Contents |
Description
MSX compatible printers can be divided into two categories, those that support one of the MSX Character sets, and those that don't.
Printers that support the MSX character set will normally be able to print all the special characters, assuming that both the MSX and printer use the same MSX character set. Using a Japanese MSX with Japanese character set with a European printer with International character set will generally work fine for the lower 128 characters (7 bit ASCII), but the upper characters (high ASCII) will show different on screen and printed.
Printers that don't support the MSX Character set will also generally work fine for the lower 128 characters, as those are typically the same on most computers. But the upper 128 will not be the same.
Note that there is no standard in control codes amongst MSX compatible printers, every manufacturer had its own control codes for things like bold, italic, etc.
Most of these issues can be worked around by using an application like Dynamic Publisher to print. Dynamic publisher will not simply send text characters to the printer to print, but will print in graphical mode, meaning that the computer will tell the printer how to print, dot by dot. The problem with that is, that once again there was no industry standard on how to print in graphical mode, so the application needs to specifically support the printer.
Printers with MSX Character sets
These printers have support for one of the MSX Character sets.
| Product | Character set | Kanji-ROM | Type | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Astron MCP-40X | Japanese | 4 Color Plotter | ||
| Brother HR-5X | Japanese | Thermal Transfer B/W | ||
| Brother HR-6X | Japanese | JIS1 (see note) | Thermal Transfer B/W | Brother KR-6X cartridge |
| Brother M-1009X | Int. or JP | Dot Matrix Impact B/W | ||
| Brother M-1024X | Japanese | JIS1 | Dot Matrix Impact B/W | |
| Brother M-1024IIX | Japanese | JIS1 | Dot Matrix Impact B/W | |
| Brother M-1224P/X | Japanese | JIS1 + JIS2 | Dot Matrix Impact B/W | |
| Canon T-22 | Japanese | Thermal B/W | ||
| Canon T-22A | Int. or JP | Thermal B/W | ||
| Casio CP-7 | Japanese | 7 Color | ||
| Daewoo DPL-400 | Korean | 4 Color Plotter | ||
| Epson PI-40 | Japanese | 7 Color | ||
| Fenner FPX-100 | International | Dot Matrix | ||
| General PCP-5501 | Japanese | 4 Color Plotter | ||
| Goldstar PRT-10 | ?Korean | Dot Matrix | ||
| Hitachi MPP-1021H | Japanese | Thermal B/W | ||
| Hitachi MPP-1022H | Japanese | Thermal Color | ||
| Mitsubishi ML-60PR | Japanese | Thermal B/W | ||
| Mitsubishi ML-70PR | Japanese | 16-pin thermal transfer | ||
| National CF-2301 | Japanese | Thermal B/W | ||
| National CF-2311 | Japanese | 4 Color Plotter | ||
| National FS-P200 | Japanese | 7 Color | ||
| National FS-P400 | Japanese | JIS1 | Dot Matrix Impact B/W | |
| National/Panasonic KX-P1091 | Int. or JP | Dot Matrix Impact B/W | ||
| Panasonic FS-PA1 | Japanese | JIS1 + JIS2 | Thermal Transfer B/W | |
| Panasonic FS-PC1 | Japanese | JIS1 + JIS2 | Thermal Transfer Color | |
| Panasonic FS-PK1 | Japanese | JIS1 | Thermal Transfer B/W | |
| Panasonic FW-PU1B | Japanese | Thermal Transfer B/W | ||
| Panasonic KX-08P | International | 4 Color Plotter | ||
| Philips NMS 1421 | International | Dot Matrix Impact B/W | ||
| Philips NMS 1431 | International | Dot-Matrix Impact B/W | ||
| Philips NMS 1436 | International | Dot Matrix Impact B/W | ||
| Philips VW 0010 | International | Dot Matrix Impact B/W | ||
| Philips VW 0020 | International | Dot Matrix Impact B/W | ||
| Philips VW 0030 | International | Dot Matrix Impact B/W | ||
| Sakhr AP-1 | Arabic ? | Dot Matrix | ||
| Sakhr AP-120 | Arabic ? | Dot Matrix | ||
| Sakhr AP-510 | Arabic + ? Int. | Dot Matrix B/W | ||
| Sanyo KA-M-1024X | Japanese | JIS1 | Dot Matrix Impact B/W | |
