The DOT matrix printer. Oh the sound these things made. The special paper that they printed on, the possibility of feeding in separate sheets of paper to print documents was a bit of an afterthought for most printers back then.

Was fortunate to own a CBM MPS 803 with my C64 that could print on regular paper as well. Basically a Brother printer. And with my first PC owned a Star LC20, I used Ghostprinter to have it emulate a goscript type printer enabling a printout (going over the same spots multiple times) to do beyond near letter quality and using true type fonts. That costed a hell of a lot of printer ribbon though. 

KXP-1080i- Unmistakeable! I have that exact same printer hooked up and I use it every day. Print my "do list" on a 3" bond roll and just tear it off. Works great!

...and look how far we've come, and in a relatively short time. Speedy results from one or two clicks and out pops the pages no hastles and no wires required anymore.It's like magic.

The Canon BJ-200/BJC-200 that killed dot matrix for me.

I actually remember when my grandmother would use a printer just like this one. This was when I was about 5 years old and she would let me print pictures from a dinosaur themed DOS game for kids. She still has one of the pictures I colored in for her. I remember liking the way the paper looked with the holes on the sides. Those were the good days.

Terry, I don't want to step on your toes here, I have so much to say, hopefully this information will simply augment your excellently produced video (as always)...

First and foremost, for those in the comments who asked about wasting the first sheet, yes, you did waste the first sheet.  This Panasonic is a PULL tractor feed, which means the paper is fed with no friction through the machine, around the platen, and is pulled through the printer by the tractor feed.  Advantage was they were less prone to jamming, disadvantage was you wasted the first sheet for every print job.  (Although I also seem to remember another disadvantage was the pull tractor had the tendency to tear off the page trailing at the perforation, leaving the printer out of paper when that sheet was finished.)  There were also PUSH tractors, which never wasted the first sheet.  Disadvantage was often the first sheet printed had a tendency to jam the printer because the paper curled after being left loaded around the platen, that would not clear the top cover, or even worse, would feed into the printer again on the back where the push tractor was, making a real mess!  Also worth mentioning is that many printers (later than shown in this video) had multiple paper paths, some would (in addition to feeding from the back) would feed from the front, while others had a bottom slot that paper can be fed through (required a special desk with a slot cut in it for the paper to go through).

That Panasonic shown here sure takes it's time printing, especially under NLQ mode.  Not sure of the CPS rating of this printer (that's characters per second for those of you playing the home game), but I remember the Epson MX-80 was 80 CPS (and that's draft mode).  There's something oddly soothing about a slow dot matrix printer, don't know what it is exactly.

I have an old Okidata wide-format printer in the garage, the front panel has a dial to select the form length.  Bottom case is metal, reel-to-reel ribbon (unfortunately I've forgotten the model number), and it weighs a ton.  I don't believe it can print graphics either (at least, I've never been successful in doing it).

The Panasonic shown here is missing the plastic cover in the back.  If you look inside the printer there is a connector; most printers had the option to connect serial also, via an add-in card (was often very expensive), as such most are Centronics and you never see the serial card.  Some real oldies also had add-in cards to support current loop transmission (I'll let you google that one), while some later ones even had network (coax or even Ethernet).  I do find it ironic that some high speed dot matrix printers that have serial connections even support something as slow as 300 baud; at that speed of transmission the printer is way too fast for itself!  It's like buying a sports car to go to the grocery store across the street, you never get to open it up all the way.

The term "dot matrix" is slightly misleading.  The printer shown and demonstrated in this video is actually an IMPACT printer, where the pins actually impact the paper, through the ribbon.  Inkjet printers and laser printers are also dot matrix printers:  There is a matrix, the resolution of the printer will define how many dots, and dots are placed within that matrix, hence dot matrix.  Same thing with these impact printers, there is a matrix, and dots are placed within it.  Everyone calls impact printers "dot matrix printers", so I will refer to them as such.

Some later Panasonics had PUSH/PULL tractors, where you could feed the paper in the bottom of the tractor and it would push it through, then the output would be fed on top of the tractor and pulled.  Never really saw any advantage to that, as oftentimes they would bind somehow around the platen area, bursting the perforation, and then you start all over again.

