Microline M80

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.

Sinclair User

HARDWARE WORLD With ever-increasing amounts of peripherals available for Sinclair computers, users are finding it more and more difficult to know what to buy. We present a buyer's guide to joysticks, keyboard and printers and review the best of the rest from the 1984 add-on market. The decision to buy a printer to complete your computer system will be one of the most difficult and certainly one of the most expensive which you as a Sinclair user will have to make. The variety of printers available tends to confuse rather than facilitate your choice and many of them are likely to cost more than the rest of your system. Yet if you are intending to use a Sinclair machine for something other than games playing, you will, sooner or later, need to make a permanent copy on paper. With that in mind Sinclair User looks at 11 printers, from the inexpensive to those suitable for small businesses. The first consideration must be the purpose for which you intend to use a printer. All the printers reviewed will produce listings of programs, some faster than others and some more legibly. If you intend to do some word processing the type-style and method of printing is also important. Most of the machines reviewed are dot matrix printers. That means that, just as characters on the screen are composed of a number of dots - pixels - the printer has a number of little pins which are pushed on to the paper, through the ribbon, to form the character. The greater the number of dots the better the definition of the character. Just as user-defined graphics are made by changing the arrangement of the dots, dot matrix printers can easily change the type-style or the character. The printer holds those definitions in ROM and by telling it which set you want to use it can print in different type-styles and use different national characters, in some cases even Japanese. Some of the printers use different methods. The Alphacom 32 and the Brother EP44 are thermal printers. That means they use special, more expensive paper although they are still dot matrix types. The pins become hot and cause the paper to change colour. The Brother can also use plain paper with the addition of a special ribbon. The Dyneer DW16 is a daisywheel printer, using a wheel which has each character, like those on a typewriter, at the end of a spoke. To change type-styles the wheel has to be changed. The Olivetti JP101 has a small cartridge which fires an ink-jet at the paper. As there are few mechanical parts the printer is quieter than most. The Tandy CGP-llS has four ballpoint pens which form characters by moving the pen horizontally and the paper up and down. The speed of a printer normally is measured in characters per second; in theory the higher the number the greater the speed. To test that we used a standard body of text, the first chapter of Genesis, and timed how long it needed to print. The text was prepared using Tasword 2 and printed via a Kempston E Interface, where suitable, a total of 796 words over 77 lines. The results were surprising. The Microline 80, with a quoted speed of 80 cps, took nearly twice as long as the Mannesmann Tally MT80 and three times as long as the Olivetti. The answer would be to take such quoted figures only as a very rough guide. Another thing to consider is how you want to drive the printer. Two of the machines reviewed connect directly to a Sinclair computer, the Alphacom 32 and the Seikosha. While that is undoubtedly the cheapest method, when and if you upgrade your computer you are left with a