User-defined Characters

An example will show how to specify n1 and n2. For instance, if you wanted to redefine the characters A through Z, n1 would be ASCII A (or decimal code 65) and n2 would be ASCII Z (or decimal code 90).

So the command ESC & 0 AZ (followed by the appropriate data) would replace the entire alphabet of capital letters.

Following the specification of the range of characters to be defined in this command are three data bytes, d0, d1, and d2, that specify the width of the character and the space around it. The left space (in dot columns) is specified by d0, and the right space is specified by d2. The second byte, d1, specifies the number of columns of dots that are printed to make up the character. By varying the width of the character and the spaces around it, you can create proportional width characters that print at draft speed. The table below shows the maximum values for these bytes.

 

Mode

d 1 d 0 + d 1 + d 2

 

Draft

91

12

 

Letter Quality 10 cpi

29

36

 

 

 

 

 

Letter Quality 12 cpi

23

30

 

 

 

 

 

Proportional

37

42

 

 

 

 

The last part of the command to define your characters is the actual data that defines the dot patterns for each character. Because it takes three bytes to specify all the dots in one vertical column, your printer expects d1 x 3 bytes of data to follow d2.

4-22Software and Graphics