Star Micronics 8 Series Applications Manual page 4

PREFACE
About this manual
This SrarLuserPrinter8 ApplicationsManual gives you the information
you need to programthe Star MicronicsLaserPrinter8.
Why wouldyou read this book? Mostpeopleusing a laser printerjust run
softwarepackageswithbuilt-inprinterdrivers,whichlookaftereverything
theircomputerssendtheirprinters. Butmanyofus-small businesspeople
and home computerusers, not to mention the wizards who write those
softwarepackages—wanttobenefitfromallthenewfeaturesofferedbyour
printers.
Doyouwantcompletecontroloverthecharactersandimagesyoupnnt? Do
you want to make your Star LaserPrinter8 worklike some earlierkind of
printer? This manualprovidesthe softwarehelp you need to get the most
from your LaserPrinter8.
Though this ApplicationsManual is really intendedfor intermediateto
advancedcomputerusers,we'vetriedto accommodate relativenovicestoo.
The informationis organizedso you can walk throughthe generaltheory
underlyingprinter programmingbefore dancing into specific details. It
makessense,therefore,to readthe first threechaptetxbeforejumpinginto
the middle.
There'sa goodreasonto readeachchapterfromits starttoo.Peoplelearning
how to use a newprinteroftenfindtheterminologya barrier. So insteadof
buryingwhatmay be ncwjargon in a Glossaryat the back,we defineeach
newtermthefirsttimeit appears.Thewholefirstpartofthechapteronfonts,
forexample,definesdifferentaspectsof afont (a collectionof charactersof
the same size and style).