Epson MX-80 User Manual page 35

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More Print Control C o m m a n d s

Why?

Good question. Simple answer.

Double Width is quite unique but loses its visual impact if used all the time. We

get "bumped" out of it automatically at the end of each line and have to tell the

Printer each time we actually need it.

Compressed mode, on the other hand, is the sort of thing we might use hour after

hour. A typical application is the printing of a big 132 column sheet of financial

reports on 8V2" wide paper, instead of the bulky 14" paper. This scheme gives

us an original small enough for making copies on an ordinary duplicating machine.

To have to write the computer program so each line told the printer to stay in

compressed mode just wouldn't make good sense.

Let's return the Printer back to "normal" either by typing:

> L P R I N T

C H R $ ( 1 8 )

or turning it OFF, then ON. (The latter re-initializes all software inside the

Printer.)

Double Striking Revisited

Recalling our complex example from the last chapter, we DOUBLE PRINTED

part of the message. Double printing (or double striking) is really more sophisti-

cated than it sounds. Instead of simply going over what was printed the first time

and hitting it again, the Printer actually rolls the paper up 1/216th of an inch,

then prints the text again. The effect is to fill in much of the space between the

dots and make the characters look more solid. Sort of a " p o o r man's" typewriter.

Type NEW, then the following program:

2 0 L P R I N T " A I N ' T

S C I E N C E

GRAND?"

then RUN.

A I N ' T

S C I E N C E

G R A N D !

Figure 3-4

is typed once.