Organization: Computing Technology Services, Michigan Technological Univ.
Date: Tuesday, 10 Nov 1992 17:29:10 EST
From: Jeff McWilliams <JJMCWILL@MTUS5.BITNET>
Newsgroups: comp.sys.atari.8bit
Subject: Homewriter-10 Printer

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Subject: Pls fwd to csa8?  Subject: HomeWriter-10 Printer

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Date: Mon, 9 Nov 92 18:29:14 -0500
From: phvax::poehland
To: INET::"comp-sys-atari-8bit@ucbvax.berkeley.edu"
Subject: HomeWriter-10 Printer

Trying to answer this question takes me back a few years, I hope the cobwebs
don't get in the way.  The HomeWriter-10 printer was made by Epson & was- I
THOUGHT- a custom-modified version of the LX-80 but with a built-in interface
for certain computers.  My impression was that the HW-10 was the one with an
built-in interface for the C-64, but I can't swear to that.  A great deal of
confusion is possible here because Epson marketed this printer in 1984-1986 in
a wide variety of configurations & manufacturing changes with at least 4 dif-
ferent model names for basically the same printer.  And just to make matters
more muddy, Epson also marketed a line of interfaces for various 8bit home
computers, including the Atari 8bits.  These interfaces were known as PICs
(Printer Interface Cartridge).  I never saw a review of the Epson PIC for
the Atari 8bits.

The LX-80/HomeWriter-10 was the first Epson 9-pin to have NLQ output.  And yes,
it is also graphics-capable.  If the printer chokes on graphics, either a DIP
switch may need to be turned on inside the printer to put it in graphics mode,
or else the problem is in the interface.  There was at least one third-party
interface (Ape-face???) that had the same problem.

If you are using one of the Epson interfaces (either a PIC or a built-in
interface), I'd bet even money the graphics problems will go away with an 850
or a P:R:Connection.  Hrrumph, even the parallel port on the XEP-80 won't do
or a P:R:Connection.
or a P:R:Connection.

Whoops, got a little technical problem here....

It may well be the Epson interface was a text interface only.  Many of the
early interfaces were like that, especially since the earlier models of Epson
printers were mostly text printers which required a Graftrax upgrade to do
graphics.  Some interfaces couldn't recognize Graftrax.  With the LX-80/
HomeWriter-10, Graftrax was built-in (another of the advanced features of that
printer for its day).

Just my $.02.

     - BEN POEHLAND
       The 8-Bit Alchemist

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