Model III / LDOS 5.3.1 / Scripsit 1.3.0 - Printing problems

[PhilipA]

All,


I'm trying to figure if I'm doing something wrong; I have my Model III running LDOS 5.3.1, am running a copy of Scripsit 1.3.0 from Ira's database.. it all boots up and I can open a new file and start to type.
I have a Tandy Daisy Wheel Printer 2 attached, and in BASIC I can LPRINT to it and it works fine.

Scripsit is set to use DW2/CTL as the printer driver. If I type up and CONTROL-P, it opens the print menu, I hit ENTER and it pauses for a moment then goes back to the editing screen, without making the printer print.

Anyone else had printing problems in Scripsit?


--Phil

 

[Tibs]

Yes make sure it’s the correct version of the driver and it’s valid. I had the same issue from his images.

I have a working copy but I’m as CES so it will be a few days.

 

[PhilipA]

Very useful to know, thanks!

I really want to see how this printer does PS printing- technically it should be real nice.

I'll dig about for a few other copies- I didn't see a way to validate which version is which though.

--Phil

 

[PhilipA]

I had a dig through all the images I could find, and came across a driver for scripsit that makes my printer rattle into life.

It prints in proportional but I've got the wrong daisy wheel fitted on this printer for it not to kern (courier).

Progress!

Next up trying to figure why the paper margins are all weird


Phil

 

[PhilipA]

Forgot to update all this. After experimentation, I managed to get Scripsit working, got a manual for it that is mostly correct and managed to get all the tabulation and such fixed nicely.

Does anybody have proportional printer drivers for the Courier 10pt daisy wheel? The drivers I have are for a different font and it kerns the printout because the Courier 10 wheel is a bit wide on some characters.

Description on the wheel is "176 COURIER 10 87150001".


Thanks

--Phil

 

[Tibs]

My DWP-230 has a PS switch on it and requires a special wheel for that, if I understand the manual right. Does the DWP-II allow you to do this with a standard wheel?

 

[PhilipA]

The DWP2 has a 10/12/PS switch but it appears to not do anything when Scripsit is instructing it to space between each character. When it's just sent characters from BASIC it spaces 10, 12 and tighter still when on PS but the spacings are all mono-length regardless of switch setting.
Scripsit appears, in the driver, to send "how many points" (I am guessing each step of the stepper motor is 1pt or something) between stamping each character and how much trailing space to add so each letter fits neatly.

I know there is a particular font wheel designed for it but the printer can be instructed arbitrarily to move the print head along the carriage.

Phil

 

[Tibs]

Reading the manual for that printer, I get the feeling it really needs the PS wheel to properly space, but you might be able to figure out a way with the Courier wheel. It shows you how to program for the OCR-B wheel when it talks about spacing. Page 16 ,and the tables around 24 have all the spaces it would do if its set to PS. I wonder if you have to create the control codes for spacing and it assumes the printer knows what is best with that driver using a PS wheel on PS setting.

Edit: I remember reading how to edit the print driver in scriptsit so you could fix a few characters that are overlapping. It was either in Microcomputer News or the manual. I'll look around and see if I can find it.

 

[PhilipA]

Yeah, I had read that in the manual. I know courier is meant to be a monospaced font but it would be nice to be able to have it correctly proportional. You have to create the preceding and training spaces for each character. If you send "space" by itself you end up with a set width between each character, I think it has a "distance to travel" code to make it move an arbitrary distance before stamping the character. Thinking of it, that must be the case because it's a lot slower to print on proportional, there's more data per character being transmitted.

I'm beginning to have a bit of fun with Scripsit, it's not a bad word processor, really.

Phil

 

[Tibs]

Yeah, I had read that in the manual. I know courier is meant to be a monospaced font but it would be nice to be able to have it correctly proportional. You have to create the preceding and training spaces for each character. If you send "space" by itself you end up with a set width between each character, I think it has a "distance to travel" code to make it move an arbitrary distance before stamping the character. Thinking of it, that must be the case because it's a lot slower to print on proportional, there's more data per character being transmitted.

I'm beginning to have a bit of fun with Scripsit, it's not a bad word processor, really.

Phil

I think you could create the driver for script to do what you want if you have the patience. I've been thinking about this quite a bit the last day, and its intriguing to think about programing a wheel.

You can get a PS wheel from ebay, I bet a QUME/Diablo wheel will work on that printer just compare the letters next to the / and % and you can find the right one. I have taken my knots over trial and error with the DWP-230.

I have quite a few wheels now and love the quality of printing out documents with them. OCR is cool when running the BBS or printing out source code.

I might give this a shot in a week or two. I used a DWP in school to get around the must use a typewriter rule....felt dirty for it, but as far as I was concerned it was a smart typewriter.

 

[PhilipA]

Funny. I recalled that the printer I have here for a different system is a Qume.


The wheel is radically different! Plus it's Courier again.

Phil

 

[PhilipA]

I found the manual for the DWP2B and tried some of the escape codes to get the printer to do different things with spacing and hammer ferocity and such. Net result was it printed a bunch of nonsense. Not surprised if the 2B was wildly different from the 2, but mine appears to be a 2.

Drawing board