Why was Normica developed?

Many CAD systems don't offer a correct display of a technical drawing with pen width on the screen.

If  a user wishes to read a technical drawing (which was created with CAD) into a word processing program, DTP or any other Windows/Macintosh program, he needs such a program to be able to understand the plot-format (usually HP-GL/2). Hardly any DTP, word processing- or internet program can do this. Therefore an appropriate interface needs to be found.

Normica creates an exact display of HP-GL/2 files and enables the user to proof-read the drawing before printing. This HP-GL/2 Editor is a safe and low-priced interface for speedy exchange of data between CAD and DTP and the internet.

In CAD originally only a theoretical pen width of zero units is used. Only in this way the constructor receives clear intersections of the crossing lines. This is why there are only few CAD systems which display pen width on the screen. The crucial result is the drawing printed with pen width on paper. Other than the pure construction with the computer, in the printing different pen widths are necessary for display conforming to the standards, e.g. 0.35 mm for subsidiary lines, 0.5 mm for hidden edges and 0.7 mm for visible edges. In many other CAD systems, the different pen widths are defined through the line colors. I. e. most CAD systems offer correct display of the drawing only via printing. Therefore the only format which has the correct and valid information about the drawing is that file, which was created for plotting. Usually this file is in the HP-GL/2 format.