Facit Unofficial Home Page - Matrix Printers in windows help

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BACK

USING A MATRIX PRINTER IN
MICROSOFT WINDOWS

Summary: A dot matrix printer can be productively operated under Windows, given an understanding of the interaction between Windows and the printer.

Details: Documents generated under Windows are page oriented, while a matrix printer is character oriented.

There is an order of hierarchy in printer control when printing from Windows. At the bottom is the printer control panel. Most options set on the printer are over-ridden by the driver properties. The driver properties set the defaults for most options selectable under Windows, and can be over-ridden by the application settings.

Application
|
Printing Preferences (Windows 2000 Pro)
|
Document Defaults (Windows NT/2000)
|
Driver Properties
|
Printer Control Panel

FONTS

Setting the Font from the printer control panel is non-effective.

Font Types:

Both TrueType and Printer resident fonts can be used with a matrix printer.
TrueType fonts will print as they are displayed on the screen. They print in graphics mode, and are comparatively slow. Fonts may be printed in any selected pitch. TrueType fonts will generally print the same on different printers.
Since there are no equivalent screen fonts, all Printer fonts will display on the screen in the System font. Printer fonts are resident in the printer, thus they print much faster than TrueType fonts. The pitch is selected when the font is selected. If a different printer is selected, there may be no equivalent printer font on the newly selected printer- typically the application will select the Arial TrueType font.
In most, but not all font lists, the TrueType fonts are indicated by a TT icon, OpenType fonts are shown by an O icon and Printer fonts are indicated by a printer icon.

In this WordPad example, Century Gothic is a TrueType font, Comic Sans MS is an OpenType font, and Correspond10cpi is a Printer font.
Some applications do not display the icons. The Printer font may then be identified by font names that include the CPI, i.e. GothicDP10cpiI or CourierLQ12cpi.

Font Selection:

Fonts cannot be selected from the printer control panel, unless the Generic/Text Only driver is being used. The Windows application performs all font selection.
Fonts cannot be selected from the printer properties. Fonts can only be selected within the application being printed from.
Most applications have a pull down font selection list. The font list is usually in the main toolbar, but may be located in a submenu.
Database or forms applications generally have a design mode where the fonts for individual fields may be selected.
Some applications may have a fixed font, and cannot be changed. With these types of applications, the only way to use a Printer font is to use the the Generic/Text Only driver. Contact the software vendor for help on changing fonts in these types of applications.
Printer fonts do not show in the Control Panel | Fonts applet. The Fonts applet only shows installed Windows fonts (TrueType, ATM, etc.). Printer fonts are installed in the printer and are not installed through Windows. The printer driver simply tells Windows what fonts are in the printer.
Resident fonts will not be available if:

The printer has not been selected within the application.

Landscape orientation is selected- printer fonts cannot be rotated.

Control Panel | Fonts | TrueType | Show Only TrueType Fonts in Applications is checked (Windows 3.1).

Start | Settings | Control Panel | Fonts | //View | Options | TrueType// or //Tools | Folder Options | TrueType Fonts// | Show Only TrueType Fonts In The Programs On My Computer is checked (Windows 95/98/NT/2000).

The application does not support the selection of Printer fonts. Some applications simply will not support fonts other than TrueType fonts. Some applications use a special printer driver that does not allow font selection. Contact the software vendor for further help.

Font Size:

When selecting printer fonts, the font size will default to a preselected size- the CPI is selected when you select the font style. Setting Printer fonts to other than the preselected size will print a TrueType font at the selected pitch.

Print Quality:

For best results, TrueType fonts should be printed at the medium or high resolution. TrueType fonts will print very poorly at the lowest resolution.
Windows NT 3.51 / 4.0 can leave white horizontal lines through graphics- this is a limitation of NT vertical movement calculation.
If printer fonts print poorly:

Ensure that Printer fonts are actually selected.

The resolution setting has no effect on resident fonts.

Perform the print quality tests on the printer and make any needed adjustments for print quality. On line printers, check and adjust the amplitude.

Font Speed:

For best speed, select Printer fonts.
Printer fonts will print slowly when text is justified. A horizontal position command must be sent for each character. If possible, turn off justification.
Microsoft Office 95 and above use micropositioning commands between each character. This can cause a lot of extra movement of the printhead, slowing down printing. Set Word to use printer font metrics with Tools >> Options >> Compatability >> Use printer metrics to lay out document.

Printer Resident Bar Code Fonts:

The printer must have the bar code fonts installed. This was an option on earlier printers, but is standard on current models. The printer status sheet will indicate the available options.
The font name of all bar code fonts starts with ‘BC’.
The pitch should be set to a standard point size, as shown in the size list. If the pitch is changed to a non supported size, the bar code data will print in a TrueType text font. Supported pitch sizes can vary between different bar codes.
Since there is no equivalent screen font, bar codes display on the screen as the code data, not as bar codes.
Check digits are calculated by the printer- thus they will not display but will print. If the application sends the check digit, some bar code styles may interpret is as part of the bar code datastream.
All bar codes, except POSTNET, are scalable.
POSTNET bar code height is fixed by USPS specifications and cannot be changed. POSTNET bar code width is controlled by printer straps, if the printer has that capability. The compressed width POSTNET is standard on later model printers.

Bar Code Quality:

Perform the print test on the printer and check the print quality. You may need to make adjustments for print quality. On line printers, check and adjust the amplitude.
The resolution setting has no effect on resident bar code fonts.
Ensure that Printer bar codes are selected. If the actual bar code appears on the display, a TrueType font is being used, and is printed in the graphics mode. Changing the driver resolution may help. Facit cannot guarantee that bar codes printed as graphics will properly read.

Bar Code Speed:

The resolution setting has no effect on resident bar codes.
Perform the print quality tests on the printer and make any needed adjustments for print quality. On line printers, check and adjust the amplitude.
Ensure that the Printer resident barcode font is actually selected. If the actual bar code symbol is shown on the host computer's display, then the Printer bar code font is not being used. The new ANSI drivers will show an approximation of the bar code, but the displayed code will have bars of equal width.

LPI and Line Spacing

Setting the LPI from the printer control panel is non-effective.
Under Windows, line spacing is controlled entirely by the application. Line spacing cannot be controlled from the printer control panel or the driver properties, unless the Generic/Text Only driver is used (with signifigant limitations). If the application does not control line spacing, please contact the software vendor for help.

Windows does not use a line feed or carriage return to move from one line of text to the next (except with the Generic driver). Instead, vertical and horizontal micropositioning commands are used. Within an application, line spacing is usually set in points. There are 72 points in one inch.

All line spacing is controlled by the Windows application.

EXAMPLE: To set line spacing in Microsoft Word for Windows:

- Open a Word document.
- Select Format, then Paragraph.
- Line spacing can be set to single (6 LPI), double (3 LPI), or to an exact spacing set in points.

To calculate exact line spacing, divide the desired LPI into 72. Thus, for 8 LPI, 72 / 8 = 9 points.

Note that changing line spacing does not change the character height.

GENERIC DRIVER: The Generic/Text Only driver has no graphics capability, but presumes that the printer is set to 6 LPI, and has no provision for change. If the LPI is changed from the printer control panel, the printer will print at the selected LPI, but the form length will not match the form size selected in the driver properties. Selecting no page breaks will usually solve this, but on some printers the last line may not print until another job is sent. This is because the line is not printed until a terminator is seen in the datastream- a terminator is usually any vertical position command. Adding a line feed or carriage return at the end of the job will usually resolve this issue.