World of Shareware - Software Farm 2/wosw_2.zip/wosw_2/PRINTING/P1124TXT.ZIP/P1124TXT

Text File | 1989-04-16 | 7KB | 130 lines

Notes on using the Panasonic KX-P1124 printer--16 April 1989

                Dex Hart 305/251-7190 (voice)

Lots of good reviews.  Plenty of features.  Good looking fonts.
Attractive price.  This printer has lots going for it.  But in
adding the host of features, Panasonic has made them available
through the laughingly-named "EZ Set" Operator Panel.  Easy it is
not.

The manual is written in clear English, but fails mostly by
omission.  The Operation chapter is less than 18 pages long; it
needs to be at least double that.  There are two ways to organize
instructions for a programmable panel.  One is by switch function,
the other by task.  A really good manual uses both.

The Panasonic manual only lists function by switch, which can be
very confusing.  Needed are detailed examples such as: setting up
the front panel for a specific font, pitch, and left and right
margin; selecting a specific macro with at least as many settings;
and finally, putting that macro into use.  Macros contain a group
of settings (much more complete than just setting a pitch or font
by a top-panel slide switch as in the KX-P1091, for example).
Settings are stored in one of three macros (stored in EEPROM, I
assume), and can be loaded at the user's option.

If you need all the capability a macro can support, especially
margin settings, this can be quicker than sending commands from the
DOS command line, and not all macro settings can be sent that way
in any case.  If you just want to switch into 12-pitch (elite)
spacing so that on-disc doc printing will support a left margin
without running off the right hand edge of the paper, calling the
macro can be tedious.  Here, for example, are the key-presses
necessary to put Macro #2 into service:

    function/row/row/row/row/column/column/column/column/set

That's 10 membrane-switch presses, while keeping an eye out to
ensure the proper row and column LED's are lit.  Hardly a one- or
two-key macro, is it?

I'm not going to try to rewrite the manual here as with time and
rereading most users can puzzle out most instructions.  It soaks
through eventually, and once you get it, it doesn't seem so bad.
Still, there are a couple of areas that could really cause trouble.

For example, the manual does note that Macro #1 is the initial
setting, automatically read by the printer on startup.  But it
wasn't clear to me that I couldn't set a default of 12 pitch for
startup (which I'd like) while still using the printer with word
processing as usual.  But you can't do that.  The manual says you
must be in "PGM" mode for word processing commands to work.  This
means the LED's over columns one and two of the front panel table
must be lit (and also, apparently, the LED for row one).

Here's what the manual should have said:  If you use word
processing to format text, don't use macro #1, as it must remain in
the factory-delivered default mode for the program commands to be
accepted.  IN OTHER WORDS, LEAVE MACRO #1 ALONE--FORGET IT EXISTS.

I didn't, of course, and apparently got the defaults wrong when
trying to return macro #1 to its original state.  After puzzling
over the manual several times, it occured to me that I had to turn
BOTH program (PGM) indicator lights on for BOTH rows one and two,
(hitting SET for each of those rows).  Only then did I regain
full control from within my word processor.

It would also be helpful if the manual indicated which word
processing commands need to be turned off, lest they become
"sticky" and affect subsequent instructions; there's no mention of
this, but when modifying a printer driver, you'll wish there was.
Remember, with a new printer, it takes some time before all the
word-processing guys have the appropriate driver written and
tested.  In my case, selecting LQ-2500 got me about two-thirds of
the way there, and my attempts to fine-tune have been mostly (but
not completely) successful.  Life isn't simple.

The 1124 has two principal emulations, Epson LQ-2500 and IBM
Proprinter X24.  The concept is good, but switching between those
modes is as awkward as selecting macros.  You must turn the printer
off, turn it on while depressing the on-line switch, make your
selection with row and column switches, and then press the set
switch.  Hopefully, the next version of this printer will feature
one-key macro selection along with a one-key toggle between
emulations.

The printer has a "performation cut" feature which advances the
paper (if you're using the push tractor) to allow tear off; you
can then command a return to the top-of-form position.  There is no
explanation of how to tear the paper off (it's not astro physics,
after all, is it?).  The paper rises for tear off only slightly, so
the perf is at the edge of the smoked plastic cover.  The gap is
small, and Panasonic may expect users to just tear off the page,
using the edge of the smoked plastic as a tear bar--but it doesn't
work well.  Certainly not with my paper.  The Epson LQ series
advances the paper higher so the user can grab both pages to
initiate the tear.  I've tried locking the friction feed to hold
the paper for a two-handed tear off, but that doesn't feel quite
right either.  It would be interesting to know what the designers
had in mind, but the manual is silent on this subject.

To set print modes when not inside a word processing program (e.g.
when dumping the screen to the printer or copying an on-disc doc
file to the printer, I suggest downloading a 41K printer-specific
utility by Texan Gene Elias.  The program is named P1124-SET, the
download file (on Exec-PC, at least) is PAN1124.ZIP. It's quite
elegant and contains a short text file plus two programs, one for
the Epson emulation, the other for the Proprinter.  You can set
almost any attribute from this utility.  If setting only one or two
(e.g. font and pitch), it will be quicker than trying to invoke a
macro, and success more certain.

Beyond the fact the author asks no fee, I knew I was going to like
this utility when I read in the author's first paragraph:

     "Although this printer has a very convenient EZ Set
      Operator panel, I found that setting some features
      via the panel was a clumsy operation for me."

What gentleness.  Perhaps it was HIS fault the manual wasn't
totally clear.  No, it wasn't, Gene--you're too kind.  The manual
is part of why it felt clumsy (the printer design is the other
part).  The manual is actually good as far as it goes, but it needs
to go a LOT farther.  Are you listing Panasonic?  The printer's
basically great--now help users to cope with all those so-called
EZ-commands.  And maybe improve the control panel on the next go-
round.

Miami--16 April 1989