Printer Information
                -------------------

Pasokon TV supports a wide variety of popular printers
including color printers.

To print:

        Simply pick "Print" from the "File" menu.

To select printer type:

        Use the items in the "Setup" menu.  The currently
        selected printer type will have a check mark in
        front of it.  The setting will be saved in the 
        PKTV.CFG configuration file.

Printer types supported:

*   "Epson 9 pin"    
    
        This should work with just about any Epson-compatible
        dot matrix printer.

        It uses print mode 4 (ESC '*' 4) for 80 horizontal dots
        per inch or a total of 640 dots per line.  

*   "9 pin 7 color ribbon"       
    
        This is for color dot matrix printers with 7 color
        ribbons such as an Epson FX-850.

        Some printers give you a choice of Epson or IBM
        compatibility.  Make sure it is set for Epson mode.
        For example, set DIP switch 1 in a Tandy DMP 137.

*   "Epson 24 pin"

        Pick this for most 24 pin printers such as the 
        Epson LQ series and other compatible models.

        This uses print mode 39 (ESC '*' 39).  I don't know
        if the older 24 pin printers support this.

*   "24 pin 7 color ribbon"

        Most Epson-compatible 24 pin printers with a 7 color
        ribbon.

*   "Epson Stylus BW"

        Epson Stylus in black and white.

*   "Epson Stylus color"

        Epson Stylus in color.

*   "HP LaserJet"         

        HP LaserJet Laser printer using PCL language.

*   "HP DeskJet"          

        B&W only HP Deskjet ink jet printer.

*   "HP DeskJet CMY"      

        HP DeskJet using 3 colors: Cyan, Magenta, Yellow.
        Some models, such as the 500C, can not use black
        ink while using the color cartridge.  In this case
        you must use the 3 color mode.

*   "HP DeskJet CMYK"    

        HP DeskJet using 4 colors: Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, Black.
        Later models, such as the 550C, can print black and
        colors at the same time for better contrast.

        If not sure whether to use 3 or 4 color mode, try them
        both and see which looks better.

*   "Canon Bubble Jet"

        Canon Bubble Jet series in black and white.

        This program uses the Epson LQ mode of the BJC
        printers as recommended by Canon tech support.  
        Some models seem to switch automatically between 
        BJ and Epson mode.  On others it might be 
        necessary to set the switches:

                BJC-600:        DIP switch 12 on
                BJC-600e:       DIP switch 11 on
                BJC-4000:       DIP switch 11 on

        The BJ mode is the factory default setting.  

*   "Bubble Jet Color"

        Same as above but in color.

*   "PostScript"          

        For a PostScript printer.  B+W only.


Gamma Correction
----------------

Printers can not produce shades of gray.  For each dot position
there is either a dot printed or no dot printed.  Shades of
gray are simulated by printing patterns with varying proportions
of black and white areas.  When viewed from a distance, the
individual dots blend into shades of gray.

Consider these patterns:

        ÛÛÛÛ    All the dots are set to black.
        ÛÛÛÛ

        ²²²²    3/4 of the dots are black, dark gray.
        ²²²²

        ±±±±    1/2 of the dots are black, medium gray.
        ±±±±

        °°°°    1/4 of the dots are black, light gray.
        °°°°

You might think that a checker board pattern with half the
dots printed and half the dots blank would give medium gray.
However, in most cases, the dots overlap slightly to
provide solid black.  If eactly half the dots were printed,
more than half the area would contain ink and it would be
darker than desired.  

A non-linear mathematical function, called gamma correction, 
is used to compensate for this characteristic.  

A gamma correction value of 1 means print half the dots for
medium gray.  A smaller value results in fewer dots. 

Examples:

    * HP recommends 0.3 for the DeskJet series.
    * I think 0.5 looks good for an HP LaserJet.