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This will be another work-in-progress post, a rough draft.
It is released early and will receive frequent edits and additions.
I have just begun to exchange information with two individuals, with the intended possible outcome resulting in providing Vibe coded scripts for GIMP or free online generators to automate the desired separations.
“Vibe coding” is an approach where an AI generates code from natural language prompts.

The goal is to include and consider punchcard machine users, meeting the limitations of stitch width where motifs must fit together within the 24-stitch limit, so individually they must be composed of factors of that number: 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 12, and 24.
Each card height, to feed properly,  requires a minimum of 36 rows punched for continuous designs. Cards not on rolls are a standard 60 rows in height, multiple cards may be joined together if needed.
Needle selection is centered and fixed on the needle bed.
Added info is found in  Brother KMs: punchcards and their use.

I learned about machine knitting from what others presented during international and local seminars at the height of the craft, or published in magazines and hardbound editions. Stitch Painter with BitKnitter and DAK were at their inception.
Susanna Lewis has always been a personal favorite and a huge influence.
As time went on, I became interested in processing much larger files using whatever tools I became aware of in image processing or paint programs to generate patterns for producing the fabric I wanted to knit.
As a machine knitter, any charts or files I shared often began with numbering on the right and from the bottom up in Excel.
Row numbering on the right was a convention in blank punchcards and published charts; transfer lace passes added numbers and symbols on the left.
An added consideration in charting: while in 2-needle hand knitting, the work is turned over upon completion of each row, so charts are read in turn from the right and then from the left when purl rows are included in the chart. Knitting on the machine is fixed unless there is hand manipulation, ie, with a garter bar, and the knitter’s view is only of the purl side. In automated punched or downloadable patterns, every row is commonly represented, including punched holes with blank squares or black and white pixels.
Electronic models have a double-height button; in punchcard models, the card lock lever can be pushed back to the long triangle position.
I avoid elongation in long pieces, finding it easier to track unraveled rows to return to the proper program row and color when any errors or stitch mishaps occur.
Although the majority of my designing is now using ArahPaint, Gimp became my early go-to as a companion to spreadsheet programs, first Excel, then Mac Numbers.
Presently I have returned to using Gimp 2.10, finding the later 2 updates unpredictable when working with 8-bit images.
There are added baseline considerations in color separations, for example, the initial file must contain an even number of rows.
Experiments are beginning with black and white indexed images, and the goal is to conclude the process with PNGs in that same mode.

Mosaic color separations are different from those for DBJ.
The knit, also known as floatless fair isle to machine knitters, aims to have floats usually no wider than 2 stitches and for only one color, as opposed to 2 with each pass of the carriage in fair isle.
It is executed with color changes every two rows and cam buttons set to the tuck or slip stitch setting in both directions.
Two classic references: hand knitting for 24 and 40 stitch machines. In mosaics and maze conversion, the original file is not rendered double height before being separated. In other knit structures, the original file is commonly doubled in height before the separation, solving by default the even # row requirement.
Aside from the automatic color separation and what comprises the original file input, ie, indexed BW mode and an even number of rows, depending on the manual separation, the actual file on completion of the separation may need to be altered again before knitting, doubled in height.
The last double height can be achieved by altering the separated PNG before downloading it to electronic models. Symbols for that vary depending on machine or model year, in this case, 910 houses and trees, #4. The 950i  uses ships, but the button placements are in the same positions, and perform the same tasks, or the placement of the card lock lever in punchcard machines. I prefer punching or programming repeats that do not require the built-in elongation selections. Returning to specific rows after interruptions in knitting or correcting patterning errors during it are easier to track.
Whether the color separations are performed manually or with automated tools, the prerequisite is that the input file aligns properly when tiled. Often, published designs have added rows that will double when drawn in repeat, solved by cropping rows at the top and at one side, as addressed in other blog posts.

This repeat for a larger design, 38X34, was separated using the custom filter, with the knit-ready result, 38X68, obtained in a single step

A design that combines the mosaic grid work with the straight horizontal design found in mazes began with a 26X26 repeat, followed by rotations and additions of a 26X20 partial repeatresulted in a 66X24 PNG   that, when viewed tiled on the screen, looked OK   the single repeat, separated using the script,66X48, was swatched using the slip stitch setting.

