Dot Matrix - Star Micronics NX-10 User Manual

CHAPTER 6
CREATING YOUR
OWN CHARACTERS
Subjects we'll cover in Chapter 6 include -
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Designing and printing your own characters;
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Designing proportional characters ;
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Designing your own characters with NLQ.
In the previous chapters of this manual you've learned how to
control the printer to give dozens of different typefaces. By us-
ing various combinations of pitches, character weights, and font
selections, you can create nearly any effect you want to in text.
And with international character sets and the special text and
big characters described in Chapter 5, you can print almost any
character you think of.
But if "almost any character" isn't good enough for you, then
it's a good idea you have this printer! With it you can actually
create your own characters. As you'll see in this chapter,
download characters can be used to print a logo, special
characters for foreign languages, scientific and professional ap-
plications, or any other specific printing task.
DOT MATRIX PRINTING
In order to create download characters, you'll need some
understanding of how dot matrix printers work. They're called
"dot matrix" because each character is made up of a group of
dots. Look closely at some printed characters produced by your
printer and you will see the dots. Figure 6-1 shows how the let-
ter "C" is formed by printing 15 dots.
The printhead in this printer consists of nine wires stacked
one atop the other. Figure 6-2 shows an enlarged schematic
view of the front of the printhead, showing the ends of the wires
and their relationship to the printed draft characters. As you can