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Implementing proportional fonts
The variable width of proportional fonts can make it difficult to layout a receipt
using traditional methods. you can simplify the process of laying out the format of
a receipt by using the alignment and tab features of the SureMark printer.
The following topics show how to use the alignment and tab features with
proportional fonts. Command descriptions are given in RS-232 (EIA-232) command
format. For the command syntax when you use a printer driver, consult the driver
documentation.
A single proportional character set requires two user-defined code pages.
Therefore, the printer allows the following combination of user-defined and
proportional character sets to be stored in the printer.
Number of Proportional Character Sets Number of User-Defined Character Sets
04
12
20
Selecting code page 2 when a proportional character set is defined for code page 1
(or selecting code page 4 when proportional characters are defined in code page 3)
will result in unreadable characters being printed.
A proportional character set is enabled using the select User-Defined Characters
command.
Layout using align commands
A common requirement for receipt layout includes aligning item prices. This is
commonly accomplished using fixed field lengths for item descriptions or counting
characters. Using proportional fonts makes this method of alignment practically
impossible.
The simplest method to align prices is to use the Align Column Right command
with the Fix Font Matrix command.
v Unlike other Align Position commands, the Align Positions-Align Column Right
command can be sent in the middle of a print line. Print characters sent before
the alignment command will be left aligned, while characters sent after the
alignment command will be right aligned.
v The Fix Font Matrix command forces proportional characters to print using a
single width defined by the command. This essentially negates the proportional
characteristic of the font, while still allowing the user to utilize the custom font.
The following sequence assumes proportional characters have been downloaded
and selected for printing. The following sequence should be used for each item
line. The printer output would resemble the following:
Candy Bar $ .45
Fountain Soda $ 1.11
1. Print the item description. For the first item, this is the ASCII data Candy Bar.
2. Issue the Set Alignment command with n=4 (Right Align Column). The
command syntax is X'1B 61 04'.
3. Issue the Fix Font Matrix command with n=dot width of the widest number
used. The command syntax is X'1B 3A xx'.
98 SureMark 4610 Printers : Programming Guide for Models 1xR and 2xR