Editing Dot matrix printing (section)

==History==
{{History of printing}}

In 1925, [[Rudolf Hell]] invented the [[Hellschreiber]], an early [[fax|facsimile]]-like [[dot matrix]]{{En dash}}based [[teletypewriter]] device,<ref name="Working-paper_1961"/> patented in 1929.

Between 1952 and 1954 [[Fritz Karl Preikschat]] filed five patent applications<ref name="DE1006007">{{cite patent |country=DE |number=1006007 |status=patent |title=Umschalteinrichtung für Fernschreiber, bei dem die Schriftzeichen in Rasterpunkte zerlegt sind |gdate=1957-09-12 |fdate=1952-07-29 |pridate=1952-07-29 |inventor=Preikschat, Fritz Karl |inventor-link=Fritz Karl Preikschat |assign=[[Telefonbau und Normalzeit G.m.b.H.]]}}</ref><ref name="DE1006007B">{{cite patent |country=DE |number=1006007 |status=patent |title=Umschalteinrichtung fuer Fernschreiber, bei dem die Schriftzeichen in Rasterpunkte zerlegt sind |pubdate=1957-04-11 |fdate=1952-07-29 |pridate=1952-07-29 |inventor=Preikschat, Fritz Karl |inventor-link=Fritz Karl Preikschat |assign=Preikschat, Fritz Karl}}</ref> for his so-called "PKT printer",<ref name="Working-paper_1961"/> a dot matrix teletypewriter built between 1954 and 1956 in Germany. Like the earlier Hellschreiber, it still used electromechanical means of coding and decoding, but it used a start-stop method ([[asynchronous transmission]]) rather than [[synchronous transmission]] for communication.<ref name="Working-paper_1961"/> In 1956, while he was employed at [[Telefonbau und Normalzeit GmbH]] ([[TuN]], later called [[Tenovis]]), the device was offered to the [[Deutsche Bundespost]] (German Post Office), which did not show interest.
When Preikschat emigrated to the US in 1957 he sold the rights to utilize the applications in any country (except the USA) to TuN. The prototype was also shown to [[General Mills]] in 1957. An improved [[transistorized]] design<ref name="Working-paper_1961">{{citation |author-first=Fritz Karl |author-last=Preikschat |author-link=Fritz Karl Preikschat |title=Working papers on dot matrix teletypewriter |orig-year=1961 |date=2016 |url=https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/f/f6/Working_papers_on_dot_matrix_teletypewriter%2C_1961.pdf |access-date=2016-10-31 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161031121145/https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/f/f6/Working_papers_on_dot_matrix_teletypewriter%2C_1961.pdf |archive-date=2016-10-31}}</ref> became the basis for a portable dot matrix facsimile machine, which was prototyped and evaluated for military use by [[Boeing]] around 1966–1967.<ref name="Boeing_1967">{{citation |title=Facsimile transponder prototype at Boeing |orig-year=1967 |date=2016 |url=https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/8/84/Facsmile_transponder_prototype_at_Boeing%2C_1967.pdf |access-date=2016-10-31 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161031121457/https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/8/84/Facsmile_transponder_prototype_at_Boeing%2C_1967.pdf |archive-date=2016-10-31}}</ref><ref name="Boeing_1966">{{citation |title=Drawings of portable fax machine for Boeing |orig-year=1966 |date=2016 |url=https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/d/d1/Drawings_of_portable_fax_machine_for_Boeing%2C_1966.pdf |access-date=2016-10-31 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161031203820/https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/d/d1/Drawings_of_portable_fax_machine_for_Boeing%2C_1966.pdf |archive-date=2016-10-31}}</ref>
[[File:Epson MX-80.jpg|left|thumb|An [[Epson MX-80]], a classic model that remained in use for many years. [[IBM]] sold it as their IBM 5152.<ref name="NYT.PCdot85">{{cite news |author=Erik Sandberg-Diment |title=Personal Computers; Letter Quality, Almost |date=June 4, 1985 |newspaper=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1985/06/04/science/personal-computers-letter-quality-almost.html |access-date=January 29, 2018 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171212193056/http://www.nytimes.com/1985/06/04/science/personal-computers-letter-quality-almost.html |archive-date=December 12, 2017}}</ref>]]

{{Anchor|Wiredot}}
In 1968, the Japanese manufacturer [[OKI (company)|OKI]] introduced its first serial impact dot matrix printer (SIDM), the OKI Wiredot. The printer supported a [[character generator]] for 128 characters with a print matrix of 7 × 5. It was aimed at governmental, financial, scientific and educational markets. For this achievement, OKI received an award from the [[Information Processing Society of Japan]] (IPSJ) in 2013.<ref name="IPSJ_2012">{{cite web |title=Information Processing Technology Heritage - Wiredot printer |date=2012 |publisher=[[Information Processing Society of Japan]] (IPSJ) |url=https://museum.ipsj.or.jp/en/heritage/Wiredot_printer.html |access-date=2016-10-31 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161031182147/http://museum.ipsj.or.jp/en/heritage/Wiredot_printer.html |archive-date=2016-10-31}}</ref><ref name="OKI_2013_1">{{cite web |title=OKI's Wiredot Printer Receives Information Processing Technology Heritage Certification in Japan |location=Mount Laurel, New Jersey, USA |date=2013-03-14 |url=http://www.okidata.com/oki-datas-wiredot-printer-receives-heritage-certification |access-date=2016-10-31 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130820163044/http://okidata.com/oki-datas-wiredot-printer-receives-heritage-certification |archive-date=2013-08-20}}</ref><ref name="OKI_2013_2">{{cite web |title=OKI Printer aus 1968 als technologisch wertvolles Erbe ausgezeichnet |language=de |date=2013-03-26 |url=http://www.oki.at/press-centre/press-releases/detail.aspx?id=tcm:93-153208-16 |access-date=2016-10-31 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161031183409/http://www.oki.at/press-centre/press-releases/detail.aspx?id=tcm%3A93-153208-16 |archive-date=2016-10-31}}</ref>

In 1970<ref name="webster2">{{cite book |author=Webster, Edward C. |title=Print Unchained: Fifty Years of Digital Printing: A Saga of Invention and Enterprise |publisher=DRA of Vermont |year=2000 |isbn=0-9702617-0-5 |location=West Dover, VT}}</ref> [[Digital Equipment Corporation]] (DEC) introduced an impact [[dot matrix printers|dot matrix printer]], the [[DECwriter |LA30]], as did [[Centronics]] (then of [[Hudson, New Hampshire|Hudson]], [[New Hampshire]]): the Centronics 101.<ref name="webster">{{cite book |author=Webster, Edward C. |title=Print Unchained: Fifty Years of Digital Printing: A Saga of Invention and Enterprise |publisher=DRA of Vermont |location=West Dover, VT |year=2000 |isbn=0-9702617-0-5}}</ref><ref>The first '''non'''-impact dot matrix printer was marketed by IBM in 1957: {{cite web |title=History of Computer Printers |url=http://www.inksell.com/tip-printerhistory.html |access-date=2017-12-12 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171212140804/http://www.inksell.com/tip-printerhistory.html |archive-date=2017-12-12}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |author=Mary Brandel |title=1957: IBM introduces the first dot-matrix printer |date=May 12, 1999 |website=[[CNN]] |url=http://www.cnn.com/TECH/computing/9905/12/1957.idg/index.html |access-date=December 12, 2017 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090425132250/http://www.cnn.com/TECH/computing/9905/12/1957.idg/index.html |archive-date=April 25, 2009}}</ref> The search for a reliable printer mechanism led it to develop a relationship with [[Brother Industries|Brother Industries, Ltd]] of [[Japan]], and the sale of Centronics-badged Brother printer mechanisms equipped with a Centronics print head and Centronics electronics. Unlike Digital, Centronics concentrated on the low-end [[line printer]] marketplace with their distinctive units. In the process, they designed the [[parallel port|parallel electrical interface]] that was to become standard on most printers until it began to be replaced by the [[Universal Serial Bus]] ([[Universal Serial Bus|USB]]) in the late 1990s.

DEC was a major vendor, albeit with a focus on use with their PDP minicomputer line.<ref name="MAN50">{{cite book |title=LA50 Printer: Programmer Reference Manual (EK-OLA50-RM-001) |date=1982 |publisher=Educational Services of Digital Equipment Corporation}}</ref> Their LA30 30 character/second (CPS) dot matrix printer, the first of many, was introduced in 1970. In the mid-1980s, dot-matrix printers were dropping in price,<ref name="NYT.dot2"/>{{efn|"they are costing less all the time. In the budget category, a few new machines stand out..."<ref name=NYT.dot/>}} and began to outsell [[daisywheel printer]]s, due to their higher speed and versatility.<ref name="MostCom">{{cite web |title=What Is the Difference Between Impact Printers and Non-Impact Printers? |website=Small Business - Chron.com |url=https://smallbusiness.chron.com/difference-between-impact-printers-nonimpact-printers-56823.html |access-date=2023-05-10 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230510174840/https://smallbusiness.chron.com/difference-between-impact-printers-nonimpact-printers-56823.html |archive-date=2023-05-10}}</ref> The Apple [[ImageWriter]] was a popular consumer dot matrix printer in the 1980s until the mid-1990s.

In the 1970s and 1980s, dot matrix impact printers were generally considered the best combination of cost and versatility, and until the 1990s were by far the most common form of printer used with [[personal computer|personal]] and [[home computer]]s.<ref>{{cite web |title=Computer peripheral or Peripheral Devices |date=17 April 2017 |url=https://www.slideshare.net/AdarshkumarYadav/computer-peripheral-or-peripheral-devices-75090737 |access-date=18 October 2018 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170424071958/https://www.slideshare.net/AdarshkumarYadav/computer-peripheral-or-peripheral-devices-75090737 |archive-date=24 April 2017 |quote=A report on Computer peripheral devices ... impact printers were generally considered the best combination of expense and versatility, and until the 1990s they were ...}}</ref>

Increased pincount of the printhead from 7, 8, 9 or 12 pins to 18, 24, 27, or 36 permitted superior print quality, which was necessary for success in Asian markets to print legible [[CJKV characters]].<ref name="MX6-4">{{cite book |title=High speed, near letter quality dot matrix printers Popular Science Dec 1983 |date=December 1983 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kawCnk4051wC&pg=PA139}}</ref> Epson's 24-pin LQ-series rose to become the new de facto standard, at 24/180&nbsp;inch (per pass – 7.5&nbsp;lpi). Not only could a 24-pin printer lay down a denser dot-pattern in a single pass, it could simultaneously cover a larger area and print more quickly. Although the text quality of a 24-pin was still visibly inferior to a true [[letter-quality printer]] such as a daisy wheel or laser printer, print quality was greatly superior to a 9-pin printer. As manufacturing costs declined, 24-pin printers gradually replaced 9-pin printers.

By the dawn of the 1990s, inkjet printers became more common as PC printers.<ref>{{cite web |title=InkJet |website=HPmuseum |url=https://www.hpmuseum.net/exhibit.php?class=5&cat=20 |access-date=2018-10-18 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180926140236/http://www.hpmuseum.net/exhibit.php?class=5&cat=20 |archive-date=2018-09-26 |quote=In the early 1990s, inkjet printer sales started a dramatic growth that would last over ten years.}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |title=Old Computer Products that refuse to die |date=March 31, 2009 |magazine=PC World |url=https://www.pcworld.com/article/162106/old_computer_products_that_refuse_to_die.html |quote=Beginning in the early 1990s, inkjet printers ...}}</ref>