IBM TM7 - Manual (Page 190)

v Unlike other Align Position commands, the Align Positions-Align Column Right
command can be sent in the middle of a print line. Print characters sent before
the alignment command will be left aligned, while characters sent after the
alignment command will be right aligned.
v The Fix Font Matrix command forces proportional characters to print using a
single width defined by the command. This essentially negates the proportional
characteristic of the font, while still allowing the user to utilize the custom font.
The following sequence assumes proportional characters have been downloaded
and selected for printing. The following sequence should be used for each item line.
The printer output would resemble the following:
Candy Bar $ .45
Fountain Soda $ 1.11
1. Print the item description. For the first item, this is the ASCII data Candy Bar.
2. Issue the Set Alignment command with n=4 (Right Align Column). The
command syntax is X'1B 61 04'.
3. Issue the Fix Font Matrix command with n=dot width of the widest number used.
The command syntax is X'1B 3A xx'.
Note: Finding the optimum value of xx for this command will vary depending on
the proportional character set being used, and may require some
experimentation.
4. Print the item price. For the first item, this is the ASCII data $ .45.
5. Issue the Fix Font Matrix command with n=0, which disables the fixed font
matrix. The command syntax is X'1B 3A 00'.
6. Issue the Print and Line Feed command. Use the command syntax X'0A' or
X'0D'.
Layout using Set Tab Position
There are situations where the customer might not want the price right aligned, or
requires an additional column (for example, a column for quantity). In such a case,
using tabs is the best method to guarantee alignment. Tab positions that you define
during the set-up operation (see “Set Horizontal Tab Positions” on page 133) will
remain intact until the printer is reset or reinitialized. Once tabs are set-up, all that is
required is to send a tab character X'09' to move to the next tab position. It is still
recommended that the Fix Font Matrix be used, if alignment of the individual
characters in a field is important (for example, to align the decimal points of prices).
The following Set Tab Positions command will define tab positions for 3 columns:
item description, quantity and price. The command assumes that the font width is
approximately 10 dots. This procedure assumes that proportional characters have
been downloaded and selected for printing, and that the item description will be left
aligned.
X'1B 44 01 90 01 D6 00 00'
The following sequence should be used for each item line. The printer output would
resemble the following:
Candy Bar 03 $ 1.00
Fountain Soda 10 $11.10
1. Print the item description. For the first item, this is the ASCII data Candy Bar.
2. Issue the Tab command. The command syntax is X'09'.
updated March 18, 2002
166 SureMark DBCS User’s Guide