MacDraw II: Limitcheck Error When Printing

When printing to a LaserWriter or other Postscript printer, you may see the following alert: "Error:_______ Offending command__ " with the possible additional word "limitcheck". When this occurs, it is usually because the document contains polygons or freehands that have more vertices than can be imaged by the printer. This frequently occurs when printing clip art of maps, where the objects have been filled with a pattern or color. The maximum number of printable vertices is fewer for filled objects.

This information was provided by Claris Corporation on 16 March 1998, and incorporated into Apple Computer's Tech Info Library.

What to do:

1) Determine which polygon or freehand object(s) may be causing the behavior. In MacDraw II, this can be done by trial and error: by deleting some polygons, then reprinting. If printing is successful, one of the deleted objects is causing the behavior. Refer to step #2 below. In MacDraw Pro, it is easier to determine the number of vertices of a polygon or freehand. To do so, select Show Size from the View menu. Click on a polygon or freehand. The number of vertices is displayed in the Show Size bar at the bottom of the window. Refer to page A6 in the MacDraw Pro User's Guide to see the maximum number of vertices per object that can be printed to a Postscript printer. If you locate a polygon or freehand that appears to have too many vertices, try deleting the object, then reprinting. If printing is successful, the deleted object may be causing the behavior. Refer to step #2 below.
2) Try one of the following actions to print successfully:
- Redraw the polygon or freehand as two or more adjacent polygons, each with fewer vertices.
- Edit the polygon or freehand to reduce the number of vertices.
- Smooth the polygon or freehand, which will also reduce the number of vertices. (Freehands in MacDraw II are automatically smoothed).
- Remove any fill pattern or color

3) (MacDraw II only) Try printing the file using MacDraw II 1.0v4 or MacDraw Pro.

4) Try printing the file to a laser printer with more RAM, or to a QuickDraw printer.

Why this happens:

1) The laser printer may running out of RAM imaging the polygon. Some printers have more memory than others. So, it is possible to create objects that can't be printed by some printers.

2) A polygon may exceed the limitations of the Postscript interpreter in the laser printer or of the LaserWriter driver itself. Most versions of Postscript have a hard-coded limitation of 1500 vertices per polygon (750 for filled polygons, fewer for filled and smoothed polygons). Due to the way polygons are printed from MacDraw II, the maximum number of printable vertices per polygon is about 512 for an unfilled polygon, 256 for a filled polygon.
Published Date: Feb 18, 2012