printer you may not be able to connect to your new machine. There are two standards by which printers normally are driven, Centronics and RS232. Roughly speaking, Centronics interfaces have eight wires so that the bits of each byte travel to the printer at the same time along each wire. Serial interfaces have one wire and the bits travel along it one after the other. Whether you use Centronics or RS232 does not make much difference so long as you do not try to mix them. On many of the printers Centronics is fitted as standard and RS232 is available as an add-on at extra cost. Your future plans must be taken into consideration. Users with a Microdrive can use the RS232 port fitted. If you are thinking of buying a QL it also has an RS232 port fitted as standard. Other add-ons such as modems also tend to use RS232 and so the system has advantages, despite the extra cost. The width of paper the printer can handle may also be a consideration. Normal listings may use only 32 columns but if you like to add REM statements at the side or for word processing, 80 is the minimum. It is often necessary to indicate to the printer what you want it to do, whether changing the type-style or feeding paper through it. There is a standard for it known as ESCape codes, i.e., codes which escape from normal printing to do something different. Those codes were originated by Epson and are now used by most other makes of printer. To help you each printer is now considered, briefly, in turn. The Sinclair printer has not been included as it has been discontinued and will be available only while stocks last. Alphacom 32 is the cheapest on the market at the moment. It has reasonable print quality and is easy to use. It has only a ZX-81 size connector, so Spectrum users must use it as the last add-on. From Dean Electronics or Prism. Seikosha GP50S is an inexpensive plain-paper printer, not particularly fast and rather noisy but easy to use. It has a Spectrum-size edge connector, so ZX81 users will need an extender card not yet available from Seikosha, so try Eprom Services. From DRG or Prism. Tandy CGP-115 is the cheapest colour printer; it is very slow but can do pleasant graphics with the appropriate software. From retail shops. Microline 80 is supplied with roll paper holder as standard. It uses ordinary typewriter ribbons. It has only one type-style. From X-Data. Brother EP44 is a portable typewriter with RS232 connection. It is not really suitable as a computer printer but as a typewriter it is amazing. From local typewriter shops. Olivetti JPIOl is a quiet ink-jet printer; it has slightly blurred print but is reasonably fast. Epson RX80 is the standard by which other printers are measured. It is versatile with clear print and all the facilities you are liable to need. Star Gemini-10X was caught by a recent price reduction for the Epson, which it mirrors. It may be discounted further. From London Computer Centre or Micro Peripherals. Mannesmann Tally MT80 is a good-looking printer, also heavily discounted. Canon PW1080A is very fast and has a good range of facilities, including programmable characters. It is slower in near letter-quality mode. From London Computer Centre or Micro Peripherals. Dyneer DWl6 is a business users' daisywheel printer. The code is compatible with Diablo printers. From X-Data. British Olivetti Ltd, [redacted]. Dean Electronics Ltd, [redacted]. DRG Business Systems Ltd, Peripheral Division, [redacted]. London Computer Centre, [redacted]. Mannesmann Tally Ltd, [redacted]. Micro Peripherals Ltd, [redacted]. Prism Microproducts Ltd, [redacted]. X-Data Ltd, [redacted].

