Fontattributes:a preview
Orientation(portraitorlandscapeasdescribedearlier)is usuallythoughtof
as one attributeof a font; it’s not reallya page formattingissue. Besides
orientation,the fontswithwhichyouprinthavetheseattributes:
Symbolset is sometimescalled“characterset”- whichcan be confusing,
sincesomepeoplesay“characterset”whentheymeana font.Symbolsets
are subgroupsof a font’ssymbolsthat aremost appropriatefor particular
countries,suchas the UK (f), France(h),LatinAmerica(fl)orJapan @).
Spacingandpitch arelinked.Characterscanbe spacedonthelinepropor-
tionally,so a narrowlettersuchas i takeslessroomthana wideletterlike
W. Orcharactm canbe spacedallthesamewidth:twelvecharactersto the
inchis themonospacedspacingcalled 12pitch.
Pointsize defineshowbigcharacterswillprint,suchasIOor 12pointshigh.
Sryledefineswhethercharactersprintin uprightor italicstyle.
Strokeweightdefineshowbolda typefaceprints.
Finally,typt$aceitselfmeansthe artisticdesignof a font. Your printer’s
internaltypefacesinclude,LinePrinterand Courier.Withthe Star Laser-
Printer 4 you can also use Helvet, Gothic, Script, Caslon, Orator and
hundredsmomtypefaces,whichyouloadintotheprinterfromcartridgeor
computerdisk.
Whenyouenablefontsetupparametersonthe controlpanel,it meansyou
startoff withparticularfontattributesasdefaultswhenyoufirstchoosean
emulatioq.WiththeFX-850emulationyoucanenableproportionalspacing
andboldprintassetupparameters.FX-850modealsoletsyoustartup with
halfof yoursymbolset as graphicscharactersinsteadof italics.
2.5 THE STARLASERPRINTER4 SUPERSET
2.5.1 Do you need to send commands?
Here’s an importantfact: you can set nearly every one of the above
parametemby sending your printer a correspondingEscape sequence
command.ThoseEscapesequencecommandswilloverrideanysettingyou
makefrom thecontrolpanel.
Themainthingtorealizeaboutmostprintercommands,though,isthatyou
probablydon’t need to use them. Nearly all popular softwarepackages
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