TOSHIBA TEC Singapore S-0601 Dot Printer User Manual GL 1 Glossary Rev 2 b

TOSHIBA TEC Singapore Pte Ltd Dot Printer GL 1 Glossary Rev 2 b

Users Manual 18

Glossary A4 Size A standard paper size used in Japan and other countries. Paper is 210 X 295 mm (8.25 X 11.6 inches). Application Software Software programs that perform tasks on a computer. Such programs include word processing, database management, and accounting, for example. ASCII The acronym for American Standard Code for Information Interchange. ASCII is a set of 256 codes (numbered 0 to 255) used to communicate information between a computer and another device such as a printer. Baud Rate The speed, in bits per second, at which data is transmitted to a device such as a printer. Baud rates apply to serial data only. 200 baud equals approximately 120 characters per second. Bidirectional Printing Alternate printing of lines from left to right and right to left. Bidirectional printing is faster than unidirectional printing because there are no carriage returns. Bit The smallest unit of information in computer memory. A bit is a single digit, either a 1 or a 0, in the binary numbering system. Eight bits equal one byte. Buffer A storage area for data in the printer or computer. The printer’s buffer consists of a print buffer and a download buffer. The print buffer holds the data to be printed. The download buffer holds downloaded data such as download (soft) fonts. Byte A byte consists of eight bits that constitute one symbol. A byte represents a single character, such as number, letter, or special control character. Carriage Return (CR) The return of the print head carriage to the beginning of the next line. Centronics Interface A type of parallel interface. See Parallel interface. Column A vertical section on a printed page. This printer can print 80-column pages at 10-pitch (10 characters per inch). Command Set A set of print and format commands used to control the printer. Each printer has its own resident command sets embedded in the printer firmware. These command sets are actuated by codes sent from the host computer.
Glossary GL-2 Condensed Print Print that uses “condensed” characters. Condensed characters are narrower than regular characters. Using condensed print increases the number of characters per line. Continuous Forms Connected, fan-folded sheets of paper that are fed into the printer using forms tractors. The fan-folded sheets are separated by tearing them at their perforations. Control Panel A panel containing the printer indicators and buttons. The control panel is used to control printer operations, such as loading paper, selecting print features, and changing Set-Up options. cpi Characters per horizontal inch. Also referred to as pitch. For example, 12-pitch means 12 cpi. cps Characters per second. Cut Sheets See Single sheets. Defaults Settings selected automatically by the printer when the power is turned on. Enter the Set-Up mode to change the defaults to ensure compatibility with your system hardware and software. Dot Matrix The grid used to print characters on a dot matrix printer. Each dot corresponds to a wire in the print head. Downloading Transferring soft fonts from the computer to the printer’s memory. Downloading allows you to use fonts not resident in the computer. dpi Dots per inch. Emulation A set of instructions that control how data is transmitted between devices such as a computer and a printer. This printer has two resident emulations: IBM proprinter XL24E, and Epson EP2. Font A complete set of printable characters having the same size and style. For example, Courier 10 and Prestige Elite 12 are commonly used fonts. Form Feed (FF) A signal to the printer to advance the paper forward one page. Form feeds can be executed either by your software or by pressing the FF/LOAD button on the printer control panel.
Glossary GL-3 Graphics Printing Controlling the print head wires (dots) individually to produce a picture or an image on the page. Hexadecimal A base-16 numbering system (also commonly referred to as hex numbers). Since a base-16 system requires 16 digits, numbers 0 through 9 and letters A through F are used. Expressing binary numbers in hexadecimal uses fewer digits. Hex Dump A hexadecimal printout of control codes and data. Hex dumps are used to debug computer programs and to troubleshoot printer malfunctions. To print a hex dump on the printer, use the HEX-DUMP option of the TESTS function in the Set-Up mode. Interface A connection that allows communication from one part of a system to another. For example, electrical signals are transferred between the computer and printer over an interface cable. K Byte Kilobyte. 