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CONTROLLING THE PRINTING
The EMULATE ATTRIBUTES parameter
The EMULATE ATTRIBUTES parameter defines font attributes and setup
values (if any) for each of the Star LaserPrinter 8’s four emulation modes.
A font’s attributes or characteristics determine what that font will look like
when it is printed. The next chapter, “Fonts,” explores the details of all font
attributes in more detail. But let’s have a quick overview now, because
you’ll meet these terms on the front panel’s program menu.
Font attributes: a preview
Orientation (portrait or landscape as described earlier) is usually thought of
as one attribute of a font; it’s not really a page formatting issue. Besides
orientation, the fonts with which you print have these attributes:
Symbol set is sometimes called “character set”- which can be confusing,
since some people say “character set” when they mean a font. Symbol sets
are subgroups of a font’s symbols that are most appropriate for particular
countries, such as the UK (g), France (a), Latin America (n) or Japan (3).
Spacing and pitch are linked. Characters can be spaced on the line propor-
tionally, so a narrow letter such as i takes less room than a wide letter like
W. Or characters can be spaced all the same width: twelve characters to the
inch is the monospaced spacing called 12 pitch.
Pointsize defines how big characters will print, such as 10 or 12 points high.
Sryle defines whether characters print in upright or italic style.
Stroke weight defines how bold a typeface prints.
Finally, typeface itself means the artistic design of a font. Your printer’s
internal typefaces include Tms Romn, Line Printer, Courier and Prestige
Elite. With the Star LaserPrinter 8 you can also use Helvet, Gothic, Script,
Caslon, Orator and hundreds more typefaces, which you load into the printer
from cartridge or computer disk.
When you enable font setupparameters on the front panel, it means you start
off with particular font attributes as defaults when you first choose an
emulation. With the EX-800 and Diablo emulations you can enable propor-
tional spacing and bold print as setup parameters. EX-800 mode also lets you
start up with half of your symbol set as graphics characters instead of italics.
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