Both tuck and slip shorten the end knit along the all knit stitches beside them, which in this case form wide horizontal stripes. Those stripes in turn become distorted, seen here at the top and bottom of the swatch; the degree of 3D effect depends on the ratio of slip or tuck counts to knit stitches.
The repeat adjusted to a slightly different alignment if I were to personally use it in a final piece, 66X26, separated to 66X52The question then becomes whether more is less.
The original 26X26 design, separated to 26X52, shown drawn in repeat X3, 78X52, was test-knit using the tuck setting. The yarns used are Silk City wool crepe purchased as seasonal remnants decades ago. Its fiber content is typically 80% wool and 20% manufactured fiber like rayon or viscose. The surface of the swatch is far more 3D than its slip stitch relative. Returning to a 2015 post on working with online generated mazes, and the selection with the isolated repeat, 14X34rendered in BW the script “mosaic” separation,  14X68color inverted for knitting using either tuck or slip stitch setting. The sample, knit in tuck stitch for 134 rows, measures 9.25 inches in height.

DOUBLE JACQUARD
The abridged view of the same steps in the separation for knitting the original 12X18 row design as DBJ, where each color in each design row knits twice.  

The final file is composed of pairs of identical rows.
The process begins with the original image doubled in height, in this instance,  to 12X36.  Every alternate row is color-inverted, and then doubled in height for knitting to 12X72

12X72The first preselection row is from right to left, toward the color changer in Japanese KM models.
Because each color in each design row knits twice, the design is very elongated, even when knit with birdseye backing. The random color choice was not the best in the related sample. If the goal then becomes to have each color knit only once to reduce aspect ratio distortion, or if other knit stitch structures and combinations are planned, additional processing is required.
For strictly 2-color knitting, with BW starting images, electronic knitting machines automate each pixelated BW row for knitting each color only once per row with the flick of a button, generally labeled KRC.
The starting side for the preselection row is from left to right.
The 2 rows for the first color are split between the top and bottom of the programmed repeat.
The actions performed automatically: In the post ArahPaint in knit design 6: color separation,  this suggested method proved faulty when tested here. The result shows the dramatic difference in scale when each color in each row knits only once, but there are noticeable white stitches that are breaking vertical red lines, not intended and not the result of a programming error. Analyzing the result: the first and last row of the design are unaffected by the separation, and when knitting lengths, that same design row will repeat twice.
This proposed method shifts the first design row to the top, maintaining the 12X36 dimensions, and is then color-inverted, rendering a 12X36 file that is ready to knit. The first preselection row is from right to left toward the color changer.
regrouping, 12X36 with the bottom row shifted to the top, the separation, also 12X36The steps in the separation
1: the original image, 12X18
2: the original doubled in height, 12X36
3: move the bottom row to the top of the repeat, still 12X36
4: as an optional guide, a column was added on the right, increasing the width to 13 pixels, marking pairs of rows to be inverted. The added pixels were originally red; when color inversion was used, they were also converted to blue pixels
5: number 4 with the blue and white pixel column removed, the ready-to-knit repeat, also 12X36. The swatch is knit using birdseye backing, an added technique that helps to maintain the aspect ratio of the original design.
The visible extra white loops on the side are due to yarn feeds in mast issues that have gotten added to my list of “well, I have not run into this before!”  

Duplicating the KRC model, with added changes, but the same result: the hand-selection method to illustrate the color invert steps, from left to right: the 8X8 PNG start,
rendered double height to 8X16,
with the bottom row moved to the top,
the separation illustrated with marks for the placement of the inverted rows in blue,
and the knittable final repeat, 8X16Sample color separated using a Vibe-Coded script to obtain the 8X16 result:
the goal is to knit each color in each design row only once, matching the electronic automated electronic KRC selection, with a critical difference: the preselection row is from the right, followed by color changes every 2 rows. Testing a larger design repeat, 43X44color separated to 43X88knit with birdseye backing, with preselection starting from the right

More to ponder: the method used to have each design row knit twice produces files that can be altered again in double bed work for other stitch structures, or used as they are in single bed slip stitch that knits carrying one color at a time for 2 rows.