1K byte equals 1024 bytes. Letter Size A standard paper size used in the United States and other countries. Paper is 8-1/2 X 11 inches (215.9 X 279.4 mm). Line Feed (LF) A signal to the printer that advances the paper forward one line Line Spacing The vertical spacing between lines, measured in lines per inch. lpi Lines per inch. Used to measure line spacing. Monospacing Character spacing in which each printed character has the same width. Also called fixed pitch, monospacing is the opposite of proportional spacing. Typewriter or computer-printed text is typically monospaced. Nonresident Font Fonts not present (resident) in the printer’s permanent memory. Soft fonts are examples of nonresident fonts. (This printer does not support font cards.) Normal Mode One of the printer’s two operating modes. In Normal mode, the control panel can be used to perform everyday printer operations, such as loading and unloading paper, feeding paper, and selecting print features. See also Set-Up mode. Offline When the printer is offline, it receives commands from the printer control panel rather than from the computer. “Offline” indicates that the printer is not “online” with the computer. Online
Glossary GL-4 When the printer is online, it is ready to receive or is receiving commands from the computer. The printer must be online to print. Parallel Interface A standard computer interface. Information is transferred between devices over separate wires, allowing all of the bits that make up the character to be transmitted simultaneously (in parallel). Park Position The position in which continuous forms paper is retracted or “parked” on the rear forms tractors. When continuous forms paper is loaded, it moves forward from the park position to the platen. Permanent Memory Memory that retains information even when power is turned off. The printer’s permanent memory retains the default settings specified using the printer Set-Up mode. Pitch Characters per horizontal inch (cpi). Printing Test A test that determines whether the printer is working correctly. Test pages are printed to show print quality and verify whether all characters print. The printing test only tests the printer. It does not test how the computer works with the printer. Proportional Spacing Character spacing in which wide characters occupy more space than do narrow characters. For example, characters such as “W” or “M” occupy more horizontal space than do characters such as “i” or “l.” Many soft fonts are proportionally spaced. Sometimes designated PS, proportional spacing is the opposite of monospacing. Resident Fonts Fonts present (resident) in the printer’s permanent memory. For this printer, the resident fonts are Courier 10, Prestige Elite 12, Pica 10, OCR-B 10, Boldface PS, Compressed font, Correspondence, Draft, and High-speed Draft. Unlike soft fonts, resident fonts can always be accessed. Serial Interface A standard computer interface. Information is transferred between devices over a single wire (although other wires are used for control). A long cable is often necessary in networking environments, where the printer may be shared. Set-Up Mode One of the printer’s two operating modes. In the Set-Up mode, the control panel can be used to select the printer default settings, such as print features, hardware options, and top-of-form. The Set-Up mode also provides some diagnostic functions. See also Normal mode. Shadow Printing Shadow printing prints characters twice for emphasis. Characters printed the second time are shifted slightly to the right. Single Sheets
Glossary GL-5 Single sheets are sheets of paper, envelopes, and noncontinuous multiple forms fed into the printer using the cut sheet stand. Single sheets are also called cut sheets. Soft Fonts Fonts downloaded from a disk to the printer memory. Soft fonts are also referred to as downloaded fonts. Unlike resident fonts, soft fonts are available only when in the printer memory. Software Programs that control the computer and printer to perform specified tasks, such as word processing, database management, and preparation of spreadsheets. Software is sometimes referred to as application software. Tear Bar A cutting edge provided on the top cover to tear off continuous forms along the perforation. Top Margin The total space at the top of the printed page. The top margin is the sum of the top-of-form setting, the software-specified top margin, and the printer’s TOP-MRGN setting in Set-Up mode. Top-of-Form (TOF) The logical top of the physical page, as “understood” by the printer when loading paper. The default TOF settings are 0 inch for both cut sheets and continuous forms. Tractor Feed A method for feeding continuous forms forward for printing. Holes on the sides of the forms fit over sprockets on two tractors located inside the printer. Unidirectional Printing Printing is performed in one direction only, left to right. Unidirectional printing is slower than bidirectional printing, but the vertical alignment is more accurate. Unidirectional printing is useful when precise vertical alignment is required, as in ruled tables.

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