Nlqmode - Epson GX-80 Operating Manual

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Because the NLQ mode uses two passes for each line and prints
only in one direction, printing does take longer in this mode.
With the two modes, draft or NLQ, the GX-80 gives you the ability
to choose high speed or high quality respectively each time you
print. You can print ordinary work or preliminary drafts quickly in
the draft mode and use the NLQ mode for final copies or special
purposes.
SelecType makes it especially easy to change from draft to NLQ,
but you can also select and cancel the NLQ mode wit? a software
command or with a special switch in the back of the pnnter. Use of
the software command is explained in Chapter 5 and the operation
of the switch (called a DIP switch) in Appendix D.
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In Figure 3-3 there is a grid of lines behind the pica characters to
show more clearly how they are designed. As you look at these
characters you can see three rules that govern their design. The
column on the right side is always left blank so that there will be
spaces between the characters on a line; no character uses both the
top and the bottom row; and a dot can be placed on a vertical line
only when the columns next to that line are not used.
Figure 3-3. GX-80 dot matrix characters
NLQMode
The preceeding examples are in the GX-80's draft mode, but the
GX-80 also offers the high-quality NLQ (Near Letter Quality) mode
that you have seen in previous chapters.
The NLQ letters are more fully formed than the draft letters be-
cause they are made up of many more dots. Two differences be-
tween draft and NLQ printing enable the GX-80 to print such a
large number of dots for each character. In the NLQ mode, the
head moves more slowly, so that dots can overlap horizontally, and
each character is printed by the head moving back to the beginning
of the line and printing more dots on top of the first ones. This is
known as a double pass.
To further ensure the quality of NLQ characters, both passes of the
print head are in the same direction so that the alignment of the dots
is exact.
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