Alphacom 32

Brother EP44

Canon PW1080A

Dyneer DW16

Epson RX80

Mannesmann Tally MT80

Microline M80

Olivetti JP101

Seikosha GP50S

Star Gemini 10X

Tandy CGP-115

Name: Alphacom 32 Rec. Retail Price: £70 Centornics Port: No RS232 Port: No Sinclair Port: Yes Plain/Thermal: T Printing Method: Dot Characters Per Line: 32 Dots Per Character: 8x8 Characters Per Sec.: Time For Test (secs.): 50 Max. Paper Width (inches): 4.25 Line Feed Button: Yes Escape Codes: No Different Type-styles: No Graphics: Yes Name: Seikosha GP50S Rec. Retail Price: £138 Centornics Port: No RS232 Port: No Sinclair Port: Yes Plain/Thermal: P Printing Method: Dot Characters Per Line: 32 Dots Per Character: 7x7 Characters Per Sec.: 40 Time For Test (secs.): 152 Max. Paper Width (inches): 5 Line Feed Button: No Escape Codes: No Different Type-styles: No Graphics: Yes Name: Tandy CGP-115 Rec. Retail Price: £149 Centornics Port: Yes RS232 Port: Yes Sinclair Port: No Plain/Thermal: P Printing Method: Pen Characters Per Line: 40/80 Dots Per Character: N/A Characters Per Sec.: 12 Time For Test (secs.): 483 1440 Max. Paper Width (inches): 4.5 Line Feed Button: Yes Escape Codes: No Different Type-styles: No Graphics: Yes Name: Microline 80 Rec. Retail Price: £229 Centornics Port: Yes RS232 Port: £68 Sinclair Port: No Plain/Thermal: P Printing Method: Dot Characters Per Line: 80 Dots Per Character: 9x7 Characters Per Sec.: 80 Time For Test (secs.): 170 Max. Paper Width (inches):8.5 Line Feed Button: No Escape Codes: No Different Type-styles: No Graphics: No Name: Brother EP44 Rec. Retail Price: £253 Centornics Port: No RS232 Port: Yes Sinclair Port: No Plain/Thermal: T/P Printing Method: Dot Characters Per Line: 80 Dots Per Character: 24x18 Characters Per Sec.: 16 Time For Test (secs.): 383 Max. Paper Width (inches): 8.5 Line Feed Button: Yes Escape Codes: No Different Type-styles: No Graphics: No Name: Olivetti JP101 Rec. Retail Price: £265 Centornics Port: Yes RS232 Port: £40 Sinclair Port: No Plain/Thermal: P Printing Method: Ink jet Characters Per Line: 80 Dots Per Character: 7x7 Characters Per Sec.: 80 Time For Test (secs.): 67 Max. Paper Width (inches): 9 Line Feed Button: Yes Escape Codes: Yes Different Type-styles: No Graphics: Yes Name: Epson RX80 Rec. Retail Price: £286 Centornics Port: No RS232 Port: £69 Sinclair Port: No Plain/Thermal: P Printing Method: Dot Characters Per Line: 80 Dots Per Character: 9x9 Characters Per Sec.: 100 Time For Test (secs.): 80 Max. Paper Width (inches): 8.5 Line Feed Button: Yes Escape Codes: Yes Different Type-styles: Yes Graphics: Yes Name: Star Gemini 10X Rec. Retail Price: £286 Centornics Port: Yes RS232 Port: £80 Sinclair Port: No Plain/Thermal: P Printing Method: Dot Characters Per Line: 80 Dots Per Character: 9x9 Characters Per Sec.: 120 Time For Test (secs.): 69 Max. Paper Width (inches): Line Feed Button: Yes Escape Codes: Yes Different Type-styles: Yes Graphics: Yes Name: Mannesmann Tally MT80 Rec. Retail Price: £299 Centornics Port: Yes RS232 Port: £57 Sinclair Port: No Plain/Thermal: P Printing Method: 80 Characters Per Line: 80 Dots Per Character: 7x8 Characters Per Sec.: 80 Time For Test (secs.): 92 Max. Paper Width (inches): Line Feed Button: Yes Escape Codes: Yes Different Type-styles: No Graphics: Yes Name: Canon PW1080A Rec. Retail Price: £367 Centornics Port: Yes RS232 Port: No Sinclair Port: No Plain/Thermal: P Printing Method: Dot Characters Per Line: 80 Dots Per Character: 11x9 Characters Per Sec.: 160 Time For Test (secs.): 48 Max. Paper Width (inches): 10 Line Feed Button: Yes Escape Codes: Yes Different Type-styles: Yes Graphics: Yes Name: Dyneer DW16 Rec. Retail Price: Centornics Port: £378 RS232 Port: £413 Sinclair Port: No Plain/Thermal: P Printing Method: Daisy Characters Per Line: 101 Dots Per Character: N/A Characters Per Sec.: 14 Time For Test (secs.): 330 Max. Paper Width (inches): 10 Line Feed Button: Yes Escape Codes: Yes Different Type-styles: Yes Graphics: No

