Epson LX-90TM Other Pitches, Figure 3-2.The three pitches of the LX-90

Other Pitches

In addition to pica, in which there are 10 characters per inch, the LX-90 can also print in other widths, or pitches. It does so by reducing the distance between pin firings. In the elite mode it prints 12 characters per inch and in the compressed mode it prints slightly more than 17 characters per inch. The pattern of the dots is not changed, but the horizontal space between them is reduced.

Figure 3-2 shows enlargements of four sample letters in each of the three pitches. These letters are chosen to show how the LX-90 prints letters that are uppercase and lowercase, wide and narrow, and with and without descenders (the bottom dots of the j and y).

T h i s i s p i c a .

T h i s i s e l i t e .

This is compressed.

Figure 3-2. The three pitches of the LX-90

The dot pattern of each character is carefully designed so that in pica no dot overlaps another. The reason is that in normal high-speed printing the pins cannot fire and retract and fire again quickly enough to print one dot overlapping another.

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