Userdefined Characters

With thisaprinter, it is possible to define and print characters of your own design. You can design an entirely new alphabet or typeface, create characters for special applications such as mathematical or scientific symbols, or ,create graphic patterns with user-defined characters to serve as building blocks for larger designs.

Below, you can see samples of typefaces created with the user- defined character function.

You can make the task of defining characters easier by using a commercial software program that assists you in creating characters or simply supplies you with sets of characters already created. Also, some popular commercial software programs take advantage of the printer’s userdefined character function to enhance printouts. (These characters are called download characters in some programs.)

The standard characters are stored in the printer’s Read Only Memory (ROM), and the user-defined characters are stored in the printer’s Random Access Memory (RAM).

In Epson ESUP mode, user-defined characters remain in the printer’s memory even after the printer is turned off. You can select the user- defined character set by turning on DIP switch 2-l without defining the same characters again. However, in the IBM emulation mode, user-defined characters are cleared whenever the printer is turned off, including characters defined in Epson ESC/P mode.

4-22Software and Graphics