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chapter 5
DOWNLOAD CHARACTERS
Withthisprinteryoucancreatenewcharacter andsymbols,downloadtheir dotdata,andhavethemprintedin placeof selectedcharactexxin the regular characterset.Charactemthatcanbe generatedin thiswayrangefromsimple but useful symbols like the check mark through complex Chinese or Japanesecharacters.
Regular characten are permanently stored in the printer’s ROM, but charactersyou designare downloadedand storedin RAM for use.
DESIGNING YOUR OWN DRAFTCHARACTERS
Designingand printingyour own charactemhas two requirements:firstly, designingthe shapeof thecharacter,calculatingthe datanecessaryto make the shape, and sendingthat data to the printer, and secondly,sendingthe commandto printthe downloadedcharactersinsteadof the regularcharac- ters. There are a numberof designconstraintsfor downloaddraft quality characters:
●The matrixor grid on whichyou designthe charactersis six boxeswide by nine boxeshigh.
cHorizontally,dotsmaybecenteredinabox, ormaystraddlealine,making the actualcharactergrid 11dotswideby 9 dotshigh.Vertically,dotscan only be centeredin a box. See
Figure 5-1. Ootscan be inside boxes or straddle the vertical lines of the grid
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