Epson P40 Portable Printer

Your Spectrum

Peter Green

HOTHEADS If you're not that flush, but you need a printer, stay cool and go thermal. Peter Green comes in from the cold to consider the hottest ones around. The Sinclair ZX Printer was unique - for its size and price, it was quite a remarkable technical achievement. Still, it did leave something to be desired. All those sweaty paw prints, left all over the silver listing paper. And the print quality would strain the definition of the word adequate, as well as your eyes. Program listings on the stuff cause harassed editors to tear their hair out (or at least that's Kevin's excuse!). One solution has been to find a way of linking 'real' printers, like the large dot matrix ones, to your Spectrum. For that you need a commercial interface, or you could have a crack at knocking up one yourself. (Of course, you'll need a copy of YS issue 6 for that. Ed). This works, but your Speccy is now dwarfed by a huge printer - a bit of a shame when Uncle Clive has gone to so much trouble to keep it all small. And it causes even more problems if you've got to squeeze your complete computer setup into the confines of a cramped living room - worst of all it means shelling out between two and three times as much for the printer as you paid for your Speccy. That's good enough reason for me to look seriously at thermal printers. ANYTHING YOU CAN DO... So, what can thermal printers do that dot matrix or daisywheel can't? Well, nothing really - except save you a lot of space and some cash. Most of them are quite tiny, and the good news is that they're all comparable in price to a Spectrum. Thermal printers don't need linked ribbon because they use special paper impregnated with a heat-sensitive ink. The print head is still 'dot-matrix' but the dots are small wires that can be independently heated. The heat makes the ink visible in the correct dot patterns to display characters. Take into account that the saving you'll make on ribbons is offset slightly by the higher cost of the special paper. It's only got to brush its heating elements over the surface, as the print head doesn't have to strike the paper to form an image. Also, thermal printers ought to be much quieter than dot matrix ones to make its mark. Not so though, I'm afraid - to bring the price down the manufacturers often use fairly cheap electric motors to feed the paper and scan the print head, so you get a different sort of noise, but it's not quieter. It's no coincidence that the least noisy of the printers I tested was also the most expensive. If you plump for one of the most basic of the thermal printers, you won't need an interface. They are designed as plugin replacements and work directly from the Spectrum bus. The others have standard RS-232C or Centronics ports, so you need a printer interface as well - take this into account when you're considering your budget. For the extra though, you'll get many of the features of the big machines, including emphasised, condensed and enlarged fonts, variable line spacing, international character sets and bit image graphics. IN THE PICTURE Bit image graphics means you have direct control over the heating elements in the print head. So, you can print any pattern of dots onto the paper. Interfaces such as the ZX Lprint contain the software that uses this facility to perform a screen dump, so duplicating the COPY command. Although you'll have to bone up on the graphics modes before you get to grips with them fully (especially since most Epson-compatibles are Japanese, with manuals written in Janglish!), they do allow you to draw dot graphics of any kind, unrestricted by the Spectrum screen size or resolution. And as they all use roll paper, you could write a program that printed a frieze type of picture. NO LIMIT? Bear in mind if you're considering thermals that, with one exception, none of them can handle A4 width paper, or even cut sheets. Using roll paper means that the top and bottom of your printouts have ragged edges where you've torn them off. Still, that's OK if you only want the printer for listings - or if you're happy sending out letters that look like supermarket checkout receipts. You'll also need another spare mains socket. All but one of these printers require an external power supply, of the small transformer PSU type. Two of them can run off batteries, but they eat them and if you don't use re-chargeables, your running costs will be unbelievable. WHAT PRINTER? Before choosing one of these printers, you'll have to decide exactly what you're going to do with it. If you're looking for a straight replacement for the ZX Printer, then the Floyd 40 is your best bet. Unlike the Alphacom it does a lot of clever tricks besides duplicating a Sinclair printout. However, if you're likely to be writing letters and so forth, you'll need to look up-market a bit. There, the Epson P-40 equals the Brother HR-5 on features, but for the extra fifty quid, the HR-5 lets you use cut A4 sheets and offers the back-up of ink ribbon if you run out of thermal paper. Remember though, that you'll need an extra interface for both of them. ALPHACOM 32 Dean Electronics, [redacted] When it comes down to performance, the Alphacom 32 is simply a souped-up ZX Printer. It will LPRINT, LLIST and COPY in exactly the same 32-column format and nothing else. It won't recognize any of the standard Epson control characters which alter the print width, font style or anything else. And you won't get the graphics commands in any other form than the COPY mode. It even prints a question mark if you send it a line feed code! For my money, this makes it the least useful of the four printers. I tested the blue thermal paper (though you can get black) and found it easier to read than a ZX printout, but the print quality was about the same. The printer also kicked up a bit of a racket - there was a constant grinding of the powerful, geared motor throughout the printing cycle. The machine has a similar footprint to the Spectrum. There's a through connector for other peripherals but the thick connecting cable puts pressure on the power input jack so you can't tell whether it's on or not - it uses non-latching membrane one-off switches and there's no LED indication. The plus is that it's a plug-in-and-go printer, so no software setting-up is required.