Reviewing charts for different separations, including use of more than 2 colors: depending on the published source, sometimes letters are assigned, others numbers, and they sometimes differ in identification sequences.
Continuing with Double bed separations, the longest to execute manually, while considering different stitch structures:

WORK IN PROGRESS

Full automation of “held” shapes using slip stitch alone is possible, involves careful planning of the design repeat, an understanding of necessary sequences in “holding” techniques, and results in large, long repeats for recurring shapes.
The starting side for preselection rows varies depending on the design.
Pattern knitting is worked with both cam buttons set to slip, end needle selection must be canceled.
All stitches on the knitting bed must be cleared with each pass of the carriage from side to side.
As shapes grow, test periodically for any yarn loops accidentally caught on the gate pegs.
The overall downloaded program needs to include repeats planned for the number of stitches in work on the needle bed. This is the standard requirement for Ayab, on my 930 the default img2track programming is for a single motif.
If working on an odd number of needles, whether the needle selection is pushed to the right or left of center varies depending on the brand of machine used and changes if horizontal mirroring of the design is added.
It is helpful  to begin with small, narrow repeats for practice. Assorted samples from previous posts:
a ruffle also using the garter bar a couple of zig-zags only one of many pleat variations that may be enlarged and planned for the width of the bed in knitting items such as sideways skirts repeats planned for texture bumps and slits shell shapes Testing the idea on a limited width with small intended shapes helps one iron out errors in logic or knitting sequences,  I prefer to start with a colored chart, making it easier to follow movements of the yarn, carriages, and color changes The chart was then loaded in Gimp, the Mode changed to bitmapped B/W, and the image then scaled to the final width of 74 X 96. For this exercise, I chose to keep the shapes equal distances apart (marked in green), mirrored the image on my 930 to produce the shapes in the same direction. In this instance, as is often encountered in lace knitting, an odd number of rows between repeat segments will allow for the carriage to start from the opposite side in order to reverse the direction of the shaps. The first preselection row may start from either side depending on whether the downloaded image is mirrored or not, whether by intention or automatically by the machine model’s auto settings. The default isolation in img2track is fine, ayab knitters are required to program the repeat in width to match the number of needles in use, so this would work for both I did run into an operator problem: had managed to save the repeat so rather than being all B/W there was a single row of color at its base, which caused mispatterning only when that #1 design row was knit.
With that amended, the selection problem was eliminated The same shapes always starting on the same edge A will distort that edge. Extra rows of the alternate color can vary shapes of the striping between them. Single shape rows could be floated much farther apart on solid ground, or one to which other colors or techniques are added, and finally, the reversing shapes produce a more balanced height at both sides.

WORK IN PROGRESS

Copyright can be a touchy, sometimes murky subject. In my teaching days at a design school, each instructor was responsible for accumulating what amounted to a “textbook” with any expected readings and required information for students attending the classes. There was an arrangement with a single copy center that actually paid a fee set by the government in order to be allowed to provide a service. Teachers supplied boxed material on a single-sided copy per page sheets, withdrew it at the end of the term. The copy center would make double-sided copies from each sheet in the original, bind them, making them available for purchase for only the cost of what it may have been to customers using copiers to make their own per sheet. My intro to knitting “book” evolved into 330 pages, costing students as far as I can recall about $30. An overall bibliography and often credit in sections were included. This all was happening pre-internet browser searches and easy downloads.
I have often not included a definition for some of the terms used in my posts. Also, I did not share information from manuals and company publications until they, in turn, became easily available online, long after the companies that published them went out of business.
A list of common abbreviations: Test and gauge swatches

From the Brother Knitting Techniques Book
I personally prefer to measure gauge on the purl side, where to my eye the start and end of the color transitions appear clearer.
The Passap advice was quite different. This is from the Duomatic 80 manual
and it was followed by tables that helped with calculation conversions based on measurements. When using Japanese machines while executing some DBJ or highly textured stitches, a larger swatch should become the go-to when measuring gauge for garments by default. Using 100X100 combined with the use of metric measurements facilitates the maths and use of devices such as the knitleader, where measurements in millimeters are required.

A “long swatch” exploring a card from a “censored” selection from the factory-supplied punchcard packet in as many techniques as possible became a required assignment In KM model manuals a list was sometimes provided suggesting what cam settings might be suitable for each card
Factory supplied cards were usually marked with a number and letter as seen above, but oddly as model numbers changed, sometimes either or both of the latter would change as well. A table of my own after a quick review of my stash:
1S, 2R,3J/S, 3P, 4D, 5J, 6P, 7G, 8S/J, 9G, 10D, 13G, 101, 102, 103, 107, 108, 109

Macknit was a short lived magazine published for a few issues in the 1980s. This was published in their spring/summer issue 1986, p.7