We used to have Panasonics in my school, there were only a few of them, that were very similar looking to this model.  The computers were Apple IIe machines, so mostly they had Apple ImageWriter II printers.  The ImageWriter II had a considerably faster print speed and I remember those with the Panasonics were always left to wait for their documents.  I used to sell printers, and everyone was a cheapskate.  I'd tell them to buy model X because it's much faster than model Y, but they'd buy model Y anyway.  I'd tell them "speed is the one thing you can buy that will pay you back every time you use the printer".  Nobody was ever in a rush, but I guarantee you they cursed that darn thing when they got it home and sent it 15 pages they needed before heading out the door while already 10 minutes late!  

With this nice, slow Panasonic, it more fit the mood of computing back in the day.  Nothing was in a huge rush, you'd plan out your computing sessions (and likely turned the computer on only when you needed it), rather than every day or several times a day (or just leave it on), so printing a nice 10-page NLQ report was no problem, you had already budgeted time for it.

I recently got a chance to play with a nice old printer that my friend and fellow YouTuber Sharkie626 has, it's an original Apple DMP.  Based off the same C-Itoh 8510 print engine as the Apple ImageWriter II, it's slower, hooked up parallel (rare since just about any other Apple printer was serial).  If anybody's interested in more dot matrixing, you can see that video here:   The Apple Dump! (Dot Matrix Printer)

And for anybody else that still hasn't gotten their fill of dot matrixing, I have a video I will be posting in about 5 days about a high-end, high-speed Okidata PaceMark 3410 printer.

Terry, I really hope to see more videos from you, especially about the printers you've shown at the end of this video.  Run them all through their paces, I'm especially interested in seeing that C-Itoh you have going, that thing looks like bare metal and engine, rather than the more refined designs now.

Thanks again Terry for another absolutely excellent video, this one really struck a chord with me!  Dot Matrix Forever!

Good video :)

Great video!. Still have my Tandy DMP-106 (working), Panasonic KXP-1180 (my top of the line, working), a Tandy LP-VII (not working, trying to restore) and a Tandy DMP-132 (working). Family not too happy with me years ago printing school assignments late at night... these things could get noisy :-)

I was wondering when the next video was coming out :o)  I'll be doing a video on an aspect of dot matrix and it's use soon :o)  Got to love your dot matrix printer, we have an automated information system at work that prints out a hard copy when ever anything happens so we have a dot matrix connected to it for reliability and cost :o)

I used to use an Epson ET-2550 https://www.youtube.com/post/UgkxciSwynMJ7PnUvvx11rewiu-yFBkZTl53 , an early model of the ink tank style. It worked well, but had one nuisance that drove me up the wall; if you didn't put it in high quality print mode you'd get a streak across the page. I'm happy to say I have yet to see this with this printer. The print quality has been fantastic so far, the set up was super easy. All in all I'm very happy with this printer.

OMG.. the Okidata dot matrix printer..
Used to let reports run over the weekend....come back on Monday morning and I find the printer had fell off the table and on the floor upside down but still printing. LOL paper all jammed up and the print head would print right through the ribbon.. LOL

I used a "one-line" on an IBM 360 system, loud, fast and slow.

Hi. I had one of these printers with a Tandy 1000 RLX system.

KXP-1080i- Unmistakeable! I have that exact same printer as well hooked up and I use it for multipart forms that I need something other printers inkjet and laser can not do.

I had Epson MX-80.

I have a Panasonic printer K-2123 and I can’t remember how to load the fanfold paper , having a TERRIBLE TIME I USE IT FOR A VERY OLD BANNER PROGRAM FOR SIGNS .

STAR NL-10 was the best printer for the Commodore C64

have printmaster plus

I had many printers. some of them like this one shown here in this video. mine was the Panasonic KXP-1080i. I think the I was more desired than the 1080 correct?

There were some other types in the early days of personal computers, and more than one type of dot matrix printer. For example, the first printer I had for my Commodore PET was a dot matrix model that used a roll of special paper with a matte-silver coating. The print head used a row of tiny electrodes, and behind the paper was a metal strip. The print head wires were charged with high voltage in the correct dot pattern, and produced a current through the paper, which turned it from silver to black in the dot matrix pattern. Generated ozone and stunk up the air in the room. But in a day when a low end consumer grade dot matrix printer cost as much as a personal computer, that one cost perhaps $200, or only a quarter of the next best dot matrix model that used ink ribbons and standard paper. It was fine for program listings, but not for correspondence.

