User`s manual
Section 2
Printer and Connection Types
The Differences
in
Printers
With the abundance
of
printer manufacturers comes a variety
of
printers
and
a diversity
of
printer models. Suitable HQ interpolation printer drivers for
most
of
the commonly used printers are located on the HQ Drivers disk.
'The GEOS LQ Print System does not work with printer drivers, but rather
with it's own printer adaptation files, which are included
on
the disks.
Most printers, from the computer's viewpoint, are identical. Regardless
if
you own a 9 pin printer made by Star, Panasonic, Epson
or
Citizen, you
will only need one printer driver made for Epson-compatible printers. The
situation with 24 pin printers is similar: Most
of
the
24
pin printers are
NEC-compatible, even
if
they are called Epson-compatible.
Printer Connections
Printers can
be
connected to your computer in different ways. Often,
connections are made to the computer using the serial bus. Many printers
-require the use
of
an interface
if
they are to be connected to the serial bus
of
the computer. Due to inferior transmission speed however, this method
of
connection is not as desirable, but may be necessary
if
your printer
has
only
a Commodore serial port connection.
For faster output, -the better method
of
connecting the printer to the
computer is to use a direct parallel connection from
the
user port to the
printer's centronics port. The transmission is much faster, especially when
using 24 pin printers for graphic printouts as is the case with the GEOS LQ
Print System and the HQ interpolation drivers.
The parallel connection does have a disadvantage - it only works with about
98%
of
the available printers, as the user port doesn't always deliver the
necessary signal power. For more on parallel connections. see Section 7.
Some printers are connected to the computer via an RS-232 serial port
connection to the user port. Perfect Print does not currently support this
type
of
printer connection.
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