Feature request : alternate color set for Print/Plot or pdf export

Hi.

I’m using custom colors for dark backgrounds in schematic editor
The problem is that the color output is the same when I try to print on white paper.
I think It would be nice to use the default colors or an alternate color set for printing /exporting.

Check the bugtracker i am sure this is already requested https://bugs.launchpad.net/kicad

1 Like

It would seem to be a local printer driver setting. There is a modus for most drivers (if not all) to tell the driver to not print black page backgrounds.

I set the background color in KiCad to 1 (almost black) from day one and never had anything printed out with dark background. Using CUPS 2.2.7.

No this is not a bug. Just a missing feature.

The problem is not with the dark background wich effectively print as white as you said it.

The problem is that I consequently use light colors for traces and symbols on screen and theses light colors are giving very faint printouts.

changing the colors to default before printing and then back to what I feel confortable for work takes time so I’m curently using B&W prints only.

I think Having a specific color set for printing would be a nice feature.

Nothing missing here.

Check the option in that small print box where it says ‘Print in black and white only’.

While it might be true that this fixes some concerns I would not say it means nothing is missing.

Some users might simply want to have colourful printouts that have a differing colour selection compared to the eeschema (or pcbnew) colours.

Sorry Jos but i think you’re reading me too fast.
I’m not searching for a workaround or a bugfix.
I already use B&W printing and in fact I don’t really need color printing.

But, in my humble opinion, the display colors and print colors may be different for the needs of some users.

That’s why I think that a color scheme dedicated to printing rather than just one for display and printing would be a nice new feature, although it is not of the utmost importance.

Yes Rene_Poschl. That’s it. :grinning:

Noted.

Though good luck with entering the color mine field. Colors have a tendeny to fade and eventually turn roughly uniform in appearance. Monochrome prints fade too, however they do so more likely in unison of that black/dark substance transferred onto paper.

What looks meaningful for some can be a ‘disaster’ for others. B/W keeps it reasonably levelled for most human eyes. In serious commercial applications I’d keep it B/W for in-ambiguity reasons.

Keeping the colourful files (and backups too, of course) in the digital realm prevents real-world decay and fading issues though :wink:

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