Epson FX-286 - Impact Printer, User Manual

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Changing Widths
In addition to pica, in which there are 10 characters per inch, the
FX-286 can also print in other widths. It does so by reducing the dis-
tance between pin firings. In the elite mode it prints 12 characters per
inch and in the condensed mode it prints slightly more than 17 charac-
ters per inch. The pattern of the dots is not changed, but the horizontal
space between them is reduced.
Figure
4-2
shows enlargements of four sample letters in each of the
three widths. These letters are chosen to show how the FX-286 prints
letters that are uppercase and lowercase, with and without descenders
(the bottom dots of the j and y), and wide and narrow.
Figure 4-2. The three widths
of
the FX-286
The dot pattern of each character is carefully designed so that in
pica no dot overlaps another. The reason is that in normal high-speed
printing the pins cannot fire, retract and fire again quickly enough to
print one dot overlapping another.
4-2