Compaq P5000 Series setup guide Printing Speed

Chapter 1 The P5000 series with DEC LG Emulation

After a line of characters is printed, hammer action stops while the paper advances to the first dot row of the next printable line. The number of rows allowed for line separation depends on the line spacing you select.

One Text

Line

Direction of Shuttle Movement

Dot

Row Start

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8 *

9 * *

10

11 Number of rows is determined by line spacing.

n 1 2

*This row is used only for lowercase descenders.

**This row is used for underlining and lowercase descenders.

Paper

Feed

Direction

Figure 3. Line Matrix Printing

Printing Speed

The speed at which text prints is measured in lines per minute (lpm). This speed is inversely proportional to the number of dot rows required to produce a character line, regardless of the number of characters in the line. More dot rows are required to print lowercase characters with descenders; consequently, those character lines print at a fractionally lower rate.

The printer also prints dot-addressable graphic images. The speed at which graphics are plotted is measured in inches per minute (ipm). Unidirectional plotting produces slightly better print quality and takes about twice as long as bidirectional plotting. You can select either plotting mode from the control panel.

Printing and plotting rates also vary according to the print mode you select. Print mode refers to the way you instruct the printer to create characters. If, for example, you select near letter quality (NLQ) mode, the printer uses more dot rows to form characters than if you choose high speed (HS) mode. Character formation and print speed are faster in HS mode because the printer prints fewer dot rows to form characters. Vertical dot density is a factor in printing speed.

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