| Sanyo MPT-C10 | Japanese | Thermal Transfer Color | ||
| Sanyo MPT-T5 | Japanese | Thermal B/W | ||
| Sanyo SMP-30 | Int. or JP | 4 Color Plotter | ||
| Seikosha GP-50MX | Japanese | Dot Matrix B/W | ||
| Sony HBP-F1 | Japanese | JIS1 + JIS2 | Thermal Transfer B/W | |
| Sony HBP-F1C | Japanese | JIS1 + JIS2 | Thermal Transfer Color | |
| Sony PRN-C41 | Int. or JP | JIS 1 (see note) | 4 Color plotter | Sony PRN-K41 board |
| Sony PRN-M09 | Int. or JP | Dot-Matrix Impact B/W | ||
| Sony PRN-M24 | Japanese | JIS1 | Dot Matrix Impact B/W | |
| Sony PRN-M24 TypeII | Japanese | JIS1 + JIS2 | Dot Matrix Impact B/W | |
| Sony PRN-T24 | Int. or JP | JIS1 (see note) | Thermal Transfer B/W | Sony PRN-K24 board |
| Star TR-24m | Japanese | JIS1 (see note) | Thermal Transfer B/W | On ASCII Japanese MSX-Write cartridge, bundled in Kansai Denki KS-24M package |
| Talent DPL-400 | International | 4 Color Plotter | ||
| Toshiba HX-P550 | Int. or JP | Dot Matrix B/W | ||
| Toshiba HX-P560 | Japanese | Thermal Transfer B/W | ||
| Toshiba HX-P565 | Japanese | JIS1 | 4 Color Thermal Transfer | |
| Toshiba HX-P570 | International | 4 Color plotter | ||
| Toshiba PA-7253 | JP | Dot Matrix B/W | ||
| Yamaha PN-01 | Japanese | Thermal Transfer B/W | ||
| Yamaha PN-101 | International | Dot Matrix Impact B/W | ||
| Yokogawa PL-500 | Japanese | JIS 1 (see note) | Plotter | Optional cartridge |
Printers without MSX Character sets
MSX uses a parallel printer port that is compatible with standard parallel printers of the era. For instance printers targeted for use with IBM PC compatibles will work with the MSX. It is also the case of the Goldstar PRT-5 4 color plotter that was official sold with MSX computers.
The issue is that they lack the MSX character set, which mainly effects the so-called high-ASCII characters when printing pure text. When printing in graphics mode, it is dependent on the software. A program like Dynamic Publisher, which prints in graphical mode and therefore it does not matter which character set the MSX or printer has, supports various non-MSX printers.
Alternatively some printers with sufficient RAM allow the user to upload a new character set, which would allow a non-MSX printer to print the MSX character set until the printer was reset. Here's a limited list of non-MSX printers upgraded with MSX characters set on a PIC (Printer interface cartridge):
| Product | Character set (*) | Type |
|---|---|---|
| Comx PL-80 | International | Plotter |
| Epson GX-80 | International | Dot matrix B/W |
| Star NL-10 | International | Dot matrix B/W |
| Trend JP-1301 | International | Dot matrix B/W |
(*) on PIC
The problem with some of these upgraded printers is that a few software programs issue a reset to the printer before starting the print job, causing the printer to lose the MSX character set and revert to the integrated character set.
Word Processor printers
| Product | Description | Kanji-ROM | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Casio MW-24 | JWP | JIS1 | Thermal transfer B/W |
| Panasonic FS-PW1 | JWP | JIS1 | Thermal transfer B/W |
Computers with integrated printer
A few MSX machines have an integrated printer. These were mainly released in Japan.
| Product | Generation | Character set | Kanji-ROM | Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| National FS-4000 | MSX1 | Japanese | JIS1 | Thermal transfer B/W |
| National FS-4500 | MSX2 | Japanese | JIS1 | Thermal transfer B/W |
| National FS-4600F | MSX2 | Japanese | JIS1 | Thermal transfer B/W |
| National FS-4700 | MSX2 | Japanese | JIS1 | Thermal transfer B/W |
| Panasonic FS-3900 | MSX1 | International | Thermal transfer B/W | |
| Sanyo PHC-77 | MSX2 | Japanese | JIS1 | Thermal transfer B/W |
Pages in category "Printers"
The following 89 pages are in this category, out of 89 total.