Some customers using ImageWriter II to fill in forms from a database
application find that when they switch to ImageWriter LQ -- using the same
fonts and sizes as with ImageWriter II -- the printouts no longer fit the
forms.
Such a problem may be due the print quality -- "Draft", "Faster", or "Best" --
used with the application.
When the application in use makes a Font Manager call to print text, the Font
Manager asks the printer driver for a scaling call to relate the printer font
to the screen font.
When "Faster" quality printing is requested, the ImageWriter LQ printer driver
returns a scaling factor of 1:1 (both horizontal and vertical). The Font
Manager then selects the exact same font as on the screen and sends it for
printing.
The ImageWriter LQ printer driver sets the ImageWriter LQ to standard
resolution graphics mode, turns on boldface printing, and sends the text to the
printer as graphics data. (Boldface printing is used to print in "Faster" mode
because the print density would be too light at the standard-resolution
vertical dot spacing of 72 dpi.)
If "Best" quality printing is used, the Font Manager finds a font to use. If
there is no 3X font installed in the system, the Font Manager uses:
1. A font twice the size desired, or:
2. A font half the size desired, or:
3. The next larger font it can find, or:
4. The next smaller font it can find.
If there is no screen font for the selected font family, the Font Manager uses
a default application font. If there is no default application font, the Font
Manager uses a default system font.
Also, the ImageWriter LQ, even in draft mode, has a minimum character width of
12 dots with a normal size of 16 dots, while the ImageWriter II has a MAXIMUM
character width of 7 dots with a normal size of 5 dots. This is why the fonts
are closer in size to the LaserWriter than the ImageWriter.
A possible workaround is to remove any font size larger than the size being
printed, which forces the Font Manager to use the next smaller size it finds.
The Font Manager may scale the smaller font to an appropriate size for
printing from 4th Dimension.
Further information on Macintosh fonts for the ImageWriter LQ begins on page
215 of Appendix D in the ImageWriter LQ Reference manual from Addison-Wesley
(ISBN 0-201-17751-X).