chapter 5

DOWNLOAD CHARACTERS

With this printer you can create new characters and symbols, download their
dot data, and have them printed in place of selected characters in the regu-
lar character set. Characters that can be generated in this way range from
simple but useful symbols like the check mark through complex Chinese or
Japanese characters.
Regular characters are permanently stored in the printer’s ROM, but
characters you design are downloaded and stored in RAM for use.

DESIGNING YOUR OWN DRAFT CHARACTERS

Designing and printing your own characters has two requirements: first,
designing the shape of the character, calculating the data necessary to make
the shape, and sending that data to the printer, and secondly, sending the
command to print the downloaded characters instead of the regular charac-
ters. There are a number of design constraints for download draft quality
characters:
l The matrix or grid on which you design the characters is six boxes wide
by nine boxes high.
l Horizontally, dots may be centered in a box, or may straddle a line, making
the actual character grid 11 dots wide by 9 dots high. Vertically, dots can
only be centered in a box. See Figure 5-l.
FIgurn 5-1. Clots can be inside boxes or straddle the vertical lines of the grid
81