HOT STUFF PRINTER: Alphacom 32 PRICE: £54.95 SIZE: 193 x 143 x 48 INTERFACE: ZX-Bus MAX. PAPER WIDTH: 110mm (4.25") MAX. CHARACTERS PER LINE: 32 PRINTING SPEED: 64 CPS GRAPHICS MODE: Spectrum copy command only POWER SUPPLY: Separate OTHER SPECIAL FEATURES: None PRINTER: Floyd 40 PRICE: £69.95 SIZE: 115 x 162 x 54 INTERFACE: ZX-Bus MAX. PAPER WIDTH: 80mm (3 1/8") MAX. CHARACTERS PER LINE: 40 PRINTING SPEED: 33 CPS GRAPHICS MODE: Spectrum copy command only POWER SUPPLY: From Spectrum OTHER SPECIAL FEATURES: Can automatically word-wrap text and indent listings for maximum readability PRINTER: Epson P-40 PRICE: £99.95 SIZE: 216 x 128 x 46 INTERFACE: Centronics or RS232C MAX. PAPER WIDTH: 112mm (4.25") MAX. CHARACTERS PER LINE: 80 PRINTING SPEED: 20-45 CPS GRAPHICS MODE: Block Capitals, Bit image, Graphics, (Requires special software to perform copy) POWER SUPPLY: Internal battery plus AC adaptor OTHER SPECIAL FEATURES: Self-test mode for printhead, variable line spacing, international fonts including Japanese Scandinavian PRINTER: Brother HR-5 PRICE: £149.50 SIZE: 303 x 74 x 65 INTERFACE: Centronics or RS232C MAX. PAPER WIDTH: 216mm (8.5") MAX. CHARACTERS PER LINE: 132 PRINTING SPEED: 30 CPS (A) GRAPHICS MODE: Block graphics, Bit image graphics, (Requires special software to perform copy) POWER SUPPLY: Internal battery or AC adaptor OTHER SPECIAL FEATURES: Accepts A4 cut sheets, self-test mode for printhead, variable line spacing, international fonts including French and German. Can also accept ink ribbons.

Personal Computer News

Kenn Garroch

PRINTS OF THE REALM Finding the right printer for your computer can be as difficult as winding your way through a maze. But, there's hope on the horizon - simply consult Kenn Garroch's guide to what's what and for how much. Printers range from cheap thermal narrow-paper machines to large expensive daisy wheels. The in between ground is held by the dot matrix, Epson lookalike printers. There are also colour printers which range from the cheapest pen plotters to the ribbon and ink jet machines that produce high quality prints. The bottom end of the printer market is generally held by the thermal printers, and the pen plotters. Thermal printers need either special paper, available from many stationers, or carbon transfer ribbons such as those in the Brother range (EP22/44/HR5). The pen plotters use one of four coloured pens which move horizontally across the paper. The paper moves vertically allowing characters and graphics to be drawn on the paper. They tend to be slow and are generally limited to narrow (4.5in) paper. Dot matrix is the most common type of printer these days. A vertical line of needles presses an inked or carbon ribbon onto the paper. At the bottom of the range the capabilities are limited but usually include bit image graphics and a choice of character sets. At the top end, features such as proportional spacing, near letter quality (NLQ), buffers, and downloadable character sets are available. But you pay for the extra facilities. For the more serious users, the daisy wheel type of printer may be necessary. These use a spoked wheel with a letter on each spoke. The letters are stamped against a ribbon just like a typewriter. The main problems are inflexibility, as you are limited to the characters available on the wheel. They also tend to be slow, roughly 10-20cps, and very noisy, which irritates some people. INTERFACES A snag you may run across is the type of interface that connects the printer to your computer. The most common is the Centronics parallel connection. The other main type is the serial or RS232 interface. This is usually available either as an alternative to Centronics, or as a separate adaptor for more cash (denoted by the £ sign in the list below). When buying a printer, you will probably be spoilt for choice. The first thing is to decide what you need a printer for - letter quality, listings, graphics, colour, etc. Next, decide what you can pay, and see which printers are in your price range. Once you have a selection, think of what you may need the printer for in the future. This should narrow the choice down to one or two. At this point, you should scour the advertisements in the computer press for the company that offers the best deal for the printer you want. Now you have a printer that should last for years without any problems. In case of hitches, make sure the dealer you buy the printer from has some kind of backup and guarantee policy. THERMAL PRINTERS NAME: TC600 PRICE: £577.25 SPEED: 16cps INTERFACES: RS232 PRINT METHOD: Carbon ribbon/thermal PAPER SIZE: 8.5in COMMENTS: Plots graphs, built-in keyboard and RAM, disk drive available. SUPPLIER: Jones Brother [redacted] NAME: HR5 PRICE: £180.85 SPEED: 16cps INTERFACES: Centronics/RS232(£) PRINT METHOD: Carbon ribbon/thermal PAPER SIZE: 8.5in COMMENTS: Battery powered 4xU2s, similar to EP-44 without keyboard. SUPPLIER: Jones Brother [redacted] NAME: EP22 PRICE: £169.95 SPEED: 16cps INTERFACES: RS232 PRINT METHOD: Carbon ribbon/thermal PAPER SIZE: 8.5in COMMENTS: Battery powered 4xU2 SUPPLIER: Jones Brother [redacted] NAME: Epson P-40 PRICE: £109 SPEED: 10cps INTERFACES: Optional Centronics or RS232 PRINT METHOD: Thermal PAPER SIZE: 4.5in COMMENTS: Cheaper but paper is narrow SUPPLIER: Peripheral Hardware [redacted] DOT MATRIX PRINTERS NAME: Smith-Corona D200 PRICE: £483 SPEED: 160cps INTERFACES: RS232 and Centronics PRINT METHOD: Dot matrix PAPER SIZE: 8.5in COMMENTS: Includes NLQ, 2K internal buffer, IBM compatibility. SUPPLIER: Smith Corona dealers NAME: Walters WM-80 PRICE: £228.28 SPEED: 80cps INTERFACES: Centronics/RS232(£) PRINT METHOD: Dot matrix PAPER SIZE: 8.5in COMMENTS: Bog standard Epson lookalike. SUPPLIER: Walters Microsystems [redacted] NAME: Shinwa CPA-80 PRICE: £228.85 (Centronics), £251.85 (RS232) SPEED: 100cps INTERFACES: Centronics/RS232(£) PRINT METHOD: Dot matrix PAPER SIZE: 8.5in COMMENTS: Pretty well Epson compatible SUPPLIER: Micro-Peripherals [redacted] NAME: Cana PW1080A PRICE: £320 SPEED: 160cps draft/75cps NLQ INTERFACES: Centronics/RS232(£) PRINT METHOD: Dot matrix PAPER SIZE: 8.5in COMMENTS: Includes NLQ option. SUPPLIER: CJE Micros [redacted]/Maplin [redacted] NAME: Brothers M1009 PRICE: £199 SPEED: 60cps INTERFACES: Centronics/RS232(£) PRINT METHOD: Dot matrix PAPER SIZE: 8.5in COMMENTS: A compact printer, almost completely Epson control code compatible. SUPPLIER: Jones Brother [redacted] NAME: Riteman Plus PRICE: £260 SPEED: 120cps INTERFACES: Centronics/RS232(£) PRINT METHOD: Dot matrix PAPER SIZE: 8.5in COMMENTS: Tractor fee mech available SUPPLIER: KODE [redacted] NAME: Smith Corona Fastex 80 PRICE: £224.25 SPEED: 80cps INTERFACES: Centronics/RS232(£) PRINT METHOD: Dot matrix PAPER SIZE: 8.5in COMMENTS: Tractor feed available. SUPPLIER: Smith-Corona dealers NAME: OKI Microline 80 PRICE: £229 SPEED: 80cps INTERFACES: Centronics/RS232(£) PRINT METHOD: Dot matrix PAPER SIZE: 9.5in SUPPLIER: X-DATA [redacted] NAME: Epson RX80 F/T PRICE: £328 SPEED: 100cps INTERFACES: Centronics/RS232(£) PRINT METHOD: Dot matrix PAPER SIZE: 8.5in COMMENTS: Taken as standard SUPPLIER: Epson dealers NAME: Mannesman Tally 80 PRICE: £299 SPEED: 80cps INTERFACES: Centronics PRINT METHOD: Dot matrix PAPER SIZE: 8.5in COMMENTS: Mannesman Tally [redacted] NAME: Star Gemini 10X PRICE: £286 SPEED: 120cps INTERFACES: Centronics/RS232(£) PRINT METHOD: Dot matrix PAPER SIZE: 8.5in SUPPLIER: Keyaki [redacted] LETTER QUALITY PRINTERS NAME: IBICO LTR-1 PRICE: £175 SPEED: 12cps INTERFACES: Centronics PRINT METHOD: Letters on cylindrical roller - a bit like a rubber golf ball. PAPER SIZE: 8.5in COMMENTS: Interfaces available for Commodore 64, and Spectrum at £29.95, and £39.95 respectively. SUPPLIER: IBICO [redacted] NAME: Silver Reed EXP500 PRICE: £378 SPEED: 18cps INTERFACES: Centronics/RS232(£) PRINT METHOD: Daisy wheel PAPER SIZE: 10in SUPPLIER: C/WP Computers [redacted] NAME: Juki 6100 PRICE: £385.25 SPEED: 17cps INTERFACES: Centronics/RS232(£) PRINT METHOD: Daisy wheel PAPER SIZE: 13in COMMENTS: Takes Triumph Adler wheels. SUPPLIER: Most printer dealers NAME: Smith Corona L1000 PRICE: £368 SPEED: 12cps INTERFACES: Centronics/RS232(£) PRINT METHOD: Daisy wheel PAPER SIZE: 13in COMMENTS: Replacement for the TP1 SUPPLIER: Smith-Corona dealers NAME: Turbo-20 PRICE: £497 SPEED: 18cps INTERFACES: Centronics/RS232(£) PRINT METHOD: Daisy wheel PAPER SIZE: 15in SUPPLIER: Office Efficiency Machines [redacted] COLOUR PRINTERS NAME: Seikosha GP700-A PRICE: £488 SPEED: 50cps INTERFACES: Centronics PRINT METHOD: 7-colour ribbon dot matrix PAPER SIZE: 8.5in SUPPLIER: DRG Business Machines [redacted] NAME: Integrex Colour Jet PRICE: £654.35 SPEED: 40cps INTERFACES: Centronics/RS232(£) PRINT METHOD: Dot matrix ink jet PAPER SIZE: 8.5in COMMENTS: No tractor feed available; interface for viewdata system. SUPPLIER: Integrex [redacted] NAME: CGP 1154 PRICE: £149 SPEED: 12cps INTERFACES: Centronics PRINT METHOD: Pen plotter PAPER SIZE: 4.5in COMMENTS: One of many 4-colour pen plotters, all the same design and roughly the same price. SUPPLIER: Tandy shops NAME: Tandy CGP-220 PRICE: £499 SPEED: 37cps INTERFACES: Centronics PRINT METHOD: 7-colour ink jet PAPER SIZE: 8.5in SUPPLIER: Tandy dealers NAME: Canon PJ1080A PRICE: £497 SPEED: 37cps INTERFACES: Centronics PRINT METHOD: 7-colour ink jet PAPER SIZE: 8.5in SUPPLIER: Canon dealers, Keyaki [redacted] NAME: Commodore MPS-801 PRICE: £395.95 SPEED: 38cps INTERFACES: CBMIEEE PRINT METHOD: Dot matrix coloured ribbon PAPER SIZE: 8.5in SUPPLIER: Commodore [redacted]

A comparison of the speed and capabilities of thermal printers puts the HR5 well in front.

The Brother HR5.

The Brother M1009.

The Canon PW180A.

The Epson RX80 F/T.

The GP-700-A is good value, but the Integrex offers more features. Above, the Commodore MPS-801.

The Smith Corona D200.

The dot matrix market is competitive, and price is not always the best indication of what's best.

With letter quality printers, you get what you pay for.