Ithaca Epic 950, Integration Manual

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Programming for the Epic 950 Epic 950 OEM Integration Manual
95-05245
Rev G
Page 59
Font Statistics
The information below lists the statistics for the five internal fonts the Epic 950 Printer
supports. Height and width are expressed in terms of dots.
Font Height Width Horizontal cpi Vertical cpi
ESC S 24 10 20.0 8.4
ESC P 24 12 16.9 8.4
ESC M 32 16 12.7 6.4
ESC U 32 20 10.2 6.4
ESC T 56 28 7.3 3.6
Table 9. Font Statistics
Objects
Objects are the basic units that the Epic 950 prints. An object can be either a line of text
characters, a bar code, a landscape graphic, a landscape line, or a bitmap dot line. Each
of these objects has different rules relating to them, as discussed below.
Objects can also be either active or complete. An active object is one that is still
receiving the data that composes it. A completed object is one that has been terminated.
A line of text that has not yet received a line feed or carriage return is a good example of
an active object. Until a terminator character, like a line feed, is sent, more text
characters can be added to the text object. Bar code and graphic objects do not require
special terminator characters (such as line feeds). Instead they are considered complete
as soon as they receive the correct amount of data.
Print Modes
The Epic 950 provides three modes of printing: bitmap graphics mode, portrait printing
mode, and landscape printing mode. Each mode operates under very different rules.
These rules are detailed below.
Bitmap Graphics Mode
At its most basic level, a Epic 950 Printer is a direct thermal printer that creates images
on a ticket by heating the individual elements of its print head. The print head has 496
elements (or dots). When it prints, some of these dots will be turned on (heated), and the
printer’s motor will advance the ticket by a step. The ticket stock that is under a heated
element will then turn black. For each motor step, a dot line is printed in 203 x 203 dpi
resolution. Each dot line is a complete object and is printed by the Epic 950 as soon as it
is processed. Because of this, a bitmap dot line should not be sent while a portrait object
or a landscape page is being constructed.