Sinclair User

GETTING INTO PRINT The decision to buy a printer to complete your computer system will be one of the most difficult and certainly one of the most expensive which you as a Sinclair user will have to make. The variety of printers available tends to confuse rather than facilitate your choice and many of them are likely to cost than the rest of your system. Yet if your are intending to use a Sinclair machine for something other than games playing, you will, sooner or later, need to make a permanent copy on paper. With that in mind Sinclair User looks at 11 printers, from the inexpensive to those suitable for small business. The first consideration must be the purpose for which you intend to use a printer. All the printers reviewed will produce listings of programs, some faster than others and some more legibly. If you intend to do some word processing the type-style and method of printing is also important. Most of the machines reviewed are dot matrix printers. That means that, just as characters on the screen are composed of a number of dots - pixels - the printer has a number of little pins which are pushed on to the paper, through the ribbon, to form the character. The greater the number of dots the better the definition of the character. Just as user-defined graphics are made by changing the arrangement of the dots, dot matrix printers can easily change the type-style or the character. The printer holds those definitions in ROM and by telling it which set you want to use it can print in different type-styles and use different national characters, in some cases even Japanese. Some of the printers use different methods. The Alphacom 32 and the Brother EP44 are thermal printers. That means they use special, more expensive paper although they are still dot matrix types. The pins become hot and cause the paper to change colour. The Brother can also use plain paper with the addition of a special ribbon. The Dyneer DW16 is a daisywheel printer, using a wheel which has each character, like those on a typewriter, at the end of a spoke. To change type-styles the wheel has to be changed. The Olivetti JP101 has a small cartridge which fires an ink-jet at the paper. As there are few mechanical parts the printer is quieter than most. The Tandy CGP-115 has four ball-point pens which form characters by moving the pen horizontally and the paper up and down. The speed of a printer normally is measured in characters per second; in theory the higher the number the greater the speed. To test that we used a standard body of text, the first chapter of Genesis, and timed how long it needed to print. The text was prepared using Tasword 2 and printed via a Kempston E interface, where suitable, a total of 796 words over 77 lines. The results were surprising. The Microline 80, with a quoted speed of 80 cps, took nearly twice as long as the Mannesmann Tally MT80 and three times as long as the Olivetti. The answer would be to take such quoted figures only as a very rough guide. Another thing to consider is how you want to drive the printer. Two of the machines reviewed connect directly to a Sinclair computer, the Alphacom 32 and the Seikosha. While that is undoubtedly the cheapest method, when and if you upgrade your computer you are left with a printer you may not be able to connect to your new machine. There are two standards by which printers normally are driven, Centronics and RS232. Roughly speaking, Centronics interfaces have eight wires so that the bits of each byte travel to the printer at the same time along each wire. Serial interfaces have one wire and the bits travel along it one after the other. Whether you use Centronics or RS232 does not make much difference so long as you do not try to mix them. On many of the printers Centronics is fitted as standard and RS232 is available as an add-on at extra cost. Your future plans must be taken into consideration. Users with a Microdrive can use the RS232 port fitted. If you are thinking of buying a QL it also has an RS232 port fitted as standard. Other add-ons such as modems also tend to use RS232 and so the system has advantages, despite the extra cost. The width of paper the printer can handle may also be a consideration. Normal listings may use only 32 columns but if you like to add REM statements at the side or for word processing, 80 is the minimum. It is often necessary to indicate to the printer what you want it to do, whether changing the type-style or feeding paper through it. There is a standard for it known as ESCape codes, i.e., codes which escape from normal printing to do something different. Those codes were originated by Epson and are now used by most other makes of printer. To help you each printer is now considered, briefly, in turn. The Sinclair printer has not been included as it has been discontinued and will be available only while stocks last. Alphacom 32 is the cheapest on the market at the moment. It has reasonable print quality and is easy to use. It has only a ZX-81 size connector, so Spectrum users must use it as the last add-on. From Dean Electronics or Prism. Seikosha GP50S is an inexpensive plain-paper printer, not particularly fast and rather noisy but easy to use. It has a Spectrum-size edge connector, so ZX-81 users will need an extender card not yet available from Seikosha, so try Eprom Services. From Dean Electronics or Prism. Tandy CGP-115 is the cheapest colour printer; it is very slow but can do pleasant graphics with the appropriate software. From retail shops. Microline 80 is supplied with roll paper holder as standard. It uses ordinary typewriter ribbons. It has only one type-style. From X-Data. Brother EP44 is a portable typewriter with RS232 connection. It is not really suitable as a computer printer but as a typewriter it is amazing. From local typewriter shops. Olivetti JP101 is a quiet ink-jet printer; it has slightly blurred print but is reasonably fast. Epson RX80 is the standard by which other printers are measured. It is versatile with clear print and all the facilities you are liable to need. Star Gemini-10X was caught by a recent price reduction for the Epson which it mirrors. It may be discounted further. From London Computer Centre or Micro Peripherals. Mannesmann Tally MT80 is a good looking printer, also heavily discounted. Canon PW1080A is very fast and has a good range of facilities, including programmable characters. It is slower in near letter-quality mode. From London Computer Centre or Micro Peripherals. Dyneer DW16 is a business users' daisywheel printer. The code is compatable with Diablo printers. From X-Data. British Olivetti Ltd, [redacted]. Dean Electronics Ltd, [redacted]. DRG Business Systems Ltd, Peripheral Division. [redacted]. London Computer Centre, [redacted]. Mannesmann Tally Ltd, [redacted]. Micro Peripherals Ltd, [redacted]. Prism Microproducts Ltd, [redacted]. X-Data Ltd, [redacted].

