From: isely@fncrd6.fnal.gov (Mike Isely)
Newsgroups: comp.os.ms-windows.setup
Subject: Epson LQ570 printer driver & vertical margins
Date: 4 Jan 1993 22:41:10 GMT
Organization: Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, Batavia IL
Distribution: world
NNTP-Posting-Host: fncrd6.fnal.gov
Keywords: LQ570 printer-drivers

	My printer is an EPSON LQ-570.  This printer has the unusual attribute
in that the paper handling mechanism prevents you from being able to print on
the top .45" of the page.  When the printer loads paper, the head is always
positioned about .45" down the page (this can be adjusted, but you can't
reduce it to zero).  Word processors and other programs sensitive to vertical
margins must therefore be aware of this.  For example, WordPerfect's latest
LQ-570 DOS printer driver gets this right.

	The Windows 3.1 ESC/P2 driver (dated 11/19/92 on Microsoft's MSDL)
gets it terribly wrong.  Every page I have printed through Windows 3.1 with
ANY LQ-570 driver from Microsoft always ends up shifting everything down the
page .45" because it apparently is unaware of this initial head position.  It
apparently assumes that since this is a dot matrix printer, that it is
positioned to row 1 of the page.  This is highly annoying when I am trying to
print word processor output.  My 1" vertical margins become 1.45" and 0.55"
margins instead.

	Now I realize there are two easy work-arounds.  One is simply to 
re-offset my margins accordingly in my word processor (i.e. make the top 0.55"
and the bottom 1.45"), but this makes it difficult to print final copy to a 
laser printer which doesn't have this problem.  I could also hand-load the 
page in my printer (thereby wasting a page), but this renders useless all of 
the LQ-570's paper handling.  The cut sheet feeder, for example, couldn't be 
used.

	The "RIGHT" solution should be relatively easy.  Just program the
silly the printer driver to understand that the print head considers row 1 to
be 0.45" down the page.  I know it's possible, because practically every
laser printer made has similar limited printable regions on the page.

	Additionally, when I bought this printer (10/91), it came bundled
with a Windows 3.0 driver that does indeed get this right.  And that is the
driver I have been using - until now.  You see, I initially discovered this
problem when I purchased the Windows 3.1 upgrade last April and attempted to
switch to Microsoft's more recent printer driver.  At that time I called them
and pointed this unusual LQ-570 property.  The droid I talked to refused to
admit that this was a bug in their driver.  So at that time I just resigned
myself to sticking with the old non-UNIDRV 3.0 driver from Epson.

	If Epson can do it right with their fossil driver, then why can't 
Microsoft?

	However now things have changed.  The 3.0 driver I've been using 
apparently is lacking in some areas and has a few bugs which cause GP faults 
in a few Windows applications.  Specifically, Windows Draw has a bad 
interaction with the driver, and another problem has cropped up with it in 
WPWIN 5.1.  I talked to the very helpful tech support at Micrografx and 
Wordperfect, and their (very reasonable) answer was to get an updated printer 
driver.

	I also called Epson and asked if they've updated their LQ-570 windows 
driver.  Their answer was that they no longer support the driver and that I 
should download the broken Microsoft printer driver instead!

	There are thousands of LQ-570 printers out there.  As I understand it,
the LQ-570 is one of the most popular 24 pin dot matrix printers on the
market.  I simply can't believe that no one else hasn't noticed this problem. 
The driver fix is SIMPLE.  But the latest driver from Microsoft still
gets the vertical position wrong.

	Does anybody have any ideas?

		Thanks,
			Mike Isely


isely@fnal.fnal.gov	Fermilab M.S. 368
708-840-2784		P.O. Box 500
			Batavia, IL 60510

My opinions are mine and NOBODY else's.