Glossary

Note that these definitions apply specifically to printers. If a word is italicized, see that topic for more information.

Application program

Software designed to perform a specific task, such as word processing or accounting.

ASCII

American Standard Code for Information Interchange. A standardized coding system for letters and symbols used by nearly all manufacturers of computers, printers, and software.

Baud rate

A measure of the speed of data transmission. Usually equivalent to bits per second.

Bidirectional printing

Printing in which the print head goes from left to right only on every other line. On the other lines it goes from right to left. This increases the speed of the printing because the head prints in both directions.

BinarySee Number systemsBit

A binary digit (0 or 1). The smallest unit used by a printer or computer. See also Number systems.

Carriage return

A control code that returns the print position to the left margin. In bidirectional printing the print head may not actually move to the left margin.

Condensed

A print width approximately 60% of the width of standard characters. For example, condensed 10 pitch has 17 characters per inch (cpi).

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