One of the relatively recent developments in dot matrix printers is their
ability to do LQ (Letter Quality) printing. Such printers have 24 pins, rather
than the usual nine pins, which could only produce NLQ (Near Letter Quality)
work.
My first printer was a Star SG-10 NLQ printer, and it was a workhorse for
me, printing tons of data in draft mode, lots of letters and manuscripts in
NLQ, and good quality graphics as well.
The Star Signature NB24-10 is one of the newer and higher-quality printers
from Star Micronics Co.
Printing speed in draft pica is 180 characters per second, and 60 cps in LQ mode. The print buffer is 8K, expandable to 32K. It has both tractor and friction feed. Printing is bi-directional for text, but one direction for graphics (per usual).
Character sets include 96 standard ASCII characters, 156 international
characters, 87 IBM special characters, 50 IBM block graphics characters, 35
downloadable characters, and 183 super/subscripts (draft) or 233 super and
subscripts (LQ).
The character matrix for LQ characters is 24x31 dots, and 24x9 dots for
draft. Column widths vary from 80 to 160, depending upon the pitch chosen.
There is automatic loading for both single sheet and tractor paper.
An optional RAM cartridge allows you to add up to 192 download characters,
and keep them in memory when the printer is turned off. And you can print
those characters using panel controls instead of special (and tricky) control
codes.
The NB24-10 handles sprocket-feed paper from four to 10 inches wide, and
three-part forms. There is a slot for optional font cartridges, and an
optional sheet feeder (for printing multiple letterheads, for instance).
Ribbon is a nylon, cartridge type, with a life of 4.5 million draft
characters (did someone actually count this?). The print head life is said to
be 200 million strokes per wire. Parallel interface is standard, but serial is
available. Printer dimensions are 4.3" high x 15.7" wide x 14" deep. It
weighs in at 28.2 pounds, so don't drop it on your toes!
The front control panel has a lot of indicators, but is easy to use. You
have the usual power and paper empty indicators, and a form length switch with
eight settings. There's the type style indicators, for Roman or italic.
Quality indicators light up to show draft or letter. Pitch indicators (10
different) show your choices, such as pica, elite condensed, proportional pica,
and so forth.
The top of form key feeds a new sheet, and the paper feed key advances one
line at a time when the On Line indicator is off. The On Line key is a toggle
switch; you either have it ready to print or go off line to change a setting.
Advanced panel functions include setting of margins, clearing the buffer,
and reversing the paper feed for fine-tuning the paper position.
The release lever has four positions. The top setting (AUTO) is used to
advance the paper automatically into the printer. However, this feature failed
to work, even after many attempts. (When I checked with a Star representative
while I was attending COMDEX in Las Vegas, he said that the unit probably had a
defective switch. The unit there worked fine.)
Things like this are discouraging, and I hope it was an isolated incident
where one bad apple got through the inspection process! If I had actually
purchased this printer, I would have had to go to a service center already.
The paper can be loaded manually of course, and is not difficult. When
your paper is in, you can do two self-tests, either a short or long one. Both
give a good printout of the type styles and characters available.
Setting up with your particular software goes fairly smoothly too. You
may have to experiment with different dot matrix printer settings if you are
using an older program which doesn't indicate this model. If you set it for
the Epson MX-80 (a default setting on some programs), you won't get proper
results. Epson LQ-1000 is the suggested setting.
The printer also emulates the IBM ProPrinter and IBM Graphics Printer, so
these settings should also be tried. (Wouldn't it be nice if there were more
standardization among printer manufacturers?)
The LQ printing looks good, but it is not as sharp as a daisy wheel
printer or an IBM selectric. It is high enough quality for letters, so it can
be called "letter quality." A top executive, however, would not send out
letters printed with it.
You'll applaud the speed of this printer, and if you are accustomed to
nine-pin printing, you'll certainly notice the improvement. I have a complaint
about the printer cover. When you load your paper, you need to line up the top
perforation with an indicator line. This could be improved because it isn't
that easy to see through the cover.
Ah, you say: just remove the printer cover, and advance the paper to the
correct position. That won't work, because removing the printer cover disables
the printer via a tiny switch.
Speaking of tiny switches, a comment about the DIP (Dual In-line Package)
switches is needed. You won't have to change these for most applications. But
when I had difficulty getting a line feed while testing NewsMaster, I had to
change a DIP switch. To do this, you have to remove the cover, pop out the
ribbon, lift up a plastic sheet, and then change the switch with a ball-point
pen.
Printer manufacturers--please read the lips: DIP switches belong on the
back or side of a printer, not the INSIDE! Life has enough problems without
little irritations like misplaced DIP switches. (The manual laughingly calls
them "easily accessible.")
These minor complaints aside, the NB24-10 does have winning features, an
excellent control panel, clear printing and nice speed, and should give you
many years of quality performance.
Suggested list price is $749 (actual price MUCH lower); Star Micronics,
Inc., 200 Park Avenue, Suite 3510, New York, NY 10166; 212/986-6770.
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David Batterson writes about computers, software, and online systems for a
