30 Mar
2021
30 Mar
'21
5 p.m.
As I recall, the Dataproducts band printers BP1000, BP2000 only had a
single hammer per column. But the band containing the full character set
moved so quickly into position for each column that the print speed was
incredible. We had both models at one point and the 2000 was an absolute
screamer.
Paper just flew over the paper guides to the collection basket in the rear.
It was impressive and incredible to watch in action.
The bands were easily replaceable via a release lever. So you could change
fonts, replace damaged bands, etc.
Sharp as heck as I recall on the edges.
You also had to make sure it lined up just right before engaging the
tension lever.
With cover down, they were remarkably quiet in comparison to other "high
speed" printers I had been around. Real good at multipart forms at making
clean clear impressions on the backmost layer.
On Mon, Mar 29, 2021, 5:16 PM Erik E. Fair <fair-tuhs(a)netbsd.org> wrote:
Technically, the DEC DECwriter series were dot-matrix
printers, not line
printers. They differed from their Teletype predecessors only in print-head
technology, but both printed a single character at a time. Daisywheel
printers were similar.
Line printers are distinguished not by the width of the paper but by the
printer having enough print heads to print an entire line of output at a
time. That speed advantage made them the preferred output device for
many-page program listings, as opposed to a teleprinter terminals which
were more suitable for interactive computing.
There were dot-matrix line printers of the late 1970s made by Printronix,
which is apparently still around.
Erik Fair