I do remember growing up with dot matrix printers - we had one at home and they had them at school - seeing your video brought back the sights, sounds, and smells (there was a distinctive smell of the mechanism of these printers - not sure if it was the ink/ribbon or something on the mechanism)

I remember watching the Apple dot matrix printer for the first time as a kid, and just being mesmerized by the text slowly appearing on the page.

You should have explained how the color ribbons worked. Those were interesting to watch how the printer flipped the cartridge up and down to print color. I still enjoy using my Image Writer now and then, but I find that it doesn't like today's copy paper.

Thank you for making this video. A huge, cheesy grin pasted my face on hearing the old dot matrix from my childhood. My teenage son enjoyed it too.

Best video sir

Just picked up an RX-80 at the local thrift store for $6. Needs a new ribbon but works just fine. I have an older machine running Windows XP Pro that recognized it easily.

Nice video. :)

I had 286 computer printer with dot matrix back in 1980, terry do you have a 686 computer ?? I had one those 90s they really great for there time

Jake

We bought a car last year and the dealership still used a dot matrix to print our paperwork.

Hi terry, love your videos. I collect classic computers myself, and I was wondering if you have the Apple Lisa? If so, do you have a video on it? Thanks.

Hah, I've got a Epson RX-80

Hi Terry, thanks for this video. I have a few questions about the Dot Matrix as I'm trying to use one for an art installation.

1) where is picking up the text from? Is this something you've pre written and simply pressed print after
2) Do you know if there's a time limit regarding how long the dot matrix can print for?
3) Do you know if it's compatible with the Macbook pro apples and if not, what is it compatible with?

Thanks in advance for help

The Olivetti M3030 printer was really noisy when operating and used a RS422 connection where bit was defined via a differential voltage connection like a SCSI LV connection for printers.

Was always fun alternating between friction and pin feed trying to decide what the printer wanted that day.

Printers I remember were Qume (Daisywheel), Olivetti (again daisywheel) Paper Tiger and Anadex. Epsons were fantastic dot matrix printers. The only place I seem to see them now are at newsagents printing out the newspaper round. I still love my old HP Laserjet.

from what i have read (and somewhat remember) the commodore machine used some kind of weird tiny ballpoint pens

While Inkjet printers had a number of advantages over dot matrix, the cost per page just went through the roof. Those 500s were nearly $500 in the early 90s. A good 24 pin dot matrix printer could output almost as good a quality as an inkjet although with MUCH more noise and longer print times. There were also thermal dot-matrix printers, but they came on rolls the way fax machine paper came on rolls and were no good for archival purposes. You can re-ink a lot of those old ribbon cartridges. There's a roller inside that inks the ribbon and if you re-ink the roller, it will usually work fine. There were also the one time use ribbons if you remember them.

A lot of firms with MF still use these. The cost per page cannot be beat by any other type of printer. The type you are showing here are also still used by people who need carbon copies (like auto garages). Laser/ink jet/wax do not lend themselves to carbon copies.

Those memories... My first printer was a Sigma P109 (some no-name OEM printer) which was compatible with the Commodore MPS1000, at least this was the driver on the Amiga which worked correctly with it. The generic Epson FX-80 driver produced a vertical line of P and K at the left edge of the paper...

Being locked a few hours in a room with three huge dot matrix printers that were functioning had to be one of my worst memories.

Back around 1995 a friend gave me one. Was my first printer. It was huge and weighed a ton...and very loud. But it did work :)

My first printer was a Commodore dot matrix printer. It worked pretty well.

I used to own one of those commodore printer plotters,
It worked by contacting one of I think four,
Tiny little ball point pens,
To the surface of the paper,
I used to print miniature time tables,
For my school lessons in the early 80s,
The problem with the printer was those miniature pens,
When brand new they only worked for a few weeks,
Then either ran out of ink or clogged up,
Great idea though as its plotting ability was fantastic,
But as a practical printer a failure,
Still nice to see it though as it does bring back memories : )

Bloody hell i remember using this printer on my amstrad cpc6128 can never forget that sound of that printer hehe cheers for the memories

some of those printers are still in use)

I had one of those Panasonic’s for years.

