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Epson MX-80 Fonts

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Re: Epson MX-80 Fonts

#11

Post by Tor3 »

0_-_0 wrote: post #9

Something isn't right with this, though. I don't remember if there was a "wide" mode, but this font, while it feels very accurate, is somehow stretched wider than what would have been default. Here's an image of something from an MX-80 that looks more like what I remember: https://technicallywewrite.com/images/2024/07/epson2.png (taken from https://technicallywewrite.com/2024/07/01/dotmatrix ). Still, thanks for shar…

I usually printed my listings etc. with "condensed" fonts. They looked very nice. Even so, I can't remember that the non-condensed fonts should look that wide, when looking at the web page.. I remember something kind of like that, but not the standard mode.

I have an OKI Epson-compatible matrix printer somewhere in the man cave. The last time I printed anything on one was a Snoopy calendar generated by the Snoopy Calendar Fortran program. If I ever get the mess in the cave sorted out I'll get that printer hooked up again, to something. The 80's mini maybe..

Re: Epson MX-80 Fonts

#12

Post by whyenot »

In the late 1970s, my dad purchased an S-100 bus computer from Thinker Toys for about $3,000 (would be close to $15,000 today after adjusting for inflation). It had a Z80 microprocessor and ran CP/M. As was true of many hobbyist computers from this era, it came with full source code (in beautifully documented assembly) both for CP/M and for the BIOS. This was important because if you wanted to add peripherals or make other modifications to your computer, you had to edit the source code and recompile the BIOS.

A few years later my dad decided to buy an Epson MX-80 for his computer. The daisy-wheel and the plotter at work (he worked at SRI) just didn't cut it, I guess? This required buying a serial card for the S-100. In order to get that printer to work, he had to first, wire up a cable because the data lines from the card were on different pins in the printer. I believe there was a version of the MX-80 that came with a serial port instead of a parallel port which made some things easier. I was recruited as his assistant. Then he had to modify and recompile the BIOS. Then he had to also make some changes to CP/M. This was a process of trial and error that lasted for weeks. I remember I was away at summer camp and he sent me a letter he printed out on that printer. He was so happy that he finally got it to work.

Anyways, this resurfaced that memory and I thought I might as well share it. I still have the printout he sent me somewhere.

Re: Epson MX-80 Fonts

#13

Post by burnt-resistor »

Dad's automotive shop had an Okidata Microline 192 Plus 9-pin printer to print work orders on carbonless copy paper. Damn, that thing was loud.

And tearing perforated sheets from the edges without tearing the pages. Always fun, especially on cheap paper. And, it had that chemical smell.

Re: Epson MX-80 Fonts

#14

Post by prmoustache »

0_-_0 wrote: post #9

Something isn't right with this, though. I don't remember if there was a "wide" mode, but this font, while it feels very accurate, is somehow stretched wider than what would have been default. Here's an image of something from an MX-80 that looks more like what I remember: https://technicallywewrite.com/images/2024/07/epson2.png (taken from https://technicallywewrite.com/2024/07/01/dotmatrix ). Still, thanks for shar…

Thanks, I was immediately wondering what was wrong with that web page as I never had such wide fonts coming out on paper.

Re: Epson MX-80 Fonts

#15

Post by bux93 »

>For best results, it is recommended to use these fonts with the following color scheme (as used here on this web page):

> Foreground: black (#000000) (Ink) > Background: white (#FFFFFF) (Paper)

What about the alternating green bars? And the perforation?

Re: Epson MX-80 Fonts

#16

Post by blablabla123 »

I used to have an old dot matrix printer with my PC in the 90s from my dad. Of course it was also possible to put in "normal" paper as the top unit was removable and print with ttf fonts. My mom liked the printing of the dot matrix printer much more though than the inkjet I later had. (Not sure though if it was an MX-80 or a later model/edition)

Re: Epson MX-80 Fonts

#17

Post by dcminter »

whyenot wrote: post #12

In the late 1970s, my dad purchased an S-100 bus computer from Thinker Toys for about $3,000 (would be close to $15,000 today after adjusting for inflation). It had a Z80 microprocessor and ran CP/M. As was true of many hobbyist computers from this era, it came with full source code (in beautifully documented assembly) both for CP/M and for the BIOS. This was important because if you wanted to add peripherals or make…

Can I humbly suggest that you dig that letter out and get it framed? Random pieces of paper tend to go astray during moves and clear-outs; framed items less so.

Thanks for the nice anecdote.

Re: Epson MX-80 Fonts

#18

Post by nickdothutton »

Reminds me of visits to the print room at university. Down the far end of the hallway because even with the special sound proof door you could still hear it. The line printers for the VAX were proper industrial machinery.

Re: Epson MX-80 Fonts

#19

Post by dphnx »

0_-_0 wrote: post #9

Something isn't right with this, though. I don't remember if there was a "wide" mode, but this font, while it feels very accurate, is somehow stretched wider than what would have been default. Here's an image of something from an MX-80 that looks more like what I remember: https://technicallywewrite.com/images/2024/07/epson2.png (taken from https://technicallywewrite.com/2024/07/01/dotmatrix ). Still, thanks for shar…

Ah, so the characters we’re seeing here are twice as wide as they would be when printed? Adding some CSS to compress the page horizontally looks a lot closer to the first image you shared:

  html {
    transform: scaleX(50%);
  }

Re: Epson MX-80 Fonts

#20

Post by jama211 »

whyenot wrote: post #12

In the late 1970s, my dad purchased an S-100 bus computer from Thinker Toys for about $3,000 (would be close to $15,000 today after adjusting for inflation). It had a Z80 microprocessor and ran CP/M. As was true of many hobbyist computers from this era, it came with full source code (in beautifully documented assembly) both for CP/M and for the BIOS. This was important because if you wanted to add peripherals or make…

That’s a wonderful story, thank you for sharing
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