Method for Estimation and Optimization of Printer Speed Based on Character Usage Statistics

摘要

Many high-speed printers now in the field and under development use a constantly moving chain or train containing the characters required in the printing process. Generally they skip to the next line whenever the last character on a given line is printed. Since individual character usage varies widely, it may be possible to increase the printing speed by repeating high-usage characters more frequently on the chain than low usage ones. This paper presents an analytic method of accurately estimating the printing speed of a chain printer for any character arrangement and describes a technique for determining the number of copies each character should have on the chain so that the printer will operate at or near maximum speed. Using these methods, significant increases in printing speeds have been obtained for actual applications.