NICE SOUND PRINTER !

The school I went to had several Panasonic dot matrix printers that were connected to BBC Micros and RM Nimbus 186s. I also used to own a Star LC-100 printer alongside my Commodore Amiga 600 computer and a 486 PC before I started getting inkjet printers.

This was my family's first printer growing up.  I distinctly remember this 8pin sound at the midnight hour after finishing some book report that was due the next day.  We were actually given this printer by a neighbor.  Later we finally gave it away to another family as well.  Our next printer was a Star Micronics NX 2420 (24pin) with built-in fonts and the 4-color ribbon!!  The Star Micronics printer didn't come with a Windows 3.1 print driver for the color.  I actually downloaded my first driver on the (early) web for that printer.  I learned so much in that one single experience as a kid.  Thanks for the video!

Excellent.  Tezza's back.  I find dot matrix printers extremely interesting.  Brings back memories of school and the BBC Micro we used to have, and the printers always going wrong.  Ooops.  I remember when my classroom Windows machine was upgraded from a monochrome dot-matrix printer to a HP Colour Deskjet.  I was amazed how quiet it was compared with the dot-matrix.  Nostalgia

My first printer was a Commodore MPS-801, a serial printer specially for VIC and C64 computers.  I think you could buy a third-party replacement ROM which gave it true descenders, probably at the cost of speed.  (I think I'm right in saying the 801 was mono-directional, i.e. the head only printed in one direction, so making it print better quality with the replacement ROM meant multiple passes of the print head in one direction!)  The printer you show, and indeed most other printers, printed bi-directionally: both left-to-right sweeps, and vice versa.  The Commodore 1520 plotter you show simply used different colour ballpoint pens.  Printers were very expensive back then, hundreds of pounds, even for use with the low-end home computers of the day.

Very nice video, brings a lot of good memories. Keep it up!!

The ribbons for my Seikosha SL96 are 22 years old... and they still havn't run dry as I tried them a couple of years back..

Wish I could say that for for modern printer inks....

panasonic kxp1081 superb printer i used to have one i recently got a citizen 120d not as good but fairly compact and quite quiet.

There's a sound I don't think i'll ever forget. Like the dialup modem sound and old hard drives clacking away. Doesn't get old really. Thanks for making this video. :)

Totally informative, thanks.

single tear Thanks for the nostalgia Tezza. 

That Commodore 1520 is a candidate for another video about itself. The early plotter phenomena is an interesting side lane in the history of printers. It had four, colour, tiny, ball point pens (IIRC) and drove the paper up and down while the head wrote left and right. Damn slow way to write words, but let you draw vector graphics. Never really caught on, you're lucky to have one.

My first experience with a dot matrix was printing the receipt at a computerstore back in 1997, selling Epson printers and such... the irony.

We had a star lc 10. Printing homework took ages. Looks like the panasonic is a bit of a paper waster when using tractor feed. You cannot use the first page?

We had a star lc 10. Printing homework took ages. Looks like the panasonic is a bit of a paper waster when using tractor feed. You cannot use the first page?

Dot matrix printer technology seemed to be nearly indestructible. I sold mine to a friends' parents and they used it for years and years without problems. The Deskjet I got in its stead, was a lot quieter and a faster, but it also soaked the paper with black ink, often had trouble picking up paper and just broke down after a few years of light use. Also, inkjets aren't musical instruments:  http://youtu.be/NcmP6fzj2KM?t=36s

It's nice to hear an NLQ printer again. I'm not sure what happened to my Epson LX-800. Interestingly, the name Epson comes from the first model of printer Shinshu Seiki Co produced, the EP-101. The name Epson is derived from the company being the Son of the EP-101 - i.e. EP-Son. I've had one of them sitting on my shelf for years. It's only a numerical printer but it uses an interesting miniature line printer mechanism.

I have an old IBM dot matrix printer kicking around in the basement. Watching this makes me want to pair in with my Compaq Presario 1200 from 1999.