe Photoshop PSD with transparency.
TIF RGB type with Transparency (uncompressed and LZW, Zip compression is not supported)
PNG (Portable Network Graphics) with transparency.
GIF (Graphic Interchange Format) with transparency.

Note the GIF format only supports 256 colours so should not be used for full colour images, for limited
colour images like Logos it is usable.

Other Supported Formats

PSD without transparency
TIF without transparency
CMYK TIF only opens without transparency
PNG without transparency
GIF without transparency
Windows bitmap BMP
JPEG (Joint Photographic Experts Group)

CMYK Jpegs are not supported

Appendix

For images without transparency the program can remove the background. To do this the program
reads the top left corner and uses this colour as the background. When the Background removal is
checked an attempt is made to remove the background colour and create the transparency. This is very
dependent on the image. Images with a solid colour or black background can work well. White
backgrounds work but may have wanted white areas removed from inside the image.

JPEGs pose a special problem due to the artefacts caused by the jpeg lossy compression system. The
program attempts to remove these artefacts using the value from the Jpeg settings. To high a value can
damage the image, please be careful.

NOTE: Opening a JPG in a graphic program and saving as a TIF will just preserve the compression
artefacts.

Example: Using a Coloured

Background. The original is a BMP on
a magenta background, SpaceControl
removes the magenta on opening the
file.

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Jpeg Settings
From the tools menu the JPEG settings dialog can be
selected.

For high quality jpegs just off the minimum is

sufficient. Medium compression jpegs in the middle
and highly compressed, such as web images, may
require nearly the maximum setting. The value is
saved and will be used the next time a jpeg has its
background removed.

Examples:
Original as PSD Slider Setting High Quality Medium Quality Low Quality Jpeg
Jpeg Jpeg

Colouration of the artefacts comes from the SpaceControl white threshold setting which shows the
artefacts as black.

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ICC Profiles
The program uses ICC profiles to convert the loaded to file to CMYK for conversion to CMY and
printing, a profile is also used to convert the CMYK image to RGB for display purposes.

The ICC Profile Input should be set to a suitable profile for RGB conversion. Provided with the
program is a “RGB_input” profile for this use, the Microsoft re-distributable “RWOP.ICM” is enclosed
as well, this gives a boost to colours!
If Adobe programs are installed then “AdobeRGB1998.icc” will be installed into the
windows\system32\ spool\color folder.
The Adobe profiles work well and can be tried by the adventurous.

The ICC Output profile should be set for a printer profile. The provided “CMYK_Convert.icc” works
well. A set of OKI profiles are provided as well, these are from the C711, the “OKC711P2.ICM” works
well and can be tried. Note these are from the OKI C711 4 colour printer.

Colour Adjust Dialog

From the tools menu the colour adjust dialog can be selected.

The colour adjust dialog allows altering of the colour profile. When selected from the tools menu it
opens with the current settings.

The initial screen allows all 3 channels to be altered

together – they will all have the same value – choose the
colour to adjust from the drop down. As a colour is altered
the Thumbnail will reflect the changes.

To alter the colour click on one of the red dots with the mouse and drag it, it will pull the curve around.
For the technical these are Bezier curves and the red dots the handles.

The Magenta block can be moved up and down with the mouse, this sets the maximum of the colour.
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Examples

Here the Cyan curve is boosted to extreme

In this the Cyan is reduced leaving yellow and

Magenta and just a bit of cyan

This example shows the Magenta being altered.

Here the dark magenta areas have more magenta
and the light less

Once a profile has been changed click Done to keep the settings or
Cancel to abandon them.

If a profile is kept then it can be saved from the tools menu. Select the
“Save settings” option and select a suitable folder, give it a name. The
extension used is .scfg.

These may be reloaded at a different time. This allows the possibility of

different profiles for different materials.

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The About Dialog

The About dialog contains the Release version and the Program version.

Also displayed is the current license. Without a license the

program works but printing is not possible. If the correct
license is installed and the printer on then Valid license for
< model and serial> is displayed.

If the printer is off or the license is incorrect then the

current installed license (if any) is displayed.

Licences are available from your local TheMagicTouch representative.

A list of Representatives can be obtained from

http://www.themagictouch.com

The program “SpaceControl” and its variants are copyright Alan Norman 2011/2015 and Licensed to
TMT Marketing Services BV for release through TheMagicTouch network of representatives.

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