As the print head moves across the page, electrical impulses cause the appropriate nozzles to release ink against the the paper, causing a single dot to print with each impulse. Figure 5-1 shows the print head as it prints a capital H. In the first column, six nozzles release ink, and in the next four columns, one nozzle releases ink. In the last column six nozzles release ink again.
Figure 5-1. The print head
The print matrixNow that you know how the print head works, it’s important to understand how the characters are defined and stored in the SQ-2000’s memory. As mentioned earlier, each character is composed of a series of dots arranged on a matrix.
The matrix is 24 dots high-one dot for each nozzle on the SQ-2000 print head. The width of the character matrix is dependent upon the character set in use. For draft characters, the grid is nine dots wide. Letter quality characters are defined on a grid which is 15 dots wide, but the dots are placed closer to each other. The grid for proportional characters is 37 dots wide, with the dots spaced even more closely.