Alphacom 32

Brother EP44

Canon PW1080A

Dyneer DW16

Epson RX80

Mannesmann Tally MT80

Microline M80

Olivetti JP101

Seikosha GP50S

Star Gemini 10X

Tandy CGP-115

Alphacom 32 Rec. retail price: 70 Centronics Port: No RS232 Port: No Sinclair Port: Yes Plain/Thermal: Thermal Printing method: Dot Characters per line: 32 Dots per character: 8x8 Characters per sec.: Not Known Time for test (secs.): 50 Max. paper width (inches): 4.25 Line feed button: Yes Escape codes: No Different type-styles: No Graphics: Yes Seikosha GP50S Rec. retail price: 138 Centronics Port: No RS232 Port: No Sinclair Port: Yes Plain/Thermal: Plain Printing method: Dot Characters per line: 32 Dots per character: 7x7 Characters per sec.: 40 Time for test (secs.): 152 Max. paper width (inches): 5 Line feed button: No Escape codes: No Different type-styles: No Graphics: Yes Tandy CGP-115 Rec. retail price: 149 Centronics Port: Yes RS232 Port: Yes Sinclair Port: No Plain/Thermal: Plain Printing method: Pen Characters per line: 40/80 Dots per character: N/A Characters per sec.: 12 Time for test (secs.): 483 1440 Max. paper width (inches): 4.25 Line feed button: Yes Escape codes: No Different type-styles: No Graphics: Yes Microline 80 Rec. retail price: 229 Centronics Port: Yes RS232 Port: £68 Sinclair Port: No Plain/Thermal: Plain Printing method: Dot Characters per line: 80 Dots per character: 9x7 Characters per sec.: 80 Time for test (secs.): 170 Max. paper width (inches): 8.5 Line feed button: No Escape codes: No Different type-styles: No Graphics: No Brother EP44 Rec. retail price: 253 Centronics Port: No RS232 Port: Yes Sinclair Port: No Plain/Thermal: Thermal/Plain Printing method: Dot Characters per line: 80 Dots per character: 24x18 Characters per sec.: 16 Time for test (secs.): 383 Max. paper width (inches): 8.5 Line feed button: Yes Escape codes: No Different type-styles: No Graphics: No Olivetti JP101 Rec. retail price: 265 Centronics Port: Yes RS232 Port: £40 Sinclair Port: No Plain/Thermal: Plain Printing method: Ink Jet Characters per line: 80 Dots per character: 7x7 Characters per sec.: 80 Time for test (secs.): 67 Max. paper width (inches): 9 Line feed button: Yes Escape codes: Yes Different type-styles: No Graphics: Yes Epson RX80 Rec. retail price: 286 Centronics Port: No RS232 Port: £69 Sinclair Port: No Plain/Thermal: Plain Printing method: Dot Characters per line: 80 Dots per character: 9x9 Characters per sec.: 100 Time for test (secs.): 80 Max. paper width (inches): 8.5 Line feed button: Yes Escape codes: Yes Different type-styles: Yes Graphics: Yes Star Gemini 10X Rec. retail price: 286 Centronics Port: Yes RS232 Port: £80 Sinclair Port: No Plain/Thermal: Plain Printing method: Dot Characters per line: 80 Dots per character: 9x9 Characters per sec.: 120 Time for test (secs.): 69 Max. paper width (inches): Unknown Line feed button: Yes Escape codes: Yes Different type-styles: Yes Graphics: Yes Mannesmann Tally MT80 Rec. retail price: 299 Centronics Port: Yes RS232 Port: £57 Sinclair Port: No Plain/Thermal: Plain Printing method: Dot Characters per line: 80 Dots per character: 7x8 Characters per sec.: 80 Time for test (secs.): 92 Max. paper width (inches): Unknown Line feed button: Yes Escape codes: Yes Different type-styles: No Graphics: Yes Canon PW1080A Rec. retail price: 367 Centronics Port: Yes RS232 Port: Unknown Sinclair Port: No Plain/Thermal: Plain Printing method: Dot Characters per line: 80 Dots per character: 11x9 Characters per sec.: 160 Time for test (secs.): 48 Max. paper width (inches): 10 Line feed button: Yes Escape codes: Yes Different type-styles: Yes Graphics: Yes Dyneer DW16 Rec. retail price: Unknown Centronics Port: £378 RS232 Port: £413 Sinclair Port: No Plain/Thermal: Plain Printing method: Daisy Characters per line: 101 Dots per character: N/A Characters per sec.: 14 Time for test (secs.): 330 Max. paper width (inches): 10 Line feed button: Yes Escape codes: Yes Different type-styles: Yes Graphics: No