I am trying to print a Crystal Reports consisting invoice data fetched from data base with a Dot Matrix Printer in Generic text mode, where i want to change the font size of alternate rows respectively (e.g., row1 will be bold and row2 will be italics). My problem is that though i can make those changes in Crystal Reports but while printing its simply printing with a default font. I am using Generic /Txt as default printer. Any help would be appreciated.
A:
I don't think Dot Matrix Printers print text formatting. It's a Dot Matrix Printer. It only prints plain text. That said, try using something other than Generic / Txt as the default printer. With Generic / Txt you will not get Italic or Bold formatting. The formatting is stripped away from the print job if you use Generic / Txt. You will only get plain text output. Does the Dot Matrix Printer ever print Italic and Bold text? Try creating a document in a word processor that has Italic or Bold text and see which of the Dot Matrix printers available on your computer (if there's more than one installed on your computer) works in printing the Italic / Bold in the document. I remember I used a Dot Matrix printer in a Computer Science lab room in college in the 90s that did indeed print Italic and Bold formatting so it's a possibility that your printer will print this also. You have to install another printer on your computer though. Assuming you're using Windows, go to Start -> Settings -> Printers and Faxes -> Add Printer.
Dragos Toader
2009-12-10 16:35:23
Dot matrix printers can do (typically monochrome) graphics reasonably well *with the right printer driver*. That's how I printed my CV to get my first job (that and LaTeX). But not with a generic driver; you need a proper driver that knows how to drive graphical output (I assume it's a 24-pin DM printer; the low res ones just looked terrible). It's a bit of a lost art these days BTW and with good reason; inkjets are faster and less hassle.
Donal Fellows
2010